Letter Re Kentucky GOOOH (Get out of our house)

Dear Kentucky GOOOH member:

(long but please read the “new and exciting section below” and remember – if you can get a handful of people together, I will come there and explain the GOOOH plan!)

November will be just the beginning.  The political and economic news is increasingly disturbing and we must be ready to catch the next wave of voter interest that appears to be building.  Even though summer has slowed our efforts, it’s time to get back in the saddle.

For the record, we have about 1200 GOOOH members statewide right now, yes twelve hundred.

There are a couple of things that we must address as a state organization.

The first is that our “Meetup.com” groups in Districts 2, 3, and 6 are about to expire.  If you’re not familiar with these groups, go to goooh.com and click Kentucky on the map to see each of the meetup groups.  Our original KY director, Laura Watkins organized those groups as part of a national GOOOH effort to combine the Meetup groups and Facebook sites in a social networking initiative.  Currently District 2 has 18 members, District 3 has 55 members, and District 6 has 30 members.  Each of those Meetup groups cost $72 for six months.

I think that we should try to maintain these sites for at least another six months and I will chip in the first $6 for each of the Districts.  If 11 more people from each district will join me, we can keep these groups.  If you contribute toward the groups but we don’t raise the entire $72, I will assume that the will of the members has been expressed and we will let the Meetup groups lapse.  Your contributions then will go into the general fund.  Everyone who contributes to Goooh will get an invitation to view the Google Doc that I use to track contributions and expenses.  100% of all contributions go back into literature, signs, etc. We have 12 days left on the Meetup Groups so if you want to keep the meetup sites, mail a check to me, Rod Smothers 5108 Carriage Pointe Court, Crestwood, KY 40014.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING NEW AND EXCITING.  A couple of weeks ago, GOOOH founder Tim Cox emailed me about a movement that started in Kentucky called Vacation Liberty School.  You may have seen this on Beck….he interviewed the founder.

Tim wanted to know if there is some way that we could get involved in this effort.

Ironically, I am already involved in a similar effort.  I told Tim about it and he said that we should try it as a State organization to see if it will fly nationwide.  Here’s the short version:

Ten years ago, I got involved in Revolutionary War re-enacting.  After learning a lot about the founding of the country, I thought the re-enacting community should increase efforts to educate the public and especially our children.  A group of us created a non-profit and started hosting a re-enactment in Louisville in conjunction with Metro Parks.   Last year we added a school day to our event and had about 300 kids, this year we expect 500-600.  We have applied (last year) for a History Channel grant to provide $10,000 worth of Rev War/Colonial era clothing and equipment for students in the Louisville area.  Apparently, that grant has been discontinued; probably another victim of the economy.  However, the plans are all in place and await only the necessary funding.  The grant required us to identify local educators with whom we could work and to submit a complete plan for the project…including locating vendors who could make the childrens clothing.  The project would include contests of 18th century skills, essays on the founding principles, speeches by students, discussions of the structure of the US Government, Powerpoint presentations on the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, drawings of the Founding Fathers, and maps of the growth of the nation, and much more.  All these efforts would culminate in a final re-enactment event at which the kids would wear their Rev War clothing, present all their work and receive recognition for excellence in many different categories.

The hook with this project is the hand-on nature of the activities.  There’s a difference in listening to a talking head in a classroom and actually performing an 18th century skill in period clothing while hearing discussions on the meaning of liberty and freedom.  Kids do not forget these lessons.

We have a complete plan in place.  There is obviously an interest in the “Vacation Liberty School” concept….especially with the mood of the country right now.  All we require is the will and the resources to make this happen.  If you are intested in supporting what we’re doing in Louisville as a pilot program or in setting up your own similar program in your school district, let’s talk about it.  Please send to anyone else you know that might be interested.

Our non-profit, The Falls Landing Foundation, Inc is a 501c3 corporation which does not even pay expenses of the officers and directors…all are involved in a sacrificial way.  All contributions go toward our mission.

If this project ever gets off the ground, I would love to be able to say that Kentucky’s GOOOH members provided funding.  That would help with promoting GOOOH and it will certainly raise awareness of our Nation’s founding.  There’s no reason why this effort can’t expand to every school district in the country.

www.fallslanding.org

PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP ON OUR EFFORTS.  I JUST FINISHED GINGRICH’S BOOK ABOUT WASHINGTON AT TRENTON.  PLEASE READ IT.  HIS MEN BLED IN THE SNOW, WALKING MILES WITH NO SHOES TO MAKE THIS COUNTRY.  DO NOT GIVE UP ON GOOOH, DO NOT BECOME A SUNSHINE PATRIOT.  WE ALL MUST REMEMBER WHAT IT MEANS TO SACRIFICE FOR OUR COUNTRY.  Thanks to all who have served in the military!

Regards,

Rod Smothers
GOOOH – KY
goooh.ky@gmail.com
www.GOOOH.com
Kentucky Facebook Group -http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=213611289672&ref=search&sid=521773027.1827842314..1
Kentucky District Meetup Groups – http://goooh.meetup.com/cities/us/ky/