John Rich attends the PoliticalChicks event in Minneapolis. Photo credit: Amber Procaccini/Lifetime TV

To be honest, leading up to this week, I hadn’t planned on attending any aspect of the Republican National Convention. I was excited to see St. Paul on the national scene, but my patience for traffic, lines and security is infinitely low after spending three years in our nation’s capital.

However, this Monday while enjoying a peaceful night out before heading back to the daily grind, my personal phone rang, my work phone buzzed and my quiet dinner was over. I was headed to the convention craziness.

Side note: One of my favorite aspects of Fast Horse (third only to our great clients and our shared love of cupcakes/cookies/baked goods) is my ability to remain a volunteer of the American Red Cross. Jorg, our agency founder and president, encourages us all to volunteer.

Due to the recent landfall of Hurricane Gustav, RNC party organizers decided to turn their Monday night festivities into Red Cross fundraisers. To deal with national events such as the RNC and impromptu fundraisers, the Red Cross has a team of national volunteers and staff situated around the country who work with the local chapters to assist with national media queries. Thus, Monday night, I hustled over to downtown Minneapolis to share the Red Cross message with attending media.

At the PoliticalChicks event, my colleague and I shared Red Cross service delivery information between John Rich performing and red carpet arrivals. Around 2 a.m., I called it a night and headed back to prepare for a busy week of work.

It wasn’t quite how I pictured my involvement with the RNC, but, hey, it was better than waiting in the never-ending line for the Daily Show.  

Side note 2: Both political campaigns advocated for hurricane relief donations using their various mechanisms. One aspect that I loved is the new TEXT2HELP program. About 90 percent of the cell phone users in the United States can text “GIVE” to 2HELP and donate $5 to the American Red Cross. The $5 is billed on the next month’s phone bill.