Volunteer Spotlight | Mary Ellen Martinez

I began volunteering in March of this year, and I’m in my observation stage at this point. We get a lot of questions from people in Pima County. If I were to pinpoint the task I enjoy best, it would be dealing with the public and coming to the plate for them along with making and implementing changes in the office for a smooth running crew. There’s lot’s to learn and I am really fortunate to be working with great team-orientated volunteers, and of course my main girl Miranda Lopez. 

I was inspired to start volunteering when the shots rang out at Safeway on Oracle and Ina. I was loading my car up and planning to stop by the Gabby meet and greet on my way to see a new client. They were just across the street from my house, and my friend Gabe Zimmerman was going to be there. We had worked on a few things together as I have a soft spot for the elderly and he was great at pushing my causes forward. Gabe died that day, and in many ways so did the community around us. My family had a front row seat to the protests and the media as they parked along my drive. The ask was simple and the reaction was hard to process. This is when I decided to move from voting to action. It took me some time to find my way to the Pima County Democratic Party headquarters. Civics was not my strong suit. When I got the call, I found a place I could sink my talent into. I guess I have Gabe to thank for that. 

Thank you so much for all your hard work, Mary Ellen! We’re glad to have you.

Volunteer Spotlight | Margaret Lacey

I have been volunteering in the office since April of 2019. By the time the office closed for COVID, I was working all day on Fridays as the Friday volunteer coordinator.

When we closed, I continued to volunteer from home by checking voicemail messages and responding to callers. Those days, in the summer before the 2020 election, we had many callers with a variety of urgent needs, and that was a very rewarding time for me, as I would do my best to find solutions to problems such as registering newcomers who could not get an AZ license (which meant they could not register to vote) to just being an empathetic person on the other end of the line. I still enjoy trying to solve problems of voters who either call or come to the office.

I am a lifelong Democrat, and I joined the second Obama campaign in 2012 because a friend of mine recruited me to work in Headquarters as a shift manager. In those days we didn’t have MiniVan so one of my jobs was entering call sheet data. I also greeted and trained new volunteers, some who were too young to even vote. I enjoy being part of an energized team.

Thank you so much for all your hard work, Margaret!