The Countdown M a rc h 2 0 1 0
Charlotte Regional Census Center Newsletter Supporting the 2010 Census in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia
In This Issue
Keep up with local questionnaire mail participation in the Take 10 program. Issue a challenge. Page 2.
N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue announces the formation of the state’s Complete Count Committee. Page 3.
Partners played an important role in gala open houses for 37 local census offices in the Charlotte Region. Pages 4-5.
A regional rig, “Founders,” and a national vehicle, “Mail It Back,” continue the census road tour across America. Back Page.
NowTheisquestionnaire the time for action. arrives mid-March.
Fill it out. Mail it back.
Partners Count Regional Director’s Update
Now is the time for action. Our 2010 Census partners, supporters, stakeholders and complete count committees now must implement plans to encourage and enable people to fill out the census questionnaires and mail them back. I need not remind you what a complete count means to your states, your communities and your neighbors. You have been working hard – some of you for years – to make the 2010 Census the best ever. You’ve held events, circulated informa- William W. Hatcher tion, supported the Portrait of America Road Tour and our local census office open houses, issued proclamations, and done many other things to support the census. As the census questionnaire is “As the census mailed and dequestionnaire livered in midis mailed and March, I ask you to make that delivered in midfinal, important March, I ask you push through to make that final, e-mail blasts, important push.” fliers, phone trees, Twitter, newsletters, news media and events. I ask you to issue a challenge through our Take 10 program to boost local returns. And as census takers begin going door-to-door in May, I ask you to urge public cooperation. Then at the end of the year, when the Census Bureau gives President Obama the state counts, we all can say we did our best. Remember, it’s in our hands.
Indian Country Counts! American Indians from across the five-state Charlotte region will gather for the 35th Annual North Carolina Indian Unity Conference in Raleigh on March 11-13. The conference brings together representatives from 11 federal and state-recognized tribes and American Indian organizations. Topping this year’s agenda is the need to focus on the 2010 Census to ensure an accurate count of all American Indians. An expected 300 participants will attend breakout sessions and hear from Greg Richardson, director of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs. “If we don’t get an accurate count in 2010, the American Indian population won’t have another chance until 2020,” Richardson said. The conference will feature informational booths where participants may pick up 2010 Census information. “The goal is to make sure the census count matches the enrollment numbers on the reservations” said Angeles Ortega–Moore, North Carolina partnership team leader. For information and toolkits designed to help ensure Indian Country counts, go to www.2010census.gov. Click “Partners,” then “Quick Links to Materials.”
‘Take 10’ map tracks mail participation Want to know if people in your state, county or community are mailing back their census forms on time? Want to issue a mail-participation challenge and track the competition in real time? No problem. Just go to www.2010census.gov and look for the “Take 10” interactive map of the United States. The site launched in late February. You can click on your state to find up-tothe-minute mail participation rates. Click on your county, city, or neighborhood and discover the percentage of returned questionnaires. Elected officials, complete count committees and other groups are issuing challenges to states, communities or organizations to achieve the best mail participation. Why not issue your own challenge? Then, go to the Take 10 map and track results. It’s easy. It’s important. And, hey, it’s fun.
1 million to ‘March to the Mailbox’ on April 10
If it takes a nation to make a complete census, then it takes a million people to make an important point: Mail back the census questionnaire! Although households should return census questionnaires as soon as they arrive in mid-March, we’re planning a big reminder just in case. On April 10, a national blitz of 1 million people is expected to gather in hard-to-count neighborhoods across America to deposit their completed census forms in a local mailbox. The “March to the Mailbox,” a made-for-TV event, will take place in areas identified by each of the 52 local census offices in the Charlotte Region. Our census partners are stepping forward in the effort to enlist volunteers for the blitz. If you want to join the March to the Mailbox, call our Partnership department at (704) 936-5330.
N.C. Governor Perdue Touts Census Importance, Jobs N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue formally kicked off the 2010 Census in North Carolina by announcing the formation of a statewide complete count committee and noting that the census is bringing 24,000 jobs to the Tar Heel State. At a news conference in late December at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, the governor issued an executive order announcing the North Carolina Complete Count Committee and support for the census.
Dr. Nancy Potok, deputy undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, delivered keynote remarks at the historic black university founded in 1867. Moses S. Carey, chairman of the state Employment Security Commission, rallied the crowd of partners and census supporters. Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx also attended.
“We need to prove how fast we’re growing,” Gov. Perdue said. “We need the data to back up our need for federal dollars.”
