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Four years ago I attended my first ACT! for America conference in Washington, DC. I remember mentioning the conference to my wife a few months earlier, and her response was, “You’ve always been interested in ACT and Brigitte, so why don’t you attend?” As the father of two daughters, reading the story of a young Lebanese Christian girl living 7 years in a bomb shelter resonated with me deeply. I could not get it out of my mind. I had to learn more about this woman and her organization. I needed to know more about ACT! for America and what Brigitte Gabriel had started. Being new to “activist” organizations, I asked a dear friend if she would like to attend the conference with me. She agreed and we were off to our first ACT! conference. We walked in, listened, and met people from all around the country. After the first day, I was thinking, these people are just like me! They share my same concern about radical Islam and the direction of our country. They get it! What I saw, what I learned, the people I met—the national conference was simply amazing! I knew I just had to get involved! On the way home in the car, I said to my friend: “I have to do this—But I can’t do it alone. Will you help me start a chapter?” She said yes, and we were now a chapter of TWO people. Today we have hundreds of people on our chapter list, and just recently, our chapter, along with other ACT! for America members, was instrumental in an important school board decision here in Northern Virginia. A group affiliated with the Islamist Gulen movement wanted to start a charter school here, but our phone calls, emails, and large presence at school board meetings helped persuade the school board to deny the request! Words can’t express how rewarding it was to see all of our hard work pay off. Becoming part of ACT! for America has made me feel complete. It’s given me the opportunity to give back to the country that has given me so much. I’m still learning new skills, how to grow the local chapter membership, use social media effectively, and work with volunteers just like me. But it all started when I attended my first ACT! for America national conference. That was the spark that lit a fire that has burned in me ever since. There is hope for America. There are people just like you, who “get it.” That’s why I urge you to come to this year’s national conference. The speakers are amazing and the information you’ll get is remarkable. But maybe even more important, you’ll be inspired to believe that we can really make a difference, if we work together. I am “hooked on ACT!” Gil St. John, ACT! for America Northern Virginia
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ACT for America P.O. Box 12765 Pensacola, FL 32591 www.actforamerica.org |
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