Sally Myers

Four More Years

By Victoria Nowak

On August 21, 2012 President Barack Obama opened a campaigningoffice in the small town of Oxford, Ohio. The 32 West Walnut Street office serves all 21,444Oxford residents and 16,000 Miami University students.This campaigning office relies solely on volunteers to perform phone calls and door-to-door visits, encouraging Oxford’s registered voters to re-elect President Obama in the November 2012 election.

Retired, but still working

Sally Myers is a retiredMiami University employee and Oxford resident, using her free time to support the President’s re-election. Myers volunteers her time each week to the Obama office in Oxford because she believes he’s the best candidate for our country.

Myers’ long-time friend, MarilynElzey, is the volunteer recruiter for the Obama office in Oxford; shewas also the first to encourage Sally to get involved. “I was asking everyone I knew who was supporting the President to volunteer,” recalls Marilyn, “Sally is a people-person, she gets along well with folks and knows a lot of people in Oxford, so I knew she would do well.”

It didn’t take long for Marilyn to convince Sally to join her efforts at the Obama office. Myers says she enjoys giving her time to the Obama campaign because she really believes in what he’s doing. “I like what Obama stands for,” says Sally, “he’s the most supportive of women and the most supportive of senior citizens.” Those two issues are highly important to Sally.

A passion for equality

In speaking with Sally it doesn’t take long to notice that she’s very passionate about women’s rights and equality. Sally has had many life experiences which make her an advocate for these issues today.

“I’ve experienced discrimination; I was the Director of the Recreational Sports Center at Miami for 30 years…it’s a man’s world, so I’m always sensitive to women’s rights,” says Sally.

Sally feels that Obama is the candidate most supportive of women’s equality.The first bill President Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which helps women file lawsuits regarding pay discrimination. Obama has always been vocal about his support of equal pay for equal work, and Sally really appreciates this about our President.

My body, my decision

A woman’s right to choose is another issue that hits close to home for Sally. “Lots of people close to me have had to make a choice,” says Sally, “poor people I know couldn’t afford any more kids, so they made a choice,” she explains.

Sally supports the fact that Obama is a pro-choice candidate. He believes women should have the right to chose which option is best for their situation, and Sally strongly agrees. “The government shouldn’t be able to tell a woman what to do…she should have control of her body, it should be her decision,” says Sally.

For Sally, the right to choose is more than an argument for or against abortion procedures; it is about the government taking away a woman’s fundamental human right to makedecisions regarding her own body. Sally believes Obama understands this underlying notion, and will allow women to remain in control of their bodies.

A failing system

Since Sally is retired, social security is also an issue of concern for her. Sally says social security is not only important to her, but it’s important to her parents and friends too.

In the State of the Union Address on January 25, 2011, President Obama said he is working on a plan to strengthen social security for future generations, without putting current retirees at risk. After this speech was delivered, many senior citizens noticed their savings were falling, so Obama implemented the Recovery Act, which provided a one-time payment to retirees and other social security beneficiaries. Obama hassince said that he will continue to enact Recovery payments each year if needed, until a new plan for social security is decided on.

Sally feels that Obama is working diligently on solving the social security problem while still managing to support her generation that’s currently relying on the social security funds. Sally believes Obama understands the hardship our country’s people are facing; thus she believes he’s the candidate that will best help us through it.

Making a difference

Fellow Obama office volunteer, Jenny Ordway, says she thinks it’s great that Sally is able to donate so much time to the campaign. “The more volunteers, the more supporters,” says Jenny.

Jenny’s statement has proven to be very true. Due to volunteers like Sally, Obama’s campaign is gaining more supporters in Oxford and on Miami’s campus. Student Bethani Scott says she visited the Obama offices last month to get an absentee ballot, and unexpectedly learned a great amount of information regarding Obama and his policies that she didn’t know prior to that visit. “They were so helpful and eager to share information on the candidates. You can tell they are really passionate about this election,” says Bethani, a senior education major.

Volunteers like Sally are making a difference daily. Sally is supporting a candidate she truly believes in, and is changing voter’s opinions one encounter at a time.