The Gloucester Democratic City Committee honored Joe Nogelo with the 2020 Charles McCarthy Lifetime Achievement Award during our June meeting last week for how he has dedicated much of his life to the service of others and promotion of the common good. Now, GDCC members who have worked and volunteered alongside Joe are sharing their stories about Joe’s leadership, dedication, and contributions to the common good.
Catherine Bayliss
Joe Nogelo with Catherine Bayliss and Helen Wiseman
Joe Nogelo, door-to-door canvasser and political guru extraordinaire, and I were canvassing partners one damp gray late afternoon in Magnolia. Perhaps we knew it was going to rain and perhaps we had rain jackets on and an umbrella ready. I remember a sudden heavy downpour as it was getting dark. We stood dripping at voters’ doors, grateful for any who had porches to shelter us as we felt in our pockets for tissues to wipe foreheads, noses, and my glasses. We would try to get somewhat presentable and then ring the doorbell while struggling to find the voter’s name on the soaked pages of our canvass list. As we went along, it required a delicate hand to move the soggy page we had just completed to the back of the clipboard, and some pages disintegrated in the process. Knowing Joe, we probably carried on until we had finished our assigned route, since a rainstorm meant it was more likely the voters would be home.
Karen N. Bell
Joe Nogelo with a canvass team outside the 2016 campaign headquarters
I got to know Joe Nogelo late in the day of the 2012 general election. Just beginning to learn the ropes myself, I had been assigned the title of “Precinct Captain,” which involved getting out the vote. Joe and I were sitting in a home located near the polling place, where we were checking off the names of Obama supporters on paper lists as the poll watchers brought them in. As the hour approached for the polls to close we realized that canvassers would not have sufficient time to visit homes on foot. Joe decided to dispense with the “knocking on doors” protocol and we began making phone calls. In this way he located some supporters who needed a ride to the polls, picked them up and made it to the polling place just minutes before closing!
Joe has worn many hats for the Democrats in Gloucester, including Finance Chair, Ward Chair, Canvassing Captain, and Brunch Committee chair. He tackled the most physically challenging tasks from setting up the sidewalk bazaar tent to affixing the GDCC banner high above the Elks entrance on Brunch day. His friendly fundraising letters helped us raise thousands of dollars to support campaign headquarters. Joe trained dozens of volunteers to knock on doors, telling them to engage with the person who appeared, and to ask them questions to elicit their concerns and hopes rather than trying to “sell the candidate” immediately. His warm and inviting manner could charm most any undecided voter — no doubt through identifying areas of common interests. His lessons and example continue to serve all of us who want meaningful reforms and solutions to our current state of democracy.
Mike Wheeler
Joe Nogelo hangs the HQ banner with an assist from Mike Wheeler
There must be many Joe Nogelos. No single person could rack up so many accomplishments.
Look! There’s Joe, the U.S. Navy veteran. And over there is another Joe, the champion community builder with decades of work at the Y. Gosh, here’s another. It’s crack of dawn at Cannon Mt, and Joe is first in line for the chair life. And my goodness, it’s another season. I just spotted surfer dude Joe, hanging ten.
Time flies. Now it’s evening in the Gloucester House and see: there’s yet another Joe at a GDCC meeting, greeting new members with a broad smile.
Whoa! We’ve just zipped to Lowell for a state convention. Wouldn’t you know it, here’s Joe amping up enthusiasm for the Democratic slate. What a whirlwind! Better slow down a bit, now that we’re canvassing. And lucky us, we’re teamed up with, you guessed it, it’s Joe again! Savor his company and learn from his example. That warm smile is genuine. He never challenges or scolds. People who open the door recognize that he wants to hear their concerns and priorities. It’s obvious that here is an extraordinarily good and decent guy. And that wins them over.
Maybe you’ll insist that there is only one Joe. If that’s the case, he’s a marvel. We’ve got to clone him. And if that’s not in the cards, we all must do our best to emulate him.
Mary Kingsley
Joe Nogelo getting ready to canvass with the team in New Hampshire
The first time I worked with Joe we were running numbers. For Cape Ann TV, on a local election day about fifteen years ago. Everyone was gathered in Kyrouz Auditorium awaiting results. As each precinct reported, Joe or I would carry the information to Sinnika, who was then the manager of CATV, enthroned in a red, white and blue bower, to broadcast the news and interview the newly-elected city councilors.
During our years together on the GDCC Executive Committee, he was the hardest-working and best organized leaders I’ve ever worked with: Organizing the brunch and the wine and cheese: marshalling us to make phone calls and hand-write envelopes to the people on his lists, and he had a lot of lists; presenting us with a choice of wines and cheeses for the W&C (his taste was excellent); moderating the sometimes endless discussions about a theme for the brunch; making sure all the positions were covered – set-up, name-tags, etc., and cleaning up after the wine and cheese.
Canvassing and outreach: Teaching us the rationale and the techniques at GDCC meetings and on Democratic Dialogue. Joe’s soapbox on the art of the elevator speech was probably the most memorable and most useful in the history of GDCC soapboxes. Setting the pace for the canvassers. I was paired with him often and remember juggling papers while we barreled down Rte. 133 at ten miles over the speed limit, so we could finish this walk sheet and he could start another.