Wellington Chapter Meeting for June 11 – Ethics and oversight of PBC Governments
Palm Beach County Inspector General, Sheryl Steckler, along with Ethics Commission Executive Director, Alan Johnson, will be our guest speakers. Come and learn about why these positions were created and why some are opposing them. Doors open at 5:30, buffet dinner from 6:00 to 7:00, $15 all inclusive, meeting start at 7:00 p.m. sharp. As always at the beautiful Binks Forest Country Club. Bring a friend, spread the word, be there!
Click here for more information on the Office of the Inspector General and the Commission on Ethics for Palm Beach County.
Bios for our guest speakers:
Sheryl Steckler:
Sheryl G. Steckler is the Inspector General for the Office of Inspector General (OIG), Palm Beach County (PBC). The Office opened its doors on June 28, 2010. The office consists of three services: Investigations, Audit, and Contract Oversight. Ms. Steckler’s jurisdiction includes all elected and appointed county and municipal officials and employees, county and municipal agencies and instrumentalities, contractors, their subcontractors and lower tier subcontractors, and other parities doing business with the county or a municipality and/or receiving county or municipal funds. In total, there are 38 municipalities within PBC. In addition, the Solid Waste Authority, Health Care District, and Children’s Services Council have voluntarily contracted with the OIG for their services.
Ms. Steckler has worked in law enforcement and criminal justice related positions for 27 years. Prior to her arrival in Palm Beach in June 2010, she was the Inspector General for the State of Florida, Department of Children & Families for just under 8 years. She also spent 8 years as the Director for Pinellas County, Florida Consumer Protection which included Mediation, Criminal Investigations, and Regulatory Oversight. Ms. Steckler was also with the Florida Auditor General’s office in Performance Auditing and Public Assistance Fraud for over 9 years. Ms. Steckler is currently a Certified Inspector General, Certified Inspector General Investigator and formerly a certified law enforcement officer.
In her role as Inspector General at the Department of Children & Families, Ms. Steckler led the way for her office to become the first accredited Inspector General’s office by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation and her new office in Palm Beach County just received accreditation status February 23, 2012. Ms. Steckler holds a master’s degree in Public Administration and a bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Florida State University. She is currently an Executive Board member for the National Association of Inspectors General and former President for the Florida Chapter of the Association of Inspectors General. Ms. Steckler has held elected positions as President and Vice President of Conferences for the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators and has also served as a member (appointed by the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services) of the Florida’s Consumer Council.
Alan Johnson:
Prior to his selection as Executive Director, Mr. Johnson was a 17 year state prosecutor for the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County. As an Assistant State Attorney Mr. Johnson has tried numerous high profile felony cases and in 2001 became Chief of the Felony Division. In 2005 Mr. Johnson took over the role of Chief Assistant State Attorney until 2009 when he became Senior Counsel for a newly established State Attorney Public Integrity Unit. Mr. Johnson has also served in various capacities as a member and chairman of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee and the Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee as well as regularly serving as a volunteer youth court judge. Since 2000, Mr. Johnson has been a frequent instructor for the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association in areas including ethics for prosecutors, victim rights, homicide prosecution, evidence and jury selection.
Mr. Johnson graduated from Columbia University in 1973 and obtained his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1976.
Slade O’Brien, Florida Director for AFP, To Address Boca Chapter June 5th!
Slade O’Brien is an accomplished grassroots organizer and public affairs professional with more than 15 years of demonstrated success in public policy communications, project, campaign & issue management, media relations, community outreach, coalition building, fundraising, event staging & management, grassroots advocacy and third party recruitment.
A third generation Floridian; Slade double majored in college receiving both a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
After spending 7 years in advertising and marketing, Slade began his political career working for the Republican Party of Florida where he served as Special Assistant to the Chairman for Victory ‘94.
