Our young Oceana Tea Party took a couple of steps on the road to adulthood this last week.
(click on any pics to enlarge)
First we had an Independence Day Picnic which was free to all. There were about 50 people attending at any given time and perhaps up to 100 total passing through. This was an important step for our Tea Party for two reasons.
The first was that we were out in the community spreading the word and the second was that the whole affair was put on by a volunteer and not by the leadership. This was a "We the People" type of thing. I even got my hand slapped for interfering. Oh well I deserved it. The bottom line is it came off without a hitch and the food and money was donated by local businesses and individuals.
The Chair of the Event Rebecca Wentzloff is pictured in the band below along with her daughter and her husband on base. The drummer was a volunteer also.
Peter J. Konetchy came to our event along with his wife drumming up support for his bid to "Dump Debbie" and take back a US Senate seat. Mr. Konetchy has proven to be a true conservative the few times that I had met him and that day he didn't disappoint.
At the event, we also had a speaker from a Florida Tea Party, and our State Senator
Goeff Hansen along with
State Rep. Jon Bumstead filled us in on the battles being fought in Lansing.
My battery on my camera died so I didn't take many pics.
That all happened on Saturday July 2nd.
July 4th was a day of parades; I carpooled with our vice Chair Tom Allison and a friend from Muskegon to save some gas as the parades were in Whitehall and then later in Ludington.
The Whitehall parade was nice as usual but when we got to the Ludington parade I was staggered. There must have been 10,000 people. The parade took at least a half hour just to pass by. The route was about a mile long with people constantly lining the sides 5-10 deep and more on the corners. We decided to march with Sen. Hansen and we had quite a nice group in Hansen T shirts as the pictures above show.
Congressman Bill Huizenga and his family and crew were there also. It was a huge parade.
Like I said it was a busy week.
Yesterday the 6th of July was our Oceana Tea Party regular monthly meeting; always on the 1st Wed of the Month at 7pm. This was the first time we held our meeting at our new digs. The Historic Districts "Heritage Hall" bldg. Our members all seemed to like the place due to its size and the tables and chairs. This is a bldg that we can grow into.
This was the second step I was talking about for the Tea Party. Our agenda for the meeting was full. Rebecca gave a quick rundown on her successful efforts for the picnic. Then Ted McKissack gave an update on the limited Census form that he has been tracking down. All thought that this was indeed an encroachment of the federal government into the private lives of its citizens. Going way past its duty as specified in the Constitution. We are forming a committee to look into what action we can take as a group or perhaps a coalition of groups to cut back on the Census.
Our next speaker was Senator Goeff Hansen who gave a run down on the budget battles that have been going on in Lansing and the progress they have been making. Next State Representative Jon Bumstead added to what Goeff Hansen had said and they both answered many questions from our group.
Our last guest speaker was
Amy Hawkins, Executive Director of
Citizens for Traditional Values out of Lansing. Amy with the energy of youth was able to fire up our group as only a young vital sincere person can. She talked of the importance of networking and of getting involved at the local level.
She talked also of getting the youth involved. She told of the importance of getting people on the school boards. Amy tied in the networking idea with Ted's Census issue and suggested trying to get other Tea Parties involved also. Both Goeff and Amy alluded to the idea the we the people are the ones that need to do the heavy lifting.
These were the themes the Tea Party has been pushing since we started and they all seemed to come together last night through our speakers, membership and our new Hall.
Today the 7th, I went to a fundraiser for Representative Jon Bumstead in Pentwater. There were as many MEA picketers outside as people inside. Actually it was a nice turnout for both sides. I went outside and talked with a couple of the union people. They were nice enough however they didn't like my "Dump Debbie" button. I asked them who printed their nice signs, they didn't answer. Oh well you can't make everyone happy and talking of that. Mary Valentine was there passing around a petition -- ??? Is she running for something? the 91st again? I went to ask her, but she turned around and quickly walked away.
Below are some pictures from inside of the Bumstead fundraiser. The guest speaker was the young
Jase Bolger who is the Speaker of the Mi. House. I came away knowing better why he is the speaker at such a young age. The man is sharp and quick on his feet. An asset to be sure and we will see him in the future of the Republican Party.
Senate Candidate Peter Konetchy was there along with his wife also and I had a chance to talk with him some more. Rumor has it that Andy Sebolt our own secretary of the Tea Party has become Mr. Konetchy's interim campaign manager. Good job Andy.
As I say one thing leads to another and the next week will be filled also with a meeting to flesh out what the OTP can do with Ted's Census issue and tomorrow I'm going to a fundraiser for Ray Franz who will have a favorite of mine as a speaker, Lt. Governor Brian Calley.
Then also on the 11th is my Township Meeting (Newfield) . There will be fireworks there I can feel it.
Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative
