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Early to provide 'American voice'
By Stephanie Warsmith
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008
Politics never interested Monica Early.
When she voted for president, the Cuyahoga Falls woman felt like she was flipping a coin.
But that changed for Early this year when she began looking into Sen. Barack Obama's background.
Early liked what she discovered and volunteered with his campaign. And now she's headed to the Democratic National Convention to share her story.
Early is one of 15 Obama supporters from across the country who will speak at the convention in Denver this week. She will give her three-minute talk Thursday.
''I am completely honored — blown away,'' said Early, 53, an insurance agent in North Canton. ''How did I get picked? I'm going to try to represent the area as best as I can.''
The campaign chose Early partly based on the peppy introduction she gave for Obama in February at a rally in downtown Akron.
Keary McCarthy, a spokesman for Obama's campaign, said Early and the other supporters will provide an ''American voice'' for the convention. He said each will explain how they got involved with the campaign, with many — like Early — entering the political fray for the first time.
Early became interested in Obama in January when she received a negative e-mail about him from a friend. She said the facts didn't sound right and she decided to do her own investigation.
''In this course of doing this, I found out I really liked this guy,'' she said. ''I just feel like he is really special.''
Early helped with Obama's primary campaign, allowing a campaign worker to stay with her, knocking on doors and making phone calls. She held two house parties and attended a training session Saturday in Columbus to become a neighborhood leader, helping organize other volunteers in the Falls.
She will leave for Denver on Wednesday and plans to stay over the weekend with her husband, Richard, a lifelong registered Republican who also has become an Obama fan.
Early is somewhat nervous about her remarks, which will be delivered to a crowd slightly larger than the one she addressed at the John S. Knight Center.
''This is the opportunity for me to make my case,'' she said. ''I'm hoping somebody can relate and will consider Obama . . . I think I will be OK. I will feed off the energy of the crowd.''
Although Early has her speech prepared, before delivering her remarks, she will have the chance to meet with a speech coach.
''I'm hoping to impart that we've been doing things the same old way for quite a while,'' she said. ''It doesn't seem to be working anymore. We need some new ideas.''
Early said she'll make a special plea for her fellow Ohioans.
''Hopefully, we won't repeat 2004 and send another Republican to the White House,'' she said. ''This state needs help and we haven't been getting it from the current administration.''
Early is using her moment in the spotlight to urge others to join Obama's campaign. She said local residents can stop by the campaign's Akron office at Merriman Road and West Market Street or call 330-252-5720.
''We're trying to get a job done here,'' she said. ''We need all the help we can get.''
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.
Politics never interested Monica Early.
Get the full article here.
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