An early leader within the conservative grassroots movement, Mr. O’Brien was tapped to be the first ever Florida Director of Citizens for a Sound Economy in 1998. Long before there ever was a Tea Party Slade built the grassroots organization from scratch and turned it into a 45,000 member grassroots powerhouse, with clubs in 11 local markets which played a key role in passing such issues as tort reform, educational choice, and reducing the intangibles tax in Florida.
Mr. O’Brien also served as the Executive Director of Florida Stop Lawsuit Abuse, a grassroots organization dedicated to challenging those who abuse our legal system and educating the public about the costs and consequences of lawsuit abuse.
Most recently, Slade worked in the private sector as the President of the Florida Strategies Group where he specialized in public opinion strategies, campaign and coalition management, strategic consulting and grassroots organizing.
| DATE: | Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 |
|---|---|
| TIME: | Doors open 5:30pm. Buffet at 6pm. Meeting starts at 7pm, $15 per person (tax and gratuity included) |
| PLACE: | Boca Greens Country Club, 19642 Trophy Drive, Boca Raton, FL 33498, Click HERE for Map |
Blaise Ingoglia Fires Up the Boca Raton Chapter!
Despite another rainy and windy evening another night of good food, fellowship, and patriotism from the Palm Beach County Tea Party, we had a very respectable turnout at Boca Greens Country Club on May 1st, for the Boca Chapter’s Monthly Dinner/Speaker event. Our speaker was Blaise Ingoglia, Vice Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. Better known as the creator of the highly popular video series, Government Gone Wild, which has been extremely successful (read: “viral”) on YouTube, Blaise has a definite knack for articulating complex issues, such as the National Debt, into east-to-understand vignettes, using examples lay people can relate to. His message was powerful, and he came right out and said, “this is going to scare you…” on more than one occasion. It definitely had the desired effect, but the message was inspiring, not depressing—it’s important to know what the stakes are when November rolls around in a few short months!
Boca Greens Country Club definitely continued in their efforts to provide a comfortable venue with terrific food. We had several local restaurants provide us with gift certificates to auction off for our silent auction, and there were many other items for the taking, too. People came from all over the area, and we had several members make the trip from Jupiter—too many to name here. We also had Marion Frank in the audience, who will be stepping in to help run the Wellington Chapter.
Boca Chapter Coordinator Alex Berry began the proceedings at 7:00pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. Carlos Manuel Santana then regaled us with his impassioned version of the National Anthem- truly exhilarating! After the usual protocol of explaining what the PBCTP is, and what it stands for, Alex had a little fun with the audience by examining the new campaign slogan of our opposition, “Forward”, and illuminating how that word has been used prolifically throughout the history of socialism. Alex introduced Pam Wohlschlegel, PBCTP Founder and County Coordinator. Pam announced several items of interest to our group, including the effort to prevent recall in Wisconsin, and Get Out The Vote efforts.
Local candidates Joe Talley (County Sheriff) and Geoff Summers (FL Senate district 25) made appearances, and introduced themselves before the main speaker was introduced.
Alex then introduced Blaise Ingoglia, who spent the next 40 minutes examining how dire our circumstances are with the debt addiction our country currently finds itself in, as well as the seeming blatant disregard for that debt—and the potentially disastrous outcome of these policies—from our elected officials in Washington. Without doubt, Ingoglia has done a LOT of research and homework on all of this. As a Florida entrepreneur, he witnessed gross mismanagement of political affairs on the local level, and then in government corridors on the federal level– and was so genuinely alarmed by what he found, that he created the GGW video series. His presentation combined elements of topics covered in his videos, coupled with a “call to action” for people to get involved in the process locally—the best way to affect change!
Blaise then took questions from the crowd. The reaction from our audience was truly passionate—we had a lot more questions than we had time to address! There is no question that our audience was engaged deeply in the dialogue, and many were happy to express their patriotism through having their voices heard in our group.
It was a great night that was well attended and received. For those who missed this event, I can emphatically say that if you ever get the opportunity to hear Blaise Ingoglia speak live, you should jump at the opportunity. I encourage everyone to get involved in the political process, and join us for future events to enjoy irreplaceable fellowship with like-minded folk from all over the county, and reshape this country to it’s true essence!!!
