Reaching the people: Creston field office workers promote Obama, caucus training

CNA photo by ANDY GOODELL Campaign workers: Holly Licht, left, and Nyssa Aragon prepare for the January caucus at the Barack Obama field office, 121 N. Elm St., Wednesday afternoon. Both women work as field organizers for the Obama presidential campaign.

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CNA staff reporter Recent college graduates often feel lucky to be hired right out of school. Holly Licht and Nyssa Aragon, both 22, couldn’t be happier to be working at the Barack Obama presidential campaign office in Creston, which opened in November. At 121 N. Elm St., the Obama office is everything one would expect out of a presidential campaign office. The walls are covered in Obama promotional posters, and there’s plenty of campaign pamphlets available for the taking. It’s as though they’ve packed as much promotional materials into a relatively small space as possible. Licht and Aragon work as field organizers for the Obama campaign in six southern Iowa counties: including Union, Ringgold, Clarke, Taylor, Decatur and Adams. Originally from College Station, Texas, Licht said she knew she wanted to be directly involved with the Obama campaign during her senior year at Oklahoma State University. Obtaining a campaign job is a competitive process, Licht said. She came to Iowa knowing this, and would have gladly settled for a volunteer position with the Obama campaign. “I worked two jobs at home over the summer to save up money so I could come up here and work as a volunteer if they didn’t have any positions open,” she said while sporting an “Obama 08” T-shirt. After meeting with Obama campaign workers in Des Moines, Licht got the job. Aragon, originally from Buena Vista, Colo., followed a similar path after graduating from Barnard College at Columbia University in New York City. Like Licht, she saved money for several months before coming to Iowa on Obama’s behalf. She’s been in Iowa since early August, and volunteered on the Obama campaign prior to being hired to work at the Creston field office. Having field offices is essential to the campaign because they are able to accessible to the public who have questions about the Obama campaign. “We want to be as close to the people as possible,” Licht said. “We’re actually a part of this community.” Aragon and Licht agreed that living in southwest Iowa has been a pleasant experience, for the most part. “The people have been absolutely wonderful,” Licht said with a smile. “The weather is the only thing I’ve had to adjust to.” Caucus A large part of their job at the Obama office in Creston’s business district is to keep in contact with those who have never or are planning to participate in the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3, Licht said. The Creston Obama office will only stay open through the caucus. They organize group events to hold “mock caucuses” at the field office for veteran caucus-goers, as well as those who have never attended one. “Talking about the caucuses helps people, but actually being able to see how this would work really is the best way to train people on how to caucus,” Licht said. Aragon said an important part of their work for the Obama campaign is to inform high school seniors caucusing for the first time how important the process is. They’ve been to several area high schools conducting caucus training exercises. “We try to get them inspired and involved saying, ‘the whole world is watching you,’” said Aragon. —————— Andy Goodell can be reached at (641) 782-2141 ext. 242 or agoodell@crestonnews.com