We served over 660 plates of great Squealer’s BBQ and we made a lot of new friends on that hot, hot day! After the money was all counted and all the bills were paid, MeridianTeaParty.com netted just over $2,800.00 for the Billboard Campaign!

When combined with the many, very generous donations that we’ve received over the past couple of months, we have now raised over $6,800.00! We have exceeded our original goal and we can now accelerate our schedule and get our second billboard up as quickly as possible. In addition, we will be planning a big event for either September or October to raise public awareness of the issues surrounding the November, 2010 elections. 

This success is thanks to all of you who have worked so hard, contributed so much, and given of your time to make our Billboard Campaign a success. As I’ve written previously, we’ve been contacted by other Tea Party Groups around the State of Mississippi who are also working on getting their own billboards up and soon it will be hard to travel through our great State without seeing the Tea Party message. 

Special thanks to everyone on the MTP Events Committee. You people did a huge job in a short period of time and made it look easy! 

We also need to thank all of the local media for helping us get the word out to the public. We really appreciate your help! 

Next, big thanks also go out to everyone who helped us sell tickets because without your efforts all the hard work put in by the Events Committee would have been for nothing. If you volunteered to work or deliver plate, set up, clean up or any other job, your efforts did not go unnoticed and were greatly appreciated. 

Last but not least, thanks to everyone who purchased tickets to the event because your support of this event is what really put us over the top on our goal! Your dedication and involvement will help change America for the better this November.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Visit www.Perdie.com to find out more!

On July 2, 2010, MeridianTeaParty.com will be holding a fundraiser in the middle of downtown Meridian at Dumont Plaza from 10:00am until 2:00pm. We are currently selling tickets for Squealer’s BBQ plates for $7.00 each. We will deliver for purchases of 10 tickets or more!

Great BBQ is an awesome way to kick off the Fourth of July Weekend!!!!

If you will be in Downtown Meridian and would like to purchase tickets you can call 601-323-3363  or find a MeridianTeaParty.com member. You can also contact us here.

If you will not be in the Meridian area, but would still like to make a donation to our billboard campaign, you can do so below:

If you’ve donated previously, we thank you and hope that you’ll consider donating again. If you haven’t donated yet, please help us and donate today! No donation is too small or too large!

If you prefer to mail in a check, make your check out to “Meridian Tea Party” and mail to:

MeridianTeaParty.com
P.O. Box 3399
Meridian, MS 39303

Or donate online securely through PayPal by clicking the “Donate” button below:

Note: Tarver Program Consultants, Inc. is allowing MeridianTeaParty.com to use their PayPal account for online donations. 100% of the net proceeds of every donation made online will go to the MeridianTeaParty.com Billboard Campaign. Tarver Program Consultants, Inc will not charge for this service and none of the funds received and designated for MeridianTeaParty.com will be retained by Tarver Program Consultants, Inc.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Star Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key (1814)

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The billboard is located on I-20/I-59, faces the east-bound lane  and is on the exit for the mall. It will be seen an estimated 28,000 times per day! We are very pleased with the result and excited about the effect it will have on not only the Meridian/Lauderdale County community but also the thousands of travelers who pass through our city every day.

Here’s a photo of the new billboard:

So far, we’ve raised enough money to keep this billboard up for two months. We need to raise about $3,000 more dollars to keep a billboard up until November and change the message one time before November. If you’ve donated previously, we thank you and hope that you’ll consider donating again. If you haven’t donated yet, please help us and donate today! No donation is too small or too large!

If you prefer to mail in a check, make your check out to “Meridian Tea Party” and mail to:

MeridianTeaParty.com
P.O. Box 3399
Meridian, MS 39303

Or donate online securely through PayPal by clicking the “Donate” button below:

Note: Tarver Program Consultants, Inc. is allowing MeridianTeaParty.com to use their PayPal account for online donations. 100% of the net proceeds of every donation made online will go to the MeridianTeaParty.com Billboard Campaign. Tarver Program Consultants, Inc will not charge for this service and none of the funds received and designated for MeridianTeaParty.com will be retained by Tarver Program Consultants, Inc.