We look forward to more great meetings in 2012 for our Boca Chapter—please INVITE YOUR FRIENDS to our next event, which will be June 4th, 2012. Remember—we always have our Boca Chapter Dinner/Speaker event on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month, so mark your calendars! Time is drawing to a close to make a difference for the next election, so please get involved if you aren’t yet, and STAY involved if you already are!
Here are some pictures of our event:
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Tax Day Tea Party Rocks Wellington
On a bright sunny afternoon in the beautiful Wellington Amphitheatre, an exuberant crowd sat on the astroturf and took in the sounds of LEVEL, and the stirring words of Allen West, Dick Morris, Anita MonCrief and many others.
The Tea Party is alive and well and ready to engage in – as some would say, “.. the most important election of our lifetime…”
The event drew a good size crowd, from tea party and 912 “regulars” to members of the “other side” who lined the back of the field with posters critical of some of the speakers and themes. The protest was peaceful though and even these folks seemed to enjoy themselves.
A lot of local candidates, from Congress down to School Board were in the audience, their teams fanning out to collect hundreds of signed nominating petitions, and most with whom we spoke thought the event was very productive for them.
The speakers covered the bases, some with some new food for thought. MC Brian Mudd from WJNO gave one of the most unusual but highly positive introductions of Congressman Colonel Allen West I have heard, alluding to his national appeal. The Congressman laid out the dangers of another four years of Barack Obama, and assured him (are you listening Mr. President?) that he would most assuredly be voting against the “Buffet Rule” this week.
Anita Montcrief told her tale of finding corruption at the highest levels of ACORN, and then laid out the more current conspiracy between that organization in its new form and the Justice Department to overturn voter ID laws across the country.
Dick Morris, a recent passenger on the Romney train, speculated that Mitt Romney would be one of the best Presidents in history. He asked for a show of hands for “who is more conservative now after 3 years of Obama?” and after seeing an overwhelming yes, tried to convince us that Mitt is too. He also told of the dangers of another Obama term, but suggested that his re-election was definitely not assured.
All in all, a pleasant and stirring day and a good kickoff to the 2012 electoral season.
Some pictures of the event: CLICK HERE to see all the photos at once.
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Ron McNeil Energizes Boca Raton Crowd!
Balmy, comfortable weather welcomed our usual patriotic crowd – along with some new faces – in Boca Raton on Tuesday night, April 3rd at Boca Greens Country Club. Many in the crowd who had not heard US Senate Candidate Ron McNeil speak before were clearly in for a pleasant surprise. McNeil’s home stomping grounds are up in the panhandle; so many people in our area do not know him well. That changed quickly on this great evening! Ron McNeil is a great American success story—the absolute perfect example of how good ol’ American ingenuity and “hutzpah” found in finding a need, then filling it, which is what actually creates jobs and wealth… NOT government programs!
Once again, the food selection at Boca Greens was terrific, including fresh fish, sausage and peppers, and lasagna. One lucky patriot, who purchased several raffle tickets, won THREE of the six dinner coupons that were up for grabs! He will be eating well in Boca for the next several days!
Boca Chapter Coordinator Alex Berry began the proceedings at 7:00pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. He stated what the PBCTP is, and what it stands for, as usual, followed by introducing our Founder, Pam Wohlschlegel. Pam made general announcements, but spoke mostly about our upcoming Tax Day Tea Party Rally in Wellington on April 15th, at the Wellington Amphitheatre. In addition to promoting the event, she also asked for volunteers to help us with the expected crowds. Brand new flyers were printed up and brought to the meeting just in time, and we also have new Palm Beach County Tea Party lapel pins. Pam then introduced Barbara Samuells, who is active in the 912 Super Seniors group, and has appeared on Glenn Beck’s program on more than one occasion. Her “live participation” illustration of how we have been sold a sack of goods with ObamaCare was a definite highlight of the evening.
