Well, we all knew this day was coming, but few of us expected it would happen so quickly: We finally outgrew Tara's house.
On April 17th, 2021, Convention of States New Jersey ("COSNJ") held our quarterly strategy meeting at Regional Captain Tara Fleming's house. Tara has graciously hosted the last several quarterly meetings at her home, along with other events.
With each event, the crowd grew a little larger until this particular get-together where COSNJ had a record attendance of over 50 state leaders and volunteers.
Those who showed up even 15 minutes early were obliged to park a ways from the house, as all the nearby parking was already taken by other volunteers who showed up even earlier. Previous meetings had taken place inside the home, but this time, the group was so large, we had to meet outside.
After the initial introductions and a readout of the events over the past month, the team discussed two big agenda items: election season in New Jersey and the upcoming "Trenton Day."
Here in New Jersey, the meeting coincided with primary season. As an organization devoted to self and local governance, the leadership stressed the importance of being involved, of voting, of letting the candidates know where we as citizens stand on COS, and of running for office ourselves. There was an exceptionally strong focus on getting involved in party committees to ensure COS supporters have an outsized say in choosing their given party's candidates.
The next big topic of discussion was "Trenton Day." Originally planned to take place in (you guessed it) Trenton, it quickly became apparent the COVID restrictions and unpredictability around that would make an event in Trenton difficult to plan.
Accordingly, the event and the purpose for the event would be completely reimagined. At the meeting, the team brainstormed ideas for a venue and new proposed dates. District Captain Eric Williamson connected with a local pastor through involvement in his town's politics, and suggested that pastor may be willing to host our event at his church.
(Ultimately, Pastor Dominick Cuozzo and the Bible Baptist Church in New Egypt, New Jersey graciously hosted COSNJ for COSFEST, and having that venue enabled possibilities not otherwise available.)
The COSNJ team was incredibly fortunate to have the former NJ grassroots coordinator, Bill Boniface, in attendance as well. We thank him for taking the time to come, for having worked so hard to build the team into what it is, and for staying in the fight even after having moved away.
Special thanks to Regional Captain Tara Fleming for being such a great host and to State Videographer Donald MacLeay for the photography.
