Polly Ely Memorial June 7

I knew Polly through RESULTS, the citizens grassroots organization that lobbies Congress to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty.

John and Polly were the RESULTS group in Cedar Rapids for many years. Then, a group of seven of us got together in 2006, and Polly joined us in 2007 after John died. I think she enjoyed working within a group rather than being the group!

We would meet in her home to listen to the monthly conference calls and Polly’s energy began to be apparent to me. She had previously been interested in the global side of legislation, especially Microcredit. But when she started listening to the domestic conference calls, she got excited about that legislation as well.

Around the first of the year we were doing our annual planning and one of the things I was looking for, as group leader, was help in establishing relationships with Congressional aides in Washington. I asked for a volunteer to work with Senator Grassley’s office, and Polly didn’t hesitate. She said, “John was in the Legislature with Grassley. I’ll call Chuck’s office.”

Then, when I asked for a volunteer for Senator Harkin’s office, she volunteered for that as well. When there was a bill in the Senate that needed a phone call from RESULTS in Cedar Rapids, all I would have to do was to call Polly. We would go over what the phone call should cover and I would ask her to let me know when she had made the call. I figured in a few days I’d get a call back from her. But only 10 minutes later, Polly would call me back. She had made calls to both Senate offices and she filled me in on the content of the calls.

In February our group met with Congressman Loebsack and Polly was excited to talk about Microcredit. When the Congressman came in, he asked Polly’s permission to give her a hug. I couldn’t have asked for a more well-connected RESULTS group member.

Polly was an inspiration to all of us in RESULTS. Her energy and enthusiasm for RESULTS is a model we can all aspire to.

The last conversation I had with Polly was when she was staying on Cottage Grove. She talked about how much she missed John and looked forward to being with him. We talked about the RESULTS International Conference coming up this July, and she said how great it would be if she were still alive for the conference. She and John will both be looking over the international conference and will continue to inspire us to work to end poverty and hunger.