“The check isn’t just in the mail,” she said. “It’s really here, and it’s 24,000 jobs.”
Partner Profiles
The governor encouraged “people in every community” to spread the word that the census is easy, safe and important – and that jobs are available.
N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue (left) addresses reporters at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte.
God and golf: Ky. leader also chooses census
Mission possible: a full count in eastern N.C.
When it comes to reaching Kentucky’s Korean American population, John Suh of Louisville, Ky., says the two best ways involve God or golf.
Delilah Taylor Gomes says her mission is to ensure a count of everyone living in hard–to–count communities in eastern North Carolina. It’s the reason she chairs the Duplin County Complete Count Committee.
Suh, 43, is president of the Korean American Association of Kentuckiana. Founded in 1976, the organization is based in Louisville and covJohn Suh ers much of Kentucky and southern Indiana. KAAK is joining the 2010 Census as a partner in hopes of helping the bureau accurately count the Korean–American population in the Bluegrass State. According to the 2000 Census, about 7,000 Korean Americans live in the Louisville region. Suh says that number likely has jumped to more than 10,000. KAAK officials will use many avenues to encourage census participation. But according to Suh, the two best involve churches and golf courses. “If we are not in church on Sunday, we are probably on the golf course,” he said. “We are golf freaks.” Suh, who served as a U.S. Army officer from 1990 to 1997, was 13 years old when his family moved to the area from Korea, after his aunt married a soldier based at Fort Knox. It is a common story among the Korean–American families in Kentucky. “This is home for many of us now,” he said. “We love it here. So it is very important that we get an accurate count this year.”
“I want to increase the percentage of people counted and make people understand why it’s so important,” Gomes said.
Delilah Taylor Gomes
Census 2000 showed 14,198 African Americans and 7,426 Hispanics lived in Duplin County. Gomes says that count was low and she wants to do better in 2010. Besides overseeing the complete count committee, Gomes, a retired educator, has been active in her community for five decades. Her accomplishments have earned her the North Carolina governor’s volunteer award, the North Carolina Cooperative Extension volunteer award and a Martin Luther King Community Service award. But Gomes says her greatest accomplishment will be knowing her census effort “touches all of our bases and communities to emphasize why it’s important to be counted.” Gomes spearheaded a Duplin County Census Day in Kenansville that featured an exhibition of artwork, a census skit by area youth and a census walkathon. She continues to work hard to get the word out about the census, believing an accurate count affects her community’s bottom line. “This count will have an impact on the funding we receive for our community” she said.
Kicking off the census in style 37 local offices celebrate with open houses
Thirty seven new local census offices in the Charlotte Region kicked off the 2010 Census with open house celebrations in December and January. The offices were decked out with posters made by students, bunting and balloons. Local talent presented music and dance performances. Partners graciously supplied refreshments. Elected officials at all levels of government, community leaders, partners and complete count committee members joined the festivities, challenging the public to make this census the best ever. Solid media coverage carried the census message across the region’s five states. “We’re here today not just to celebrate the opening of this local census office,” said Regional Director William W. Hatcher, at one celebration, “but to recognize a fundamental American responsibility and right of every person living in this great nation to be part of the 2010 Census.”
The 37 offices are in addition to the 15 local census offices that opened early last year to help prepare for the census. Each of the 52 local offices in the region support census operations in a specific area. Across America, 494 temporary local census offices are now operating. U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves addressed the crowd at the open house for the Gastonia, N.C., local census office. Also speaking were U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, ranking minority member of the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives; U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick; and Gastonia Mayor Jennie T. Stultz. “Our goal is to count everyone living in the United States once, only once, and in the right place,” Groves said. “Much rests on the decennial census: It’s easy, it’s important, it’s safe.”
Lexington, S.C. Fredericksburg, Va.
Manassas, Va.
Bowling Gree
Gastonia, N.C.
Charlottesville, Va.
Cookeville, Tenn.
Rock Hill, S.C. Rocky Mount, N.C.
KY
en, Ky.
Hickory, N.C.
