2012: Enjoying Every Moment of the Good Life

2012 was a wild year. It was an election year, in which our not-so-favorite President won re-election, but so did one of our favorite Governors, Scott Walker of Wisconsin. It was a year of championships, in which my Miami Heat won, and it was the first one for NBA superstar LeBron James. It was a year of tragedy for our nation: there were mass shootings at a movie theater in Colorado and at an elementary school in Connecticut, and a hurricane that devastated New Jersey and New York.  While Florida remained spared from any major storms, we didn’t spare the nation with our bizarre news stories. The world came together in London for a spectacular Olympic Games and some thought 2012 might be it as the Mayan calendar expired on December 21, 2012. But here I am 10 days later still blogging away. As is my tradition, I always like to reflect on the past year by writing a “year in review.” While I can’t capture every person and every moment of 2012, here are some highlights.

 

Travels Across the USA: 42 states and counting

For me, there was plenty of travel in 2012. In addition to getting all around Florida on business for The James Madison Institute, I also had personal travels that took me to Atlanta (twice), the Barnsley Gardens in northern Georgia, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA, New York City, Los Angeles, CA, Milwaukee, WI, Frazee, Minnesota, and Cincinnati, Ohio. I also stepped foot in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. And if you count a plane connection in Charlotte, I was briefly in North Carolina as well. Whew!

In 2012, I added two new states (Wisconsin and Minnesota) to my lifetime bucket list. With those, I’ve now traveled to 42 of the 50 U.S. States. (In case you’re wondering which 8 I haven’t been to: Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Arkansas, and New Mexico remain places I need to see to complete the USA). And if Puerto Rico gets added as a state (and in 2012, they voted that they’d like to), well, I’ve already been there too.

Other personal trips this year included spending time with my good longtime friends Laurie Sparks and Eric Smith (and his girlfriend, Joleen). The four of us began 2012 right, when we traveled to the 30A Music Festival in Seaside, Florida for my birthday weekend in January. I was able to catch up with them several times this year, including a fun night in October in downtown Orlando where we saw one of our favorite bands, Candlebox. In November, we ventured to St. Augustine for a fun weekend to see one of our all time favorite musicians, Jonny Lang, who was opening for the legendary Buddy Guy! This was at least my 14th Jonny Lang show (that I can remember) going back to the first time I saw him in 1997 at UCF’s Homecoming. St. Augustine remains one of my favorite places not just in Florida, but in the country. Just love the history and the quaint town. I was able to celebrate mass there for the first time in the nation’s oldest parish. And Seaside is now a new favorite (it’s the town the movie the Truman Show was filmed in). In 2013, Florida will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the landing of Ponce de Leon in St. Augustine. Put that city on your bucket list! Viva Florida 500!

2012 also allowed me to see the famous (or infamous?) Gasparilla Festival in Tampa in January. I had been there for work a few days prior and stayed an extra day to see the festival. I didn’t partake in too much of the craziness though before I hit the road, but at least I got to see the parade and all the pirate madness that comes with it.

Charities Succeeding

I remain on the board of two charities, Rock by the Sea and Project Veritas. Both had great years. And Rock by the Sea brought me to Panama City Beach for an extended weekend in May. This was Rock by the Sea’s sixth year. Normally the charity music festival has been held on St. George Island, FL, but we finally outgrew the venue and SGI and moved the big festival to Spinnaker in Panama City Beach. This past April, we had 25 bands perform over 4 nights, including headliners Needtobreathe, Sister Hazel, and Shawn Mullins. It was amazing and the weather seems to always be wonderful. Plan to join us for the next big one in Panama City on May 16-19 and visit RockbytheSea.org for more details.

Rock by the Sea, however, did not totally abandon St. George Island. In September, we held our golf tournament in nearby Carabelle and brought five bands to perform at Harry A’s on SGI. I’m glad we’re continuing to do a fall event on SGI, because it’s also one of my favorite Florida places and a much more intimate setting. Speaking of golf, I got a few rounds in this year. I’m still very much a beginner, but it’s been nice to get out there and (attempt to) play. It also allowed me to play in the RBTS golf tournament.

Rock by the Sea also put out our third Christmas album this year and held our Christmas CD release show in Atlanta for the third year in a row. I was not only fortunate enough to attend, but they made me the emcee for the evening. I was even able to introduce Will Turpin, the bass player for Collective Soul, a band I saw live while still in high school. Pretty neat.

As for Project Veritas, it had its best year yet. I can’t reveal all the fundraising numbers, but they are stellar and honestly, could be quite better. But more than that, PV made a huge impact in 2012. Given the election year, most of the undercover investigations focused on voter fraud. And there was plenty to reveal. One investigation in New Hampshire led to the Granite State passing a Voter ID law, which was in place by the November election. My friend and PV President James O’Keefe is to be commended for the great work he and his staff do each day. I’m proud and honored to continue to serve on the board of this truly revolutionary organization.

