SC District 4 (Greenville) DoP Campaign Coordinator Sara Eaton didn't really think she was an activist. She wrote, Until I got your mail, I questioned my sanity in volunteering to do something that I am certainly not qualified to do! I actually felt a bit guilty for volunteering. In the past, it has not been my nature to be a leader. Yet I signed up, knowing that I don't have time to really devote to the peace movement, except as one who lives peacefully, speaks of peace, and promotes peace.

My friends of the DoP Campaign, how many times in your networking efforts have you heard that? I told her that all she had to do was keep up with what's going on in the Campaign, and pitch in wherever her conscience led her. I told her that the "leader type" was probably someone she already knows, and that her immediate task was to identify that person.

Meanwhile, I Cc'd her on everything we're doing in Charleston, and on my interchanges with the propeace community in Aiken and Columbia, and something changed. The events surrounding the 60th anniversary of the nuclear age spoke to her heart. (Her parents were employed at Oak Ridge.) Her conscience led her to help the pilgrims by activating her network and providing housing for at least one and most likely two of the nights on their journey. You go, girl!

I wrote to her the following: Are you the same woman who told me that you signed on only as a catalyst and lacked the leadership skills necessary to do the job of a District Coordinator? I beg to differ! It's not what you know but who you know. We say that in a disparaging way when talking about a perceived enemy or practices such as cronyism, but that's exactly what we are doing! ...Your network is your strongest asset. Once you establish the fact that their goals are your goals, gaining their cooperation follows naturally.

I have asked Sara to write a short blog entry on the power of networking and describe her experience hosting the pilgrims. The pilgrims speak for us all with their heroic but humble journey.