Last Saturday, in a hotel just outside Philadelphia, representatives from five states gathered together and planned how to save America.
The COS Northeast Regional Summit last weekend saw attendance from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Delaware, and of course, Maryland. The mission was to discuss strategy, celebrate success, overcome shortcomings, and expand the grassroots teams to pass the Article V Resolution.
The two-day event was a big success, mostly thanks to National team members Cyndi Franco, Steve Patten, and Mike Arnold, who made sure everyone stayed on-schedule and well-fed.
Friday morning saw both new and familiar faces gather in the hotel lobby to socialize.
A good twenty people had arrived by 1:00, when it was time for the first major event. We all piled into a half-dozen cars and headed off to Philadelphia to see the Museum of the American Revolution!
The first display was George Washington’s actual war tent, preserved since 1776! Being 6'3", he probably still had to duck to get into it.
An actual newspaper printing of the Declaration of Independence, mere weeks after it was first written.
The Liberty Tree. Patriots from across the colonies would use these trees as symbols and meeting places. The last one, a piece of which is pictured below, stood in Annapolis until 1999. The COS Maryland team intends to replant the Liberty Tree as a continuing symbol of our fight for freedom and self-governance.
After a lengthy tour of the museum and a hearty dinner, the group headed back to the hotel for some socializing. We couldn’t stay up too late, though, since the next day’s activities would start first thing in the morning!
Breakfast was served at 7:30 AM, and the COS group had a whole room to ourselves. Good thing, too, because it was filled almost to capacity!
Illinois State Director David Winters opened the event with prayer, asking GOD for protection and guidance as we strove to save America. Then National staffers Cyndi Franco, Steve Patten, and Mike Arnold led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Betsy Ross flag. Afterward, the state teams congregated to root out our greatest strength and greatest difficulty, presenting our findings to the other teams after a 15-minute workshop. Iron sharpening iron!
Maryland’s own Steve Patten then introduced the featured speaker, Mr. Rick Santorum
Santorum advised the grassroots on how best to communicate and build relationships with legislators, a key factor in passing the COS resolution.
After lunch, which of course, featured the iconic Philly cheesesteaks, the state teams once again congregated to list achievements we’d accomplished over the year, and a call-to-action that would issued upon returning home.
Each team again presented their findings in front of the group. Here is Maryland State Director Maria Bedard:
After a long day of strategizing, socializing, and brainstorming, the summit was officially concluded at 3:30 PM. Though some had to depart for the airport, many stayed for several hours afterward to continue socializing and networking. This is a common occurrence at COS events, where Americans of like-mind from all over the country gather together, and are reluctant to part ways again. It is a culture of engagement, encouragement, patriotism and hope.
Few organizations can boast of the same spirit that COS is blessed to have. It is the spirit that will carry us across the finish line to passing the first-ever Article V Convention of States, and the one that will carry us far beyond to build and maintain the largest engaged army of self-governing grassroots activists America has ever seen.
The Convention is coming.