As in March, we had a great turnout from local candidates- Mike Lameyer (FL Senate District 25), Joe Talley (County Sheriff), James Ryan O’Hara (FL House of Representatives), and Anne Trujillo (US House of Representatives) and Melanie Peterson (FL House of Representatives) were among the evenings’ attendees, all of whom got a moment to introduce themselves, and what they stood for, before the main speaker was introduced.
Alex then introduced Rhonda Harrell, Ron McNeil’s Deputy Campaign Manager. She provided a little bit of background for McNeil, and introduced him to the podium. Standing 6’5” in his dark suit, McNeil’s stage presence is energetic and imposing. Rather than stand behind the podium, McNeil paced in front of it, addressing the crowd and making eye contact in a personal, folksy, heartfelt, way that was winsome, and it truly resonated with our crowd. How refreshing it was to hear someone who was unconcerned with “editing” their statements, or having a canned campaign speech! He had a small sign made up of what the problems are that we face, along with his proposed solutions from which he drew for his material in his speech. The fact that his motivation is NOT a career in politics, but, rather, a sincere desire to SAVE this country from the liberal poison that has been infecting our nation so badly was also very well received.
McNeil’s stance on virtually all the issues was quite consistent with the worldview of our Founding Fathers—that stance and worldview that we always ought to be suspicious of Big Government, and that the government needs to “get OUT of the business of being ‘in business’”… In other words, the government should absolutely NOT be involved in any area that the private sector can handle on its own.
Despite McNeil’s appealing and authentic “Good Ole Boy” bravado, he is also perfectly in line with the classic conservative (not to mention Constitutional) position on Foreign Policy—Of course, he still wants to ardently support Israel and other key allies, but is sick of the modern “rules of engagement” in warfare, and is weary of the fact that we are paying to have troops all over the world where we have no conflicts—putting the cost burden on the shoulders of American taxpayers. Worse still, we borrow money from other countries to be the world’s “policeman”. Our Founding Fathers were totally against this idea, a phenomenon that has been bred into our conservative mindset since 1941. For the 200 years prior to 1941 (the vast majority of our country’s history), the classic conservative position was to only go into war when we absolutely NEED to, get in and WIN the war, and bring the troops home. McNeil struck no one as being anything other than very strong on national defense, but he has more of a common sense, constitutional viewpoint on Foreign Policy than most.
His compelling speech made for a boisterous Question & Answer period, which McNeil deftly handled with his usual grace and aplomb. McNeil and his Deputy Campaign Manager were the last people to leave—staying to accommodate every question, comment, or conversation request from the crowd. The outrage from the seemingly uniform attack on our Constitution, liberties, and way of life is what motivates a self-made man like McNeil to enter the race, and we are the better for it. Like many of us in the Tea Party, we don’t “want” to volunteer and make our voices heard, we feel like we “have” to. Like they say, “It takes a Carter to bring us a Reagan!” I think that effectively sums up the political scenario for McNeil, who is an authentic “heir-apparent” to the Reagan mantle. Anyway, the straight talk and genuine demeanor of this man truly energized our crowd. It really was refreshing to see someone with the swagger and “cojones” to back up what he says.
We look forward to more great meetings in 2012 for our Boca Chapter—please INVITE YOUR FRIENDS to our next event, which will be on May 1st, 2012!!! Our speaker will be Blaise Ingoglia, the new Vice Chairman for the Republican Party of Florida, and the creator of the very popular YouTube video series, “Government Gone Wild!”
Remember—we always have our Boca Chapter Dinner/Speaker event on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month, so mark your calendars! We now have FIVE months to make a difference for the next election, so please get involved if you aren’t yet, and STAY involved if you already are!
Pictures from Alex:
CLICK HERE to see all the photos at once.
