Traveling up to 10 hours or more and approximately 4,739 miles to Orlando, COS Team Hawai'i led by State Director Mark White hit the ground running at the 2022 Convention of States Reclaiming Liberty Summit.
Day 1 Team Photo
(Front Row L-R: Paul Macri, Julie Yamato, Jolanda Kahele, Alberto Lono, Tamara McKay Mark White)
(Back Row L-R: James Ray, Brett Kulbis, Dennis Denton, Sheryl Bieler, Robert Fitzgibbons)
Sporting their patriotic Aloha shirts and traditional Hawaiian Kukui Nut Leis, the 10 members of COS Team Hawaii (State Director Mark White, State Grassroots Coordinator Brett Kulbis, State Events Coordinator Sheryl Bieler, Maui Regional Grassroots Coordinator Tamara McKay, District Captain Robert Fitzgibbons, District Captain Julie Yamato, District Captain Team Jolanda-Mae Kahele, District Captain Alberta Lono, District Captain Paul Macri, and District Captain Jim Ray) made a lasting and memorable impression on every patriot they met, from the host state of Florida to Alaska and every state in between. Of note, Team Hawai'i doubled the number of attendees from the 2019 Summit.
The 2022 Summit was a COS milestone with 600+ grassroots leaders from all 50 states assembled to participate in one of the best-run, best-organized conferences attended by any member of the team.
"This year’s Summit was the first time most of the Hawai'i team got the chance to interact with so many dedicate grassroots volunteers all across America. With 10 of us from such a remote location, the Summit was an invaluable opportunity to build our team’s family unity, our ‘Ohana’," said SD Mark White.
"As one of only two members who attended the 2019 Summit, my most important goal I wanted the team to do was to meet others attending and build those relationships," said SCG Brett Kulbis. "I can enthusiastically report MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!"
Day 2 Morning Plenary Session
(L-R: Jolanda Kahele, Alberta Lono, Sheryl Bieler, Paul Macri, James Ray, Mark White)
Alberta Lono DC summed it up nicely for the whole team. "My experience with my first COS Summit meeting was more than I had expected. The first thing I wanted to do was meet people in person that I only see on zoom or webinar. I was happy to see Dennis Denton, Andrew Lusch, Ginny Rapini, Chris Thomas, Jonathan Viaud and Jason Girard. I was excited to see Mark Meckler, Rita Peters, Rick Green and his son Reagan, LTC Allen West, Mike Farris, Mark Levin and David Barton. All their messages were astounding to listen to. These are people that love God and have Him first in their lives. It was exciting to meet new people from every state. I was interviewed by one of the interns as too why I became a COS supporter. I told her it's because of my grandchildren and great grandchildren who I am fighting for their freedom and for generations to come. I will be in this fight till we have 34 States to call Article V Convention of States and 38 states to ratify."
With a who's who list of COS friends at the National level speaking, each of them provided motivating and inspirational words of wisdom that rejuvenated everyone, including:
- Senator Rick Santorum, COS Senior Advisor
- Col George Mason - Founding Father of Article V
- James O'Keefe - Founder & President of Project Veritas
- LTC Allen West - Executive Director of the American Constitutional Rights Union
- Steve Deace - BlazeTV Host
- Rick Green - Founder Patriot Academy
- Matt & Mecedes Schlapp - CPAC Chairman and Director
- David Barton - Founder of Wallbuilders
- Michael Farris - COS Co-Founder & Former CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom
- Dave Rubin - Host of Rubin Report
The many workshops put on by the COS National Staff provided valuable information from how to build your grassroots army to engaging with legislators with topics such as:
- How to Effectively Recruit, Onboard/Vet, & Train Activists
- Building Relationships with Legislators
- Building a Thriving District
- Servant Leadership
- Activism in Your Pocket: The COS Action App and TelePatriot
- Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: How to Influence a Legislator
The three days of activities culminated at the Saturday evening Reclaiming Liberty Leadership Banquet with Mark Levin, and proved to be another highlight of the Summit. Mark Levin brought down the house in his amazing and motivating speech.
Tamara McKay and The Great One
Saturday's banquet presentations included announcement of the COS Voices contest winner, national awards given out to several state and region leaders and culminated in a very joyful George Mason/Tom Coburn Lifetime Achievement Award given to Co-Founder Michael Farris for his incredible commitment to Convention of States, and who is returning to the COS family.
The speaker presentations are still available to be viewed on the Convention of States website HERE!
For more photos of the team at the Summit click HERE!
You too can be part of the COS Team Hawai'i ‘ohana’ by volunteering HERE! Join us and help defend Hawai’i and our Nation. We can't wait any longer, we have a country to save!