Charlotte Region Roundup Forum focuses on Virginia’s African-American men More than 50 people from across Virginia gathered to develop strategies for encouraging African–American men, ages 18 to 35, to be counted. The Concerned Black Men National Organization and the Census Bureau co-hosted the African-American Male Forum, held in Richmond in late January. The forum was part of a series of events in each of the five states in the Charlotte Region designed to reach young AfricanAmerican men. This population is historically undercounted in decennial censuses. Event speakers included: Jeffrey M. Bourne, deputy chief of staff, Office of the Mayor of Richmond; Melvin Brown, Richmond Chapter President, Concerned Black Men; and, Byron Browder, chairman, Concerned Black Men National Organization. The forum resulted in concrete plans to reach young African-American males in each of the state’s geographical regions represented at the event: Northern Virginia, Central Virginia, Tidewater and Southside/ Southwest/Roanoke.
Homeless CCC breaks new ground In Kentucky:
A new complete count committee in Kentucky promises to break new ground. The committee, formed in January, consists entirely of Kentuckians experiencing homelessness. It offers a rare opportunity for the Census Bureau to more accurately count a historically hardto-count population. The new CCC’s leadership had routinely gathered in Lexington’s Phoenix Park, which is near the local public library and an upscale, high-rise apartment building. Complaints by residents forced officials to order the group out of the park. The Catholic Action Center, a local charity group, stepped in to help out. As a result, several of the Phoenix Park homeless formed the Street Voice Council.
300,000 reminders on the fridge: Charlotte Region has de-
veloped and disseminated 300,000 postcards reminding people to complete the questionnaire and mail it back. They’re pithy, provocative and designed to involve hard-to-count populations. We suspect many postcards already reside on refrigerators in the region’s 15.2 million households.
The Lexington-area partnership staff will attend Street Voice Council meetings and receive input.
Newly naturalized citizens get census message: Newly naturalized citizens heard the 2010 Census message during a round of swearing-in ceremonies in Northern Virginia. The outreach began when a partnership specialist addressed about 70 newly naturalized U.S. citizens, families and friends at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Jan. 20. About 400 to 600 people are naturalized weekly in the area, and partnership specialists plan to speak at future ceremonies. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services plans to distribute census information, place a Questionnaire Assistance Center and Be Counted site in the Merrifield, Va., office, and show the census DVD, “A New Portrait of America,” as participants wait for ceremonies to begin.
Quilt squares make the rounds: Census workers
are touring Kentucky with a quilt that stitches together the state’s history with the importance of the 2010 Census. Mary Charles of Quilter’s Square in Lexington, Ky., has overseen work on the 2010 Census Quilt, which features 120, six-by-six-inch squares, each representing a county in the Bluegrass state.
Muslim community partnership activated: The All Dulles
Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center is working with the Census Bureau to gain participation in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The center is one of the largest Muslim communities/mosques in the area. ADAMS serves more than 5,000 families from more than 50 countries and has seven branches in Northern Virginia. After the center’s director signed a partnership agreement, partnership specialists made presentations and distributed information to the congregations.
Tennessee multicultural dinner: A mul-
ticultural dinner served up the census message in Frankin, Tenn., last fall. Williamson County Complete Count committee member Cecilia Melo-Romie organized the “Road to the 2010 Census” event, which took place in the Fellowship Hall at the Christian Community Church.
Virginia leadership forum attracts diverse audience
Watch our car at
regional events The census jumps into high gear during two NASCAR races in the Charlotte Region in March. The No. 16 Ford Fusion of driver Greg Biffle - sporting a bright 2010 Census sign on the hood will compete at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn., on March 21, and at the Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., on March 28. Biffle’s car also was set to compete in a third race in the Sprint Cup Series on March 7 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Biffle is also making a PSA promoting census participation. In a move to reach a hard-tocount population, the Census Bureau signed a three-race agreement with Roush-Fenway Racing last year. The sponsorship with Biffle’s team includes the three races, as well as 10 showcar events, among them the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14. Car racing stands as America’s #1 spectator sport with 75 million NASCAR fans. The fact that NASCAR reaches so many people makes the event likely to reach a group marketing experts term the “Cynical Fifth.” This group comprises nearly one-fifth of the nation’s population. Many people in the group probably know about the census but are disillusioned with the federal government. They believe the country is headed in the wrong direction and they might not answer the census. The Census Bureau hopes to win them over at the racetrack.
The Fairfax County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Fairfax County Complete Count Committee seized the moment when a local census office held its grand opening in Fairfax, Va., in January. The groups co-hosted a Northern Virginia ethnic media briefing and leadership forum that attracted a diverse and curious group of representatives from media, local governments, communities and faith-based organizations. Attendees heard a panel discussion of census officials speak about the magnitude of the count and had an opportunity to ask questions. Father Tuck Grinnell, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Falls Church, Va., was one of dozens who attended. “Seventy percent of St. Anthony’s parishioners are immigrants,” Father Grinnell said. “So it’s important for them to be counted for education purposes, ESL programs and health care needs. The Church uses census data to plan sites for future churches. An accurate census count is better not only for government planning, but also church planning.”
