So what exactly is happening at Progress Michigan these days? Good question. The answer is - lots!

You can certainly get the full scoop on who we are, and what we're all about on our About Us page. That's the place to read about our mission, our fantastic staff and why we're here.

While our website and blog have only been up for a couple weeks, Progress Michigan has been hard at work since early September. We've just added a new feature to the lower right section of our home page that includes our press releases. 

Check it out now, and keep checking back because we're always up to one thing or another!  

Greetings! I'm pleased to see the Progress Michigan community really grow by leaps and bounds, less then a week after our site went live. This just solidifies for me how great a need there is all across Michigan for an organization like Progress Michigan.

So you found the Web site, you found this blog, now what? I'm so glad you asked. :-) First, welcome, we're glad to have you, and we can't wait to have you get involved. Speaking of getting involved, here's a couple tips...

Consider signing up for an account and joining our community under the My Accounts page. It's free and only takes a minute or two to do, Once you've signed up, get started creating your profile. This tells the community who you are, what kinds of issues you're interested in, what part of the state you hail from, and any other additional information you're interested in. You can use your real name, or a nickname/pseudonym, it's up to you! 

Looking to meet other progressive activists either in your area or elsewhere around the state? Be sure to visit the People section.  Look up those friends who've recently updated their profile, those in your area, or new members of the Progress Michigan community. 

If you're looking to get involved, visit our Groups page. Find a group on an issue you're interested in, or create one of your own. It might be a group on an issue like labor or campaign finance, but it also could also be something a little more light-hearted like Ski Enthusiasts of Traverse City, or Oakland County's Drinking Liberally Group. It's all up to you! Once your group is created, you can send messages to your group through your own private list-serv, all brought to you free by Progress Michigan.

Do you have an event that you'd like to advertise and invite others too? List it on our Events page and tell the world. Pick what kind of event it is, from a meet up to a movie screening, to a vigil, to a visibility/sign waving event, to a press conference.  Or, find events in your area by entering in your zip code.

Perhaps you're just interested in learning more about the Progress Michigan Team. Click on the About Us at the bottom of the page to learn more about our mission, who we are, and how you can help out. 

As you can see, Progress Michigan is here ;to offer you many tools and features to make your time and experience all the more valuable. If there is something that you don't see here that you'd like suggest, feel free to email me. 

Thanks again for stopping by ProgressMichigan.org and we look forward to seeing you around!  

Welcome to ProgressMichigan.org, a website that I am proud to offer to you and the greater state-wide progressive community at large. I’m especially pleased to announce to you the launch of The Upper Hand, ProgressMichigan.org’s blog.

For those of you dedicated, regular readers of popular blogs like Michigan Liberal and Blogging for Michigan, keep reading them, just make sure you add The Upper Hand to your daily reading.

What sets apart this blog from the rest is that you'll find more progressive organizations posting regularly on topics as they happen around the state. Of course, we encourage you to post here as well, because just as various organizations will be posting, they'll also be reading. The Upper Hand will be an excellent conduit to speak directly to the progressive community's leaders, whether they are elected officials, or executives of large non-profits.

Consider The Upper Hand your sounding board, no matter the issue. Whether your issue is the environment, social justice, labor or anything in between, tell us about it.

Before you can get blogging, be sure to sign up for your own free account, available under the ‘My Accounts’ tab. Add a picture, tell us about yourself,  create events, meet fellow activists, start a group, write a letter to the editor or your state legislator, you name it, you can do it here at ProgressMichigan.org.

If there’s something you’d like to see, or a feature or an issue we can help you with, be sure to let us know. You can always reach us at info@progressmichigan.org or you can email me directly at julielyn@progressmichigan.com.

Again, welcome to The Upper Hand and we hope to see you again soon!

Julielyn Gibbons

Online Campaign Coordinator (a.k.a The Head Geek)

Progress Michigan