I first came in contact with the Western States Center during 2003 during the National Voice (or November 2 Campaign). As I got to know Kelley during various trainings in ID (WOCA, ID Latino Vote, Mujeres Unidas) and in OR (Native Vote, CAUSA, PCUN, Voz Hispana Causa Chavista) it became clear that WSC was an organization that had long and deep ties--and really cared about building power and creating change. My colleagues and I were invited to CSTI to talk about Civic Engagement, and pass out hundreds of Nov. 2/2 de Noviembre T-shirts. A big highlight was seeing how ID Latino Vote had modified theirs--adding their own logo to the front! Since '04 I have been back to every CSTI--usually as a trainer and always as a happy Midwesterner!