Camp Wellstone - Being a Candidate

January 2009 - St. Paul, MN

Ever since her trip to the Minnesota State capitol as a school girl, Roberta Gibbons knew she wanted to be involved in politics.  That dream flourished when Roberta decided to run for Minnesota State Senate (37^th district) in June 2009. Roberta learned about Camp Wellstone through word-of-mouth and felt the Camp would be an effective way to sharpen her skills as a politician.  After Roberta enrolled in the "Being a Candidate" track, admittedly she felt the 2½ days of training could be a bit overwhelming.  However, as the training began, that feeling dissolved and she quickly realized how energizing the Camp was and had a, "fabulous sense of you can do this" from the instructors.  Roberta said because of the exciting nature of Camp Wellstone, the training germinated a "seed that was always sitting there."

After the 2½ days, two items in particular made an impact during Roberta's training. The first was learning the importance of a stump speech.  The stump speech was a challenging exercise that gave Roberta a new perspective on the art of the stump speech.  Roberta felt that the training equipped her to develop a strong speech as well as critically analyze another politician's stump speech and "hone in on what they're saying."  The second item Roberta gained from the Camp was the "I've got your back" attitude of her fellow campers and trainers.  That sense of fellowship made the entire Camp meaningful.

Roberta summed up her Camp Wellstone Experience as, "energizing, informative - something everybody should do in their life."