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Energy and Climate Realities a Big Hit at Jupiter/Palm Beach Gardens Meeting
Jupiter/PBG guests enjoyed the presentation of “Energy and Climate Realities” regarding the United States’ energy abundance and Government hindrances to increased production of fossil fuel-based electrical power. Mark Wohlschlegel, Vice President Toshiba Controls also noted the old CO2/Greenhouse Gas arguments still being used by our Government to shut down coal powered energy production. Furthermore, despite the inefficiencies and peak demand capacity shortfalls of alternative energy, wind and solar power are still being supported politically, most recently in Florida thru HB 7117 – not yet signed by Governor Scott.
Lillia Dottavi, a Councilwoman in Rome represented Tea Party Italy and spoke of the Italian socialized medical care system which has proven disastrous to both the population and to the budgets of government, noting that eighty percent (80%) of current budgets is for medical care. Lillia commented that Italy has the flag, youth of the country and the senior citizens in common with the American Tea Party.
Blaine Presley, our youngest old timer in the Palm Beach County Tea Party lauded us to “keep up the fight”. Barbara Samuells of 912 Super Seniors spoke of her recent visit as guest of Glenn Beck at Mercury One studios in Dallas and of how gentle and kind a man is Glenn. Barbara spoke to Obama Care’s fallacious “urgency” argument, though 85% of Americans are presently insured and that the only net gain is for 5 to 10 % of the population to become insured (but then where’s the control for Big Government ?). Most of us learned for the first time of Soros and Son’s efforts to fund a giant blitz on the states to pass “popular vote” legislation, doing away with the Electoral College. This is critical, all hands on deck to oppose this !
Pam Wohlschlegel, Head of PBCTP and Florida Director for Tea Party Patriots updated us on statewide initiatives between the Tea Party Patriots organizations and her recent trip to Orlando, see more on this in Pam’s 3/31/2012 post. Pam conveyed her excitement for the upcoming Tax Day Tea Party at the Wellington Amphitheater, Sunday April 15, 2012 as she reviewed the great roster of speakers to include Allen West and Dick Morris among others and to feature the band “LEVEL”.
Barbara Grossman closed out the evening with the declaration of winners for the Restaurant Gift Certificate Raffle. A good time was had by all; the next meeting of the Jupiter/Palm Beach Gardens Chapter of the Palm Beach County Tea Party will be May 7, 2012 at Abacoa Golf Club, 5:30 PM.
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Marielena Stuart In Boca Raton
Despite rather blustery weather with high winds punctuating the start of another night of patriotism from the Palm Beach County Tea Party, we had a great turnout at Boca Greens Country Club on March 6th, for the Boca Chapter’s Monthly Dinner/Speaker. Gracing our podium tonight was Marielena Stuart, a candidate for US Senate from the State of Florida. Her unique perspective as a world traveler, and her upbringing in Cuba and enduring the oppression of Castro, gives her words a LOT of extra emphasis and passion. It was certainly not lost on the 130 people attending, who gave her a standing ovation.
Once again, the food selection at Boca Greens was outstanding, and they even had an “ice cream bar” with someone scooping out portions of ice cream that people could put toppings on themselves. We had no fewer than SIX local restaurants in the Boca area provide us with gift certificates to auction off for our silent auction, which was very successful, just as it was in February. Mel Grossman made the trip from Jupiter to be with us, as did Terry Brady.
Boca Chapter Coordinator Alex Berry began the proceedings at 7:00pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. Carlos Manuel Santana then regaled us with his impassioned version of the National Anthem. After the usual protocol of explaining what the PBCTP is, and what it stands for, Alex made general announcements, and then asked Mel Grossman to come to the podium. Mel had some up-to-date tidbits from newspaper clippings that concern us all. Terry Brady then succeeded him at the podium to go over fundraising, as well as to announce our Tax Day Tea Party Rally in Wellington in April. He announced that Dick Morris has agreed to be the lead speaker. Joe Madej then spoke to us, as he did last month, to explain how our organization will be organizing our poll watching efforts, as well as our Get Out The Vote campaign. Sign-up sheets were on all the tables for that effort.