Find Us On lin e ► Connect to Census Countdown: Go to http://2010. census.gov/2010census/ involved/index.php to incorporate the 2010 Census Countdown Widget to your Web site. Scroll to the bottom to locate the Countdown Widget. You can also go to www.2010.census.gov, click on the “Take Part” icon at the top of the page and find the widget at the bottom of the page. ► Follow 2010 Census events in the Charlotte Region on Facebook at http://www. facebook.com/pages/CharlotteNC/Charlotte-RegionalCensus-Office/269762396450 or search “Census Charlotte” on Facebook. ► Find us on Twitter: www. twitter.com/uscb_charlotte.
Census Inspires S.C. Upward Bound Students Deputy Regional Director Somonica L. Green recently encouraged more than 400 South Carolina students to aspire to leadership roles and not to settle for anything less than personal success. “You must not only aspire to be teachers, but also aspire to become principals and school superintendents,” Green said. “You must not only aspire be lawyers, but also aspire to become judges to ensure that everyone is treated fairly by the criminal justice system.” Green was keynote speaker at the Wanda Hendricks-Bellamy Leadership Conference at Myrtle Beach in January. The annual event is for students in the Upward Bound program at 18 participating colleges or universities in the Palmetto State. The federally funded program helps students from low-income or rural families to attain a college education.
Upward Bound students perform census skit at annual conference.
The 2010 Census had a high profile at the two-day conference. The S.C. Upward Bound Youth Complete Count Committee presented a skit and a musical performance about the importance of completing the census questionnaire and mailing it back. The Census Bureau hosted a poetry slam and a dance. Leroy Lewis Jr., Upward Bound director at the College of Charleston, said that involving students in the 2010 Census provided an opportunity for students to engage with their community. “The program’s goal is to help young people understand their civic responsibilities and to develop life skills to assume leadership roles,” Lewis said. S.C. Partnership Team Leader Doris Greene predicted attendees would have a positive impact on census participation. “We’re hoping they will take the message back home and to their schools that the census is important,” she said.
The Wheels Go Round and Round Jan. 4 Charlotte
Tracking the Portrait of America Road Tour
The Portrait of America Road Tour has traveled thousands of miles since its launch Jan. 4 and has thousands of miles to go before its journey ends on April 13. The national tour rig, “Mail It Back,” will log about 150,000 miles as it crisscrosses America, stopping at 800 events. The national rig already has made two stops in the Charlotte Region. The regional vehicle, “Founders,” is scheduled to stop at 132 events since its launch Jan. 4 in Charlotte N.C. It will log 10,000 miles in the Charlotte five-state region before making its last stop in Richmond, Va., on April 13.
Jan. 12 Cookeville
Take a look at road tour highlights so far and note future stops. You’re invited!
Be an armchair traveler: Go to www.2010census.gov and click the “Join In” tab to follow the Portrait of America Road Tour on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr and YouTube.
Feb. 25, 26 CIAA Tournament
Jan. 15 Charlottesville Cjar
The Countdown is published by the Charlotte Regional Census Center. William W. Hatcher Regional Director Somonica L. Green Deputy Regional Director Michael A. Hall Assistant Regional Census Manager Partnership Program B.J. Welborn Editor Ryan Burkhart Graphic Designer If you would prefer to receive a PDF of The Countdown via e–mail please send your request to: ryan.m.burkhart@census.gov To submit an article to appear in The Countdown, please contact the editor:
Charlotte Regional Census Center 3701 Arco Corporate Drive, Suite 250 Charlotte, NC 28273-7007 Phone: 704-936-5330
Jan. 23 Gaffney
Tour Highlights Jan. 4 Regional Kick–off Charlotte Center City Jan 12 Tennessee Kick–off in Cookeville Jan. 15 National vehicle with “T. Jefferson,” U.Va. campus, Charlottesville, Va. Jan 23 South Carolina Kick–off in Gaffney
Feb. 25, 26 CIAA Basketball Tournament, Charlotte
March 1 Somerset
March 1 Kentucky Kick-off in Somerset March 21,28 NASCAR races in Bristol, Tenn., and Martinsville, Va. April 13 End of the Road in Richmond, Va.
April 13 Richmond
March 21, 28 NASCAR