I have to tell you that this was humbling for me. I saw 6 or 700 people who had given a couple of weeks of their life to pay homage to their fallen friends. How many of us have that kind of loyalty? And they do it year after year. There are very few places in this nation I’d let a child run free, but this was one. You knew this crowd could be trusted. I met guys from Oregon, California, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas and a lot of other places. They are all men and know who they are. There are very few things I have felt as good about as helping with one meal for this group.

We’ll do it again next year. Maybe you’ll get a chance to get the same blessing me and the other Tea Party members who were present got.

Wayne

Two (at least 2) bikers came from Hawaii. One of them was an active duty chaplain with USN Submarine crews. At least one gent rode south from Oregon to LA to join up with the group.

I got hugged more than once while handing out flyers. Many of them thought our Tea Party “T” shirts were great. The bikers are with Tea Party ideas.

What fantastic organization they had/have. There was no nonsense about their safety review and instruction either. Everyone paid attention.

They were all politely taking one muffin and then getting out of the way. We had to coax folks into taking two or more muffins. We were afraid for a time that we might have had hundreds of muffins left over. (The leftovers we did have went to Love’s Kitchen).

We have made notes as to how we can do a better job next year. Oh yes, the Good Lord willin’ we will be there in 2011!

Janet and Tom

Bennie Thompson has demonstrated his support for the Liberal Agenda time and time again in spite of the overwhelming and obvious preference of the people to live by more Fiscally and Social Conservative values. It is clear that the longer elected officials stay in Washington, D.C., the more out of touch they become. Representative Thompson has been in Washington long enough and it is time to send him home.

Bill Marcy is a committed Fiscal and Social Conservative and his many years as a police officer reminds him daily that his role is to Serve & Protect. Bill will Serve the interests of Mississippi and Protect our Freedoms. Bill will focus his attention on the reducing the debts that our children and grandchildren will have to pay. Bill’s values are the values of the People Of Mississippi and he will represent our State honorably, honestly and humbly. Marcy has been an active member of the tea party movement since their inception and has spoken at many tea party events.

This link will provide you with a good overview of Bill’s stance on the issues. Plus, you can visit http://www.BillMarcyForCongress.com to learn more about Bill’s history and his campaign to defeat Bennie Thompson and the Liberal Agenda. He needs your support for the June 1st primary, so pass the word!

Rick Barber is a small business owner and a conservative Republican running for Congress in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.

Rick is a product of the South. He spent his childhood in Arlington, Texas in a modest home with a Christian upbringing. Rick was one of twelve Barber children. His parents had six children of their own and adopted six more from troubled families in the community.

The Barber family is a military family. Both Rick’s father and brother served honorably in the Marine Corps. Rick also heard the call to serve, and he answered in 1995. He enlisted in the Marine Corps and became an information technology expert. He served for four years, three of which were overseas in Okinawa, Japan. Rick was promoted four times in three years. He received several citations for excellence and was honorably discharged in 1999.

Rick has been very active in the TEA party movement in 2009. He’s thrown open the doors of his business for TEA party events. He’s spent considerable time, money and effort protesting Washington’s runaway federal spending. He is deeply troubled by the way Washington’s lawyers and bureaucrats are spending our tax dollars. Until this year, Rick had never considered running for an elected office.

As a successful small business owner, Rick Barber doesn’t need a Congressman’s salary. As a devoted father and husband, Rick doesn’t need to spend time away from his family on the campaign trail. Rick is running for Congress because Alabama’s 2nd Congressional district needs a Congressman who will stand and fight in the House of Representatives for fiscal responsibility and America’s founding principles of limited government.

Check out Rick’s stand on the issues (http://www.rickbarberforcongress.com/ISSUES.aspx) and consider supporting this candidate.