We had a great turnout from local candidates- Mike Lameyer (FL Senate District 25), Joe Tally (County Sheriff), James Ryan O’Hara (FL House of Representatives), and Anne Trujillo (US House of Representatives) were among the evenings’ attendees, all of whom got a moment to introduce themselves, and what they stood for, before the main speaker was introduced.
Alex then introduced Marielena Stuart, who was accompanied by her family, who all campaign together. Marielena’s perspective on encroaching socialism in our society is perhaps as cogent and strong as anyone in the country. With her background under the Castro regime, watching her relatives face becoming political prisoners, and even DEATH, due to being outspoken regarding Castro’s rise to power, one can tell without any explanation that Marielena MEANS what she says. There was an element to her speech of true human emotion and authenticity that simply cannot be faked—her sincerity was palpable, transcending mere politics. Her positions on nearly all the issues that face us today are as true to the Constitution as anyone who has spoken at one of our events. One can see how much of a threat she represents to the Establishment in politics, since she is not shy about how she would reduce power within the Federal Government, should she be elected.
Marielena then took questions from the crowd, even though we were running later than normal. She and her family were the last people to leave the building, staying and chatting with EVERYONE who wanted an audience with her. If this is not an “approachable” candidate, I don’t know who is.
Several happy raffle prize winners won fine dining experiences throughout Boca, as well as some great Palm Beach County Tea Party Polo Shirts. It was truly an excellent evening—Mrs. Stuart’s message ought to be heard nationwide, not just in a small group dinner setting in Boca. For those of you who missed it, I can only say you missed an exceptional night of involvement in the political process, and irreplaceable fellowship with like-minded folk from all over the county!!!
We look forward to more great meetings in 2012 for our Boca Chapter—please INVITE YOUR FRIENDS to our next event, which will be on April 3rd, 2012!!! Remember—we always have our Boca Chapter Dinner/Speaker event on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month, so mark your calendars! We now have SIX months to make a difference for the next election, so please get involved if you aren’t yet, and STAY involved if you already are!
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Marielena Stuart Anchors the March Jupiter Chapter
“I will take no prisoners – and neither should you.”
With that call to action, Senate candidate Marielena Stuart called on all of us to join the fight against socialism in this country. “It is the eleventh hour in this country, and about to strike midnight”. Having grown up in Cuba, with a father and uncle who fought Castro and were jailed as political prisoners, she knows socialism when she sees it, as the first phase of communism.
In a wide ranging talk that touched on both domestic and foreign policy issues, she drew attention to things that need to be part of the national conversation but have been avoided by the mainstream media and the national candidates:
- Sustainable development (which she associates with international socialism), driven by the UN Agenda 21, is a direct assault on our liberty.
- The Palestinian Authority is not just radical Islamist, it is also Marxist.
- Islamic law and politics are incompatible with our constitution and must be rejected in the US.
- The Department of Education must be cleared out and disinfected – you don’t want these people polluting your children’s minds.
- We must dismantle those federal departments that are obstacles to private sector growth, starting with the worst – the EPA.
It was a red meat speech and right on the money. We were left feeling that if Marielena Stuart is elected to the Senate, the place will never be the same again. Truly a candidate for the times.
In other business, we heard from Mel Grossman on upcoming events including the Tax Day Tea Party in Wellington, Terry Brady on fundraising, Iris Scheibl on the coming forum on How Municipal Elections affect our lives, and Barbara Samuels about the National Rally for Religious Freedom on March 23.
Local candidates for office that were introduced (in addition to Marielena Stuart) were Mike Lameyer (Florida Senate 29), Mary Lynn Magar and Calvin Turnquist (Florida House 82), Joe Talley (County Sheriff), Laura Hanley (County Commission District 1) and Lowell Levine (School Board district 1).
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Where are the Jobs? The Inconvenient Truth!