I was also grateful to get to actually see James a number of times this year – we met for a PV board meeting in Washington, DC in April; we hung out in Orlando when he was there speaking at the Franklin Center’s grassroots training in the summer; and he returned to Florida to speak at the State Policy Network annual meeting at Amelia Island in November. We even tried to bring him to Florida to speak at The James Madison Institute’s luncheon in Tampa during the week of the Republican National Convention, but the government wouldn’t let him come. Well, that’s another story… but at least he was able to be with us and make a presentation via Skype.

 

The James Madison Institute Growing

JMI had its best year yet in 2012. I feel like I say this every year, but at the end of my fifth year at JMI, each year has seen growth. We moved into The Columns building, the most historic private residence in downtown Tallahassee. We are now just a couple blocks from the Capitol building and are poised to have an even greater impact. When I joined the Institute in January 2008, I was like the eighth or ninth employee on staff. Today, there are 17.

We’ve also added a CapitolVanguard.org news bureau, reporting on the policy-related news out of Tallahassee and around the state. Our Civics Education program, focused on educating young people about our nation’s founding principles and common sense economics, is continuing to grow as well. And we’re offering free-market policy solutions to Florida legislators at a more rapid pace.

This year, we also held a signature event in Naples, Florida in February. We brought Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to the Ritz-Carlton, where he addressed a crowd of over 250 in attendance. Later that night, he also was with us for a private dinner with a select group of JMI donors. It was a splendid day and I am not sure I have met a more humble, genuine elected official. I see a lot of them and I was very impressed by Governor Walker. He not only has great communication skills, sound policy ideas, but he and his wife are truly incredible people. In June, he was forced to face a recall in Wisconsin and he survived, becoming the only Governor in U.S. history to survive a recall. And he actually won by a bigger margin than he did in his previous election.

The JMI brand is growing and I’m proud of that. This year, my boss also gave me a new title: Vice President of Advancement, but I’m still performing much the same role as Director of Development. We have a great group of development staff working with me to raise funds and expand the brand. And, my office in the new building is situated in the “K. Earl Durden Center for the Advancement of Liberty,” in honor of our late board member and devoted patriot. I enjoy working every day with our devoted staff and on a regular basis I am in communication with the amazing members of our board of directors and research advisory council, not to mention the hundreds of donors I get to meet during my travels around the state. If you’re not yet a member, sign up today at www.jamesmadison.org/join. If you live in Florida, you’re especially needed! But even if you’re not in Florida, you know how Florida goes, so goes the nation.

 

Politics: Election 2012

In 2012, I very much limited my time in electoral politics. I no longer participate regularly in the Republican Party, which has failed our movement and our country. I am still a Republican voter, but every day that I see so many spineless Republicans, it frustrates me. It gives me more reason to be involved with organizations that are investing in a long-term permanent infrastructure for freedom, whether that be JMI or others.

That said, there are still very many good Republicans who I know and trust and get behind. I continue to be grateful for my own Congressman, Steve Southerland. Not only is he a strong conservative, but he’s a devoted family man and just a good guy. He’s doing the right thing every day in Washington and for the people of Florida’s Second Congressional District. I’m also grateful for Governor Rick Scott, Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll, CFO Jeff Atwater, and Attorney General Pam Bondi. They are quite a team! And as a Floridian, I am inspired each day by our U.S. Senator Marco Rubio. Not only is he doing the right thing, he’s a great communicator of the conservative message and has become a national star.

On a more personal level, my good friend Josh Mandel came oh so close to taking a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio. Josh currently serves as State Treasurer and ran a very hard fought, principled campaign right to the finish. While he lost, it was one of the closest U.S. Senate races in Ohio history. I was so inspired I donated quite a bit of money to the guy and helped raise some more from my friends via Facebook. I then expensed my own trip to Cincinnati for a weekend in September to campaign for Josh, attend the FreePac Ohio event, in which he addressed over 6,000 people, and was fortunate to have dinner with him to discuss the next six weeks — and a longer term version. Don’t forget about Josh. While he’s 35 and looks 19, he’s still the State Treasurer and now has the experience of being involved in one of the nation’s most high profile campaigns of the year.

In August, I was fortunate to be able to attend every day of the Republican National Convention in Tampa. I was in the Tampa Bay Times Forum when the party’s Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, spoke as well as when VP nominee Paul Ryan spoke. I also was able to see the speeches of Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Susana Martinez, and so many others. What an incredible experience. For more, see all my blog posts: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.  I also realized how much less I like politics than music, when I was probably more excited to see free private concerts by Kid Rock and Journey during the GOP convention.

Unfortunately for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, things did not work out so well in November. The biggest disappointment on election night was the re-election of our failed Crony-in-Chief, Barack Obama. But hey, as I told my mom after election night: life goes on. There are worse things than losing an election. I could be one of the 23 million people unemployed or one of the 46 million on food stamps. I’m not. But of course, I also believe the way to prosperity is less government intervention in the economy and more economic freedom. History proves that works, again and again. But history also proves Republics don’t last when half the people can vote themselves the treasury.

