Ocracoke Friends,

As many of you know, Ocracoke won a significant victory on Wednesday afternoon, when the House Appropriations Committee voted to approve an amendment to the State's budget bill. That amendment exempted the Hatteras/Ocracoke Ferry from the imposition of a toll, as had been proposed. The amendment, introduced by our State Representative Tim Spear, was approved overwhelmingly in a bipartisan vote.

There is no question that this wouldn't have happened but for the grass-roots citizen lobbying campaign organized over the last couple of weeks here on the Island. It is a fantastic thing that a small community like ours was able to muster the womanpower and manpower, the political expertise, local organizations and local government, the power of the internet and the tools of democracy to bring our message to Raleigh, to be heard and to see a positive result. I am just one among many, who together devoted a big chunk of time and energy to this, and I don't have the authority to offer thanks. That authority belongs to all of us as a community, so if you should see any of these folks on the street, and you know who they are, a high five is in order.

It should be noted what a different world we live in than the Ocracoke of old. While we were fighting to preserve the Island we know and love, it is in good measure those things which connect us to the bigger world that brought about our success. Instant communications, cell phones, email, websites and blogs and especially the social networking media, Facebook and Twitter (and the gurus who made 'em work) transformed the political process, such that we were able to generate hundreds upon hundreds of contacts with key decision makers, with a tailored message, at the right times. But it is also heartening to know that at the center of that success was our sense of community: We all worked together, as Ocracokers always have.