President's Corner

June 29, 2006

Message from the President

Recent FSP Activity

1. Digg it! - Cary, the genius behind our successful $50 per month pledge (you can still sign up here) figured out a new and successful way to spread the word about the FSP. I uncovered an article from a couple of months ago which he submitted to digg.com. It's getting quite a few diggs and one person has already signed the First 1000 pledge as a result! Want to help? Go here for instructions and details: http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?topic=12079.0

2. Vans Warped Tour – Another great grass roots activism program is the Vans Warped Tour outreach. Keith coordinates it and needs more help. They've had recent successes including new participants and friends signed up last week in Kansas City. Great job guys! More info here: http://forum.freestateproject.org/index.php?topic=11680.15

3. Survey – Thanks to the well over 500 people who completed the FSP's survey. I have reviewed preliminary results with our PR firm and what we learned was part expected and part a surprise. All of what we learned will be very valuable in tailoring our message to our target audience and bringing in more participants. The survey is still open, so if you haven't taken it, please take 5 minutes and do so here: http://freestateproject.org/survey .

4. Photos Needed – Did you take photos at the 2006 Porcupine Freedom Festival? We just started a photo gallery for you to upload your photos to here: http://freestateproject.org/gallery/pf2006/ Share your best Porc Fest photos here. They'll be available for all to see just how cool Porc Fest is and will be available to the FSP for publicity purposes, including use on the FSP website and in other promotional materials (print, video, etc.).

5. Cookoff – One of the highlights of the Porc Fest was the Liberty Ladies cookoff. Sandy called it “a scavenger hunt with food!” Congrats to Jenn who won the $400 cash grand prize! There's a neat story behind it all in the Porc Fest review. Look for it soon in the essays section.

6. Pledgebank Fundraising – Our fundraising pledge was successful! The FSP not only met the challenge posted by Cary, but exceeded it by over 30% Way to go! Thanks to Peter (#40), Tony (#50), Edi (for making #50 a reality in one day!), and especially to Cary for getting it all started. The pledge closes tomorrow! It's not to late to join! Go here to pledge $50 a month to the FSP so we can continue recruiting new participants: http://pledgebank.com/fspdonate

7. Speeches – At least two Porc Fest 2006 speeches will be posted to the FSP's essays section. If you missed the fest but want to read the speeches, here's your chance! The President's Welcome, a message of hope, is posted to the essays section. The Founder's Welcome will be posted shortly.

8. Porc Fest '07 – The Porcupine Freedom Festival will be back again next summer. Dates and locations are to be determined but it will have the same casual look and feel as previous years. Rich Goldman is leading the organizational effort and can be reached at porcfest@freestateproject.org. Russell Kanning will be assisting Rich and the two of them will need lots of additional help. Please offer them your best assistance so we can make Porc Fest '07 the biggest libertarian gathering... of the decade!

9. NH Liberty Forum – I'm pleased to announce the FSP will be hosting not one, but two events in 2007! As a counterpart to the casual, summertime Porcupine Freedom Festival, we're kicking off the first annual New Hampshire Liberty Forum. Though we haven't confirmed absolutely for certain that we can get it organized for 2007, our lead organizer believes it's a very good possibility. Irena Goddard is in charge and can be reached at libertyforum@freestateproject.org. In order to make it happen, she and her team (which includes sidekick Jeff Jordan) will need lots of help. This event is likely to be in February '07 at a hotel, most likely in Concord, but exact dates and locations will be announced soon. The mission is the same as Porc Fest – a showcase of New Hampshire for the purpose of attracting libertarian activists here. The style will be very different though – more formal, hotel, conventionesque, and ... wintry! Perfect for those wondering if it's even possible to survive during the winter in NH (psst – it is! Come see for yourself!). More details to come here and elsewhere on the FSP website.

10. New Movers –  Last Corner, I reported on two groups of early movers. I have two excellent pieces of news! First, both groups did, indeed, arrive and were at Porc Fest (I didn't get to meet the 'Dartmouth area' family, but I spent some time with the others). The second piece of good news is that those two groups represent not two, not three, not even four, but five (!!!) early movers! Welcome to all of you! I expect to report on more new ones in the next corner!