FreedomFest 2005 Report

VetsCoR website ^ | 05/18/05 | Neil E. Wright

[Neil E. Wright]

FreedomFest 2005

After Action Report

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VetsCoR Booth
Note: Click on each image in this report to view it full size.

Our friends at Penny Press

I left VetsCoR HQ at approximately 15:15 (MST) on Wednesday afternoon. With me I had the materials for our booth (TV and DVD player, laptop computer, pocket constitutions, 65 CDs, the banners). The trip to Las Vegas was uneventful, and I checked into the Lady Luck Hotel/Casino at approximately 18:00 (PDT).

Upon reaching my quarters in the hotel, I called our local member (Mike) and arranged to meet him and another vet (Rick) at Bally's at 07:30 the next morning.

On Thursday, I got my wake-up call from the hotel operator at 06:30 and showered and dressed. Due to traffic, I didn't actually arrive at Bally's until 07:50. I went up to the Young America's Foundation (YAF) registration booths outside the Pacific Room to check in and get our FreedomFest badges. When I arrived at the Pacific Room, the workers were still setting up the booth areas, and I was advised that it would be 11:00 or so before we could start setting up our booth. I went downstairs and got a cup of coffee and started looking for Mike and Rick.

Mike and Rick arrived at about 09:45, and I advised them of the wait till we could set up. We departed the area of the Pacific Room and went over to the inhouse Cafe for breakfast. After breakfest, we went back to the Pacific Room to check on the progress of the workers. The room was still not set up, but Mike offered to stay at our booth area and see if he could get one of the workers to complete our area so we could begin setting up, while Rick and I went to VetsCoR1 to start unloading the booth materials.

We had the booth set up, finally, about 12:30. Since FreedomFest wasn't scheduled to actually start until 14:00, we wandered the exhibit hall and chatted with other exhibiters, until Mike got a call from the VA Clinic, that he and Rick had to report for pre-operation blood tests. Mike and Rick departed about 13:45.

When FreedomFest finally got underway, I manned the booth until about 18:00, playing our Support the Troops video CD and chatting with attendees.

On Friday, I arrived at Bally's about 07:30. YAF organizers and Bally's had a very nice breakfast buffet laid out. I helped myself to some fruit and coffee and turned the TV and DVD player on and fired up the laptop so attendees could see what the Portraits pages looked like.

Our good friend Fred Weinberg, editor of the Penny Press, had his booth just down from us. Fred got a couple of pics of the booth, and he promised to email them to me. The Penny Press is THE conservative paper in Las Vegas, and I had a great time talking to Fred when he wasn't running around taking pictures. Fred's website is at www.pennypresslv.com.

After the morning breakfast/session at 08:00 the attendees went to other rooms for various workshops and floor traffic fell to almost nothing, so I started chatting with other exhibitors. Directly across from the VetsCoR booth, a grassroots group working to draft Condi Rice in '08 had set up. Their website is at www.AmericansforRice.com.

Some other friends with booths were College of the Ozarks (www.cofo.edu), the Freedom Alliance (www.freedomalliance.org), the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute (www.cblpolicyinstitute.org) (where Ted Nugent had a book signing, right across from our booth), and Citizens United (www.citizensunited.org) among many others.

This is the booth were Ted Nugent had his book signing, right across from our booth

The noon talk in the Pacific Room was supposed to be given by Wayne LaPierre of the NRA, but he had to leave and return home so the talk about the Second Amendment was given by Ted Nugent. During his talk he expressed his UNDIEING SUPPORT for our Armed Forces, and quipped that when he visited our troops in Iraq, he "was the only entertainer to visit Iraq, who carried his own machine gun". After he concluded his talk, he and his lovely wife went to the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute booth to sign copies of their book "Kill It and Grill It". At the end of the book signing, I went over and gave him a copy of our Video Cd, a Pocket Constitution, one of our brochures and my card and thanked him for his support of our Armed Forces and Veterans. Mr. Nugent, if you should happen to read this report, THANK YOU AGAIN, FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF OUR ARMED FORCES AND VETERANS.

Americans for Condi Rice's booth

Later in the afternoon, I was approached by Charles Heller, a radio talkshow host at station KVOI in Tucson, who wanted to schedule a radio interview about VetsCoR. That 30 minute radio interview will be at 13:00 (MST) on July 3.

I started taking down the booth and packing things up at about 17:30, since I had a gun show to attend on Saturday, and was on the way home at 18:15. The trip back was uneventful and I arrived home at about 21:00. As always, it was GREAT to be around FREEDOM LOVING people.

Our friends at College of the Ozarks

 

 

[Neil E. Wright]

As always, it's GREAT to spend time with people who support FREEDOM and LIBERTY and CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE and the REPUBLIC!

[Neil E. Wright]

Some good stuff happened in Lost Wages last week .... :)

±

"The Era of Osama lasted about an hour, from the time the first plane hit the tower to the moment the General Militia of Flight 93 reported for duty."
Toward FREEDOM

[firewalk]

Thanks for the ping
(& for the report)
bttt

[Eastbound]

Good report, Neil! Much gratitude for your dedication and efforts on behalf of our Country, our troops and veterans, and VetsCor!

[Jim Robinson]

Great job Neil!! And great report!!

[Enterprise]

Good bless you sir.

[DLfromthedesert]

You met Charles Heller!! Isn't he a great guy?

[JustAmy]

Thanks for the ping, Jim.

Thanks for the report and the pictures, Neil.

Thank you for supporting our military and our veterans.

God Bless our Military, Past and Present!!

[Fiddlstix]

[Taxman]

Taxman Bravo Zulu!

[Diver Dave]

Great Report for a job well done.

Thank You for VetsCoR and all you are doing to bring honor to our Veterans and members of the Armed Forces.

May God Bless You.

Salute!