Let me introduce myself. My name is Pat. I worked as an RN for over 40 years. In the fall of 2021, I retired and moved to Durant to be closer to family.
Toward the end of my career, I lived through the covid pandemic on the front lines of healthcare in a hospital. Those days were often stressful and sometimes scary. I observed amazing physicians, nurses and all types of other healthcare professionals providing life-saving care to a great number of very sick patients.
At the same time, I witnessed firsthand an unimaginable division of people in my community who no longer trusted the science of masks and vaccines. They didn’t trust medical professionals who were trying to keep them safe and limit their exposure to this deadly disease. Without their support our community leaders continued to support activities with no regard to the public health risk which negatively impacted the hospital’s resources.
The day that I heard the news that Republicans in Congress failed to hold Donald Trump responsible after the January 6 Insurrection, I knew I could no longer continue to support Republican ideologies. I immediately found a website where I changed my voting preference to Democrat.
Through a new friendship in Durant, I discovered an amazing group of women who shared my concerns about the potential impact of a Trump 2024 election. We now have two active groups-the Bryan County Democratic Party (BCDP) and the Bryan County Federation of Democratic Women (BCFDW), who have joined forces to support voting education and Democratic candidates in the upcoming elections.
The BCFDW meets at noon on the 3rd Tuesday of each month in the DW Reynolds Library in Durant. The BCDP meets at 5:30 on the 4th Tuesday of each month at Sherrer’s Restaurant in Durant.
We are busy planning letter/ postcard-writing parties, candidate events, events that support voting information, and media opportunities. Based on responses, we can consider which of these events should go forward. In addition to Bryan County, we would also like to provide opportunities in Atoka and Marshall County as well.
We need to hear from you before it is too late.
Please email me at pat.notley@ gmailcom with a cell phone number and/or an email address if you are willing to become involved. We will reach out to your phone call, text or email with additional information.