LPB Float in Melbourne Parade!

Richard Hall, member of the Libertarian Party of Brevard (LPB) Membership Committee, had placed an advertisement in a local newspaper for our party in mid-June.  A few days later, the coordinator for the Melbourne Independence Day Parade called him and asked that our party participate in their parade on July 3.  We were delighted to oblige, but under such short notice, we had to act quickly.  We had less than two weeks to gather volunteers and materials and build a float!  Fortunately, a HUGE garage sale the previous month had netted the LPB enough hard cash to finance the deal without breaking the LPB bank balance.  Attendees at the annual LPB business meeting on June 27 provided the source for volunteers to prepare parade items the following week.

The LPB constructed a large and very solid plywood box billboard sign and had a professional artist paint it.  One member generously offered his pickup truck as the LPB float, so the new billboard had a home in the parade.  The LPB printed hundreds of double-sided flyers advocating VOTE LIBERTARIAN and VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 11 FOR BALLOT ACCESS, and included local party contact information on those flyers.

Two members rented costumes to dress as Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam, while numerous others helped to distribute the flyers as well as buckets of candy.

All in all, the LPB participation in the parade proved successful at placing the Libertarian message -- lower taxes, smaller government -- in front of hundreds of people, and promoted knowledge of the need for easier ballot access.  Now that the LPB has a permanent billboard for display, we will assertively seek participation in future local parades.

Many thanks to all who participated in the parade: John and Ann Cornett, Walt and Jennifer Rouch, Tony and Su-Le Kantz, Lee McLamb and family, David Hobbs and family, Jerry Driscoll, Luke and Leslie Setzer, and all others who lent a hand.

Executive Committee Activities
June 1998

During the month of June, the Executive Committee (ExComm) met on June 1 and June 15, having decided on June 1 to begin meeting on both the first and third Mondays of each month.  Issues discussed during those meetings included: Nominations for the 1998-1999 ExComm officers, development of the July mailout, telephone tree for contacting members about the upcoming business meeting, membership outreach, ExComm elections management, Proposition 11 education, and requirements for membership in the LPB.  Preparations were made for a smooth annual business meeting to be conducted on June 27.  The newly elected ExComm officers for 1998-1999 are:

Chair: Lee McLamb
Vice Chair: David Hobbs
Secretary: Luke Setzer
Treasurer: John Cornett

Local News
June 1998
Published Letters to the Editor

Several letters by local Libertarians were published in June in the Florida Today.  Ross Nordeen printed a letter blasting the current, self-defeating proposal to increase radically the taxes on tobacco on June 9.  Mark Gibb published a scathing critique of politicians' current treatment of children as the "new political commodity" on June 26.  Tracy King, with the help of Chuck Avey, soundly devastated the entire government-schooling concept on June 29, earning his letter status as "Letter of the Day".  In the June 15-21 edition of the national newspaper The Washington Times, Richard Hall published a letter warning readers not to get excited about the so-called federal "budget surplus".

Media Attention

Work is underway to get local Libertarians to send their names and photographs to the Florida Today for publication in their regular "Your Views" article.  The Florida Today keeps this information on file and contacts those folks at random to solicit their opinions on local issues.  Their responses are then published along with their names and pictures.

July 1998
Calendar of Events

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