PBCTP Kicks Off With Boca Raton Chapter Meeting

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The first ever monthly chapter meeting for the newly formed Palm Beach County Tea Party went off without a hitch this past Monday night, August 8th, at the Boca Greens Country Club in Boca Raton, FL. The doors opened at 5:30, and many familiar faces streamed in and joined the fellowship, and there were many new faces, as well. We can never have too many patriots amongst our ranks!

Dinner was served, and more than 100 people enjoyed a sumptuous buffet, along with the usual vibrant conversation—for which there was very little need to search for topics! On the heels of the “Debt Deal” (which was a bit like bringing a Band-Aid to a 27-car pileup on the highway) and occurring on Monday, the third largest single day drop ever recorded on Wall Street, the Tea Party is as relevant as ever. And, all the tenets that the Tea Party has embraced are now being totally validated by what free markets are left in this country.

Anyway, Alex Berry opened the proceedings with the Pledge of Allegiance, and a few announcements were made. Pam Wohlschlegel was then introduced, and Pam introduced the crowd to what the Palm Beach County Tea Party is all about, and also forecasted a bit more of what was slated in the future. She also had first-hand conversations with many of the congressmen who benefited from the Tea Party vote, and she was able to get a better picture of why some in the Tea Party voted for the Debt bill.

Pam then passed the microphone to Fred Scheibl, who introduced the PBCTP’s version of “Get Out The Vote”, an initiative that Fred will be heading up that will be calling constituents in some County Commission districts to head off a tax increase for the third year in a row. This will be one of the examples in the near future of how like-minded Patriots, through the PBCTP, can band together, and TAKE ACTION to affect the vote for November 2012!!!

Alex Berry then introduced our featured speaker, Colonel Mike McCalister, a true and authentic conservative, who went on to “wow” the crowd with his sincerity and real backbone. A military veteran with 33 years of service, McCalister should be able to hold his own with virtually everyone he may face down the road in his race for the Senate seat—certainly on any issues related to foreign policy! Throughout his speech, McCalister invoked the best of the leadership we all remember from Ronald Reagan, whom he even quoted at least once during the speech. McCalister pulled no punches about where he stands on any given issue, and he stated those positions boldly and unapologetically—like a real person, NOT a “politician”. His echoed frustration became more evident and impassioned as his speech rose to a crescendo near the end, where he pointed out exactly what he would and would NOT do in any given circumstance, and why. His love for this country oozed out of every word, and his willingness to defend the heart of what the Tea Party stands for was downright inspirational.

A short “Q&A” followed, where McCalister held his own on a few tough questions. The winner of the raffle received a crisp $100 bill—which she promptly returned to the PBCTP as a gift! This appears to be a recurring theme—Great Patriots giving back to a great cause when presented with prosperity!!!

We look forward to our next monthly meeting, and hope all of you come out and support this most important cause, while enjoying excellent food and company with like-minded citizens! Keep checking back on this site for more details on our September meeting.

Some pictures from Boris Balaban:

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