Convention of States volunteers from across North Carolina met at the Hope Presbyterian Church, in Winston-Salem.
The reason for the January 27 meeting was to give volunteers the opportunity to meet each other face to face and receive some valuable training. Later, they attended a town hall meeting with nearly 70 patriots, including a state legislator.
The three-hour training session included a variety of topics, from building the grassroots movement to meeting with legislators to promoting Convention of States. It also covered how to properly represent Convention of States at public events and town hall meetings.
State Director Mike Faulkenberry kicked the session off by discussing the need for building a grassroots army of self-governing citizens.
He also shared the progress we've made and the importance of passing the Convention of States resolution in the state legislature. This was a hot topic that fired up the volunteers. Then the roles each volunteer plays in achieving that milestone were discussed. 
Legislative Liasion Gary Lions discussed the status of the resolution in the North Carolina legislature. He briefed the team on supporters and opponents. He discussed how volunteers can request and conduct meetings with legislators.
Rick Manzer, the State Communications Coordinator, and Barry Stanton, the State Media Liaison, described different methods the communications team uses to spread the word with digital and traditional mass media.
Two of the most important discussions of the day were about Convention of States supporters and prospective volunteers. Mike Westrich, our Coalition Director, gave a presentation on how to successfully recruit petition signers and volunteers.
Then, Jane Cookson, our Followup Team Coordinator, discussed how to keep new volunteers engaged. When the project is fresh in their minds, they are most interested in helping.
Grassroots Coordinators Greg Hall and Jeff Martin talked about the growth of supporters and volunteers in the state and how that has contributed to the 3.2 million national supporters. They also demonstrated administrative tools to be used by the volunteers.
Greg also demonstrated how to set up and run a Convention of States booth for fairs, gun shows, and other public events. Many new petition signers are recruited through these community opportunities. 
Jeff Groh and Glen Englram instructed the group on how to set up a town hall meeting. Then invited them to attend an actual public event they had set up for that evening. Nearly 70 local patriots attended. North Carolina state representative Dennis Riddell (NC 64) also addressed the group.
It was a very productive day for the North Carolina volunteers that were able to make it to Winston-Salem for the training. The team enjoyed putting faces to voices.
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