In early September Convention of States New Jersey lost one of the most dedicated members of our team with the passing of Elisa Best, Legislative Liaison and State Content Writer.
Speaking with Elisa’s District Captain Murn Myers from District 8 reminded me of the quote, “Well-behaved women rarely make history.” Murn spoke about Elisa’s passion for COS and how she overcame her initial hesitancy to take on the legislative role, becoming a determined advocate for the mission in our blue state of New Jersey.
Elisa focused on following the Constitution as she and Murn took a leap of faith and bravely met with elected representatives. This process provided a wonderful learning opportunity for them both as they grew in confidence and realized that our legislators are just people too. COS team members build each other up in the battle, and Elisa’s great sense of humor led to her “Lucy” providing valuable guidance to Murn’s “Linus” with just the right mix of seriousness and silliness.
Murn’s best memory of Elisa is seeing her joy when meeting people from all over New Jersey at COSFest 21. Murn stated that Elisa was ahead of her time and had the right ideas and vision for running a team. She will miss Elisa’s inspiring support of the COS mission, her love for teaching the legislative side of the movement and her wonderful writing.
Regional Captain Jim Collinsworth first met Elisa at a petition signing event at Columbus Farmers Market, and he fondly recalled their lengthy conversation and how he immediately recognized Elisa’s strengths and her passion for the movement. Jim suggested the State Content Writer role to Elisa, and she gradually eased into it and grew into a prolific contributor to the blog.
Elisa also took on the role of sending emails and notices through Citizen Builder and was very helpful on the legislative side of COS. Jim states that Elisa kept him motivated and inspired, and that she raised the bar for citizen activism through her tremendous passion for Convention of States.
Legislative Liaison Carlo Nardone’s best memory of Elisa was working with her on compiling a list of typical questions legislators might ask about Article V. They looked at state budget issues to formulate the argument in favor of a Convention of States. Carlo admired Elisa’s ability to position herself with representatives from both parties and to take a balanced approach to the task.
Carlo recalled that Elisa was always in a good mood, and he said her positive and hopeful attitude also gave him hope in working towards a Convention of States. Elisa’s encouragement to her COS team members was invaluable.
When State Director Chris Garzino thinks of Elisa, he remembers her great passion and support for Convention of States. Elisa took her role of State Content Writer seriously and strove for accuracy and truth in conveying the message across New Jersey. Chris is also thankful for Elisa’s invaluable help with training on the legislative side, empowering people to be comfortable with the process of meeting their elected representatives.
Elisa inspired Chris and all of us to work harder and get it right, to do a more thorough job in whatever volunteer position we may hold. He stated that her passing is a great loss to the New Jersey team and that it will be difficult to find another volunteer as supportive and active as Elisa.
She will be hard to replace. Anyone who has ever met Elisa will surely agree. Please join us in praying for her family in their time of loss, and be inspired by Elisa’s legacy to strive for excellence every day.