The Republican Study Committee just came out with an update entitled: “The Stimulus Chart Obama Doesn’t Want You to See”. This committee has take a more accurate and relevant picture of the employment situation in the United States, essentially viewing it from the “labor force participation rate” rather than using the faulty “unemployment rate.” We all know that the unemployment rate is becoming even less indicative of the current situation because of the fact that many long-term unemployed have simply stopped looking for employment and, as such, are no longer counted among the “unemployed.”
Please study this update and create your own 30-second “elevator speech” that will enable you to quickly grab the interest of your friends and family and get them to see that our economy is not improving as is being touted many politicians. In fact, job wise, we are in worse shape than we have been in for 29 years!
Ron DeSantis Educates In Boca Raton
The stage was set for another glorious evening of fellowship and patriotism at Boca Greens Country Club on February 7th, for the Boca Chapter’s Monthly Dinner/Speaker. We welcomed author Ron DeSantis, who had spoken the evening before to an appreciative crowd for our Jupiter Chapter meeting. Only months away from what will be the most critically defining election in the 21st Century for America, it was very healthy to look at our past, our Founding Fathers, and our Constitution, and ask the questions about WHAT KIND of country we want to be moving forward.
A mild, yet overcast twilight welcomed our guests, totaling over 120 people. Our friends at Boca Greens continued to “wow” those who chose to dine with us with a wide array of excellent food. Our co-laborers from Jupiter- including Gary Summers, Terry Brady, and Mel Grossman- made the drive to help our chapter have another successful evening, and we who help organize this from Boca truly appreciate the help, along with the comraderie. Once again, donations to our cause enabled us to have a silent auction, enabling the PBCTP to make better use of the raffle concept to raise much-needed funds.
Boca Chapter Coordinator Alex Berry began the proceedings at 7:00pm with the Pledge of Allegiance. Once all were seated, he then explained who the Tea Party is, and how our organization is set up. Instead of the usual list of announcements, Alex asked Joe Madej to take the podium to explain how our organization will be organizing our poll watching efforts, as well as our Get Out The Vote campaign. Sign-up sheets were on all the tables for that effort. Terry Brady then took the podium to address how we continue to raise funds- not just with the Silent Auction at our Dinner/Speaker events, but also with Gold Parties and other activities. Finally, Mel Grossman livened up the stage with encouragement and inspiration for the task that lies ahead for the Tea Party in America today…
Alex then introduced Ron DeSantis, who was joined at the event by his lovely wife, Casey (an Emmy-winning TV personality in the Jacksonville market). Ron is the author of “Dreams From Our Founding Fathers-First Principles in the Age of Obama”. His speech paralleled much of the same theme of the book, which sharply contrasts the agenda that Barack Obama has, with the key themes surrounding individual liberty and freedom that was so passionately espoused by our Founders. Both informative and jaw-dropping, DeSantis used fresh, “torn from today’s headlines” news and events to illuminate how far we have drifted from the INTENT of the framers of the Constitution. Everything from recent legislation, to Judge Ginsberg’s comment that the US Constitution is not the best thing to use to write a new one for people in Egypt were discussed in juxtaposition to what our Founders actually wrote, thought, and risked their lives for…
After his speech, DeSantis humored the crowd by taking questions for the better part of half an hour- ranging on immigration to the NDAA, and the unique Constitutional perspective on all these things.
The raffle prizes were then drawn, and the evening was concluded—Ron DeSantis took the time to chat with folks till nearly everyone was gone. He had several copies of his books for people who might wish to purchase it, and he was glad to sign the inside sleeve for anyone who wanted it. In all, it was a GREAT evening!
We look forward to more great meetings in 2012 for our Boca Chapter—please INVITE YOUR FRIENDS to our next event, which will be on March 6th, 2012!!! Remember—we always have our Boca Chapter Dinner/Speaker event on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month, so mark your calendars! We now have TEN months to make a difference for the next election, so please get involved if you aren’t yet, and STAY involved if you already are!
Pictures by Alex:
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