On August 7-9, Florida Campaign for Liberty held the first Florida Liberty Summit Conference in Orlando at the Rosen Centre Hotel. Congratulations to everyone who volunteered and participated. The weekend was a fantastic success for Florida C4L thanks to you!
Friday afternoon we had a briefing with Congress Paul for a few of our sponsors, donors, and volunteers. We then held a private sponsor's reception where everyone could meet and spend a little bit of time with Congressman Paul, Tom Woods, and John Tate, President of Campaign for Liberty. FL Senator Carey Baker and FL Representative Scott Plakon were there as well. Senator Baker and Rep Plakon are sponsors of the 3 Freedom Bills which are on Florida C4L's legislative agenda.
As attendees were being seated to our Liberty Celebration they were able to listen to the sounds of Fred Badalli and Soul Funktion. The program was slated to start at 7:00 but we had to wait until about 7:30 because International Drive was backed up for almost a mile with people trying to park. The fire marshal prohibited extra seating, so it was standing room only. The second time the fire marshal checked on us, he estimated that the crowd inside the ballroom and the overflow in the hall was around 1500.
I spoke briefly to update everyone on Florida Campaign for Liberty. John Tate gave a report on the national organization. Representative Scott Plakon talked about the Florida Health Care Freedom Amendment which is an amendment to the Florida Constitution giving every Floridian the right to reject mandated government health care. Senator Baker talked about the Florida Firearms Freedom Act which exempts guns from Federal regulations provided they are manufactured and stay in Florida.
The legislative agenda in 2010 for the Florida Campaign for Liberty is to pass the following three pieces of legislation:
- Health Care Freedom Amendment (HJR 37)
- Florida Firearms Freedom Act (HB 21)
- State Sovereignty Memorial (HM 19)
Congressman Paul then proceeded to electrify the audience as he gave an update on Audit the Fed and explained to willing listeners why we need to be consistent with the limited government message. Several people commented that this was one of his best speeches ever.
On Saturday and Sunday, grassroots activists participated in our political training, including such classes as The Real Nature of Politics, Tactical Skills, Building Coalitions, Fundraising, Recruiting Candidates, and Parliamentary Procedure. Once again, it was standing room only. Thanks to Kirk Shelley, Peter Gemma, and Louis Rose. Sunday afternoon was a networking opportunity for Florida C4L members. We announced the formal formation of Florida Campaign for Liberty. John Baeza (Region 5) and Stephen Curtis (Region 15) will assist me as Assistant State Coordinators. Our goal is to make Florida Campaign for Liberty a model for the other 49 States.
Our Saturday evening Liberty Banquet was filled up. Tom Woods was the keynote speaker. He talked for about an hour and spent an additional 40 minutes answering questions from the audience. Our time ran a little over on the room, but it was well worth it. Tom Woods is a great, informative speaker.
The Florida Liberty Summit was a huge success. The attendance was a testament that the Freedom Movement is even stronger today than during the Ron Paul Presidential Campaign. Florida Campaign for Liberty left a lasting impression and many, many people are following our lead to bring change to our country and state.
Thanks once again to everyone who put in so much time and effort to make the Florida Liberty Summit such a resounding success. In fact the Summit was so successful that in the coming months we will be talking about Liberty Summit 2.0.
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In Liberty,
Mark Cross
State Coordinator
Florida Campaign for Liberty
Mark.Cross@CamplolaignForLiberty.com
