Jeffrey Barg 
Work in any one city long enough, and your life will start to look like Charlie Kelly’s “Pee Silvia” meme from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Hair unkempt, bug-eyed stare, papers strewn everywhere, red string linking all the dots.
Everything is connected, even if it’s not immediately apparent how.
Even if, to the casual observer, you look like you’ve lost your mind.
How else to make sense of coincidences like:
- Five years ago, I started working the polls every Election Day; and …
- Six months ago, when I joined Maven, one of my first clients was the Philadelphia City Commissioners, who run our city’s elections; and …
- The person in charge of recruiting poll workers citywide was one of the first people I talked with in the Commissioners’ Office—and she’s someone I’ve known for years through mutual friends; and …
- Just last week I was talking with another friend—someone with whom I go back more than 25 years—who I learned is the voiceover artist on the poll worker training video that I’ve been watching all this time.
So many connections, it almost looks like a major company conspiracy.
Working the polls has become one of my favorite ways to connect with my community. Our scrappy local election board checks in our neighbors and makes sure their voting experience is easy and enjoyable. I figure if they have a positive experience, they’re more likely to come back and vote next time. It makes me better at my day job, too: As an experienced poll worker, I can better talk about the work that the city commissioners do every day.
Best of all, it’s yet another way to connect with the city I love.
My first job out of college was in journalism, where it was part of my daily responsibilities to be attuned to the coolest, most interesting things happening in Philadelphia. The things I did and read and saw and experienced then are now the backing evidence for every communications plan I write, every media outreach I do, every time I put pen to paper. If you’re getting out and interacting with other Philadelphians and forming relationships, you’re building a foundation. There’s no wasted time.
Fortunately, a city like Philadelphia provides infinite ways to get involved, whether you’re looking for people to read with, run with, play sports with, play games with, play music with, listen to music with, debate politics with, write with, dance with, garden with, or just end phrases with prepositions with.
I’m partial to poll working, and with the election just a few days away, the city is still looking for poll workers. It’s rewarding and inspiring, and there are few easier ways to make your community and your country better. Any registered Philadelphia voter can sign up here.
Disclaimer: It’s a long day. You get there at 6 am and don’t leave till around 8:30 pm, so it’s not uncommon to look a little off-kilter by the end of the day.
Hair unkempt. Bug-eyed stare.
But who knows what kinds of connections you’ll make?
Posted In Government, Media Relations