Unfortunately at the end of 2012, that’s what’s been happening in America. We are a nation addicted to spending – not only in our personal lives, but in our government. Speaking of which, our federal government has amassed over $16 trillion in debt, and that’s not counting all the future liabilities in the entitlement programs of Social Security and Medicare. The “leaders” of both political parties can’t seem to figure out a balance sheet. While it might be tough to scale back the national debt, we should certainly be able to balance the books for the year. But in 2012, our federal government spent more than $1.1 trillion than it took in, adding to the national debt. But it’s up to us, we the people, to figure out who we need to kick out of office. Until we do that, we only have ourselves to blame.

In order to change the bad politics though, we need to advance good policy and invest in the culture. I wrote a blog on the election recap and all these ideas. I’m convinced hundreds of people read it (thanks to social media) and I was even invited to come on The Morning Show with Preston Scott on November 27 to discuss my ideas. He had me on for the full hour and it was a fun experience. You can listen to the archived show here.

 

Tragedies

In 2012, our nation faced a number of tragedies, including Hurricane Sandy, which devastated the New York and New Jersey and the surrounding areas.  The biggest tragedy perhaps was the two mass shootings – one at a movie theater in Colorado and another at an elementary school in Connecticut. While some people want to blame the weapons these killers used, it’s mostly that we as a society are breeding a culture of relativism and decadence. We need to win back the hearts and minds and renew our sense of community so that alienation among people does not grow stronger. We have so much social media, but in a way we are less and less social with each other. This is certainly not the case for everyone, but for many people. And all it takes is just one person to go sour.

When I travel across America, I enjoy the vibrancy of big cities. But I seem to have two favorite places in the country now: the South and the Midwest. The reason being is how much more friendly, neighborly, and hospitable people in those places are. This is not to discount people in other places, you just notice it more in the South and Midwest. I prefer the small towns and mid-size cities over the anonymity that is bred in big cities – though they are fun to visit.

Two more tragedies hit closer to home this year. My friend John Morris was involved in a very serious, life-threatening car accident in September. He had been traveling back to Florida from St. Louis, where he began teaching in an inner city through a program with Teach for America. His car caught on fire and one side of his body was burned. Early on, we were told it was going to be tough for him to survive, but he did. He is not even paralyzed. He has spent much time in intensive care in Atlanta, but now is back in his hometown of Gainesville going through rehab and physical therapy. He still has a long road back to full recovery, but he is a person of strong faith and I believe his strong spirit pulled him through. The prayers of hundreds of friends and family across the country also pulled him through. Doctors were amazed by some parts of his recovery, thinking certain parts of his body would never heal and amazed at how fast other parts have. I was lucky enough to get a chance to visit with him the day after Christmas on a stop into Gainesville and it was refreshing to see him looking good, doing well, and in very high spirits. His sense of humor and intellectual prowess were certainly not harmed!

The final tragedy of the year was the death of my aunt Lourdes. She was 47 years old and leaves behind my uncle and her four sons (ages 13 to 27). She has had some health issues for a number of years, but this came as a shock. She had been found by her youngest son, passed out on the floor of the kitchen. She had been taking medication and it did not mix well in her body. It only takes a matter of minutes before the body shuts off the brain. She would die in the hospital a few days later.

I had actually taken a spontaneous trip home that weekend to surprise my brother Tony who was not going to be able to make it home for Christmas (from where he lives in San Francisco), so he came home a week early. While home visiting our parents in Delray, we found out our aunt was in the hospital (she and her family live just 25 minutes away). So on one level, it was nice that we were able to be with our family in the hospital as my aunt Lourdes was being kept alive by machines. In a very solemn moment, about 30 or so people gathered in a space in the intensive care unit around her body, in a space probably smaller than my bedroom. Her pastor was there and we all gathered in prayer to take her to the next place. The next night the doctors would remove her from the machines and allow her to pass on to a better place.

 

Enjoy Every Moment

In light of these tragedies noted above, I find it is a reminder that it is even more important to enjoy every moment with those you love and with life in general. God has given us all a gift and has called us to share our gifts with the world. He also wants us to experience the good he has placed in the world – whether that be people, places, or nature in general.

Seeing the sunsets in Seaside, Panama City, and along the pier on Venice Beach were moments I felt God had painted a beautiful picture for us those days. Standing outside the Reagan Library overlooking the scenic Simi Valley in California was another.

Health is also so important. I never felt healthier than when I ran the Tallahassee Turkey Trot 10k in just 48:01, beating my 2011 time of 49:51 by nearly two full minutes. But I also had to sideline myself from tennis and weight lifting for nearly the last six weeks of 2012 due to an odd shoulder injury. In the last week, I appear to be recovered. Let’s hope so! Earlier this year, I wrote a blog about my experience playing tennis with some of the best graduating high school seniors Tallahassee had to offer. Not sure I’m going to be able to continue competing at that level, but I’ll cherish every moment I can play.

Speaking of sports: Other than the Miami Heat winning the NBA championship, I was fortunate enough to be at some great sporting events this year. I attended the Opening Day game for the Washington Nationals in our nation’s capital with my friend Dan Lesniak; a Memorial Day game between the New York Yankees and Anaheim Angels in southern California with my brothers and my friend Matt Harrison; on the eve of July 4th, I attended a game between my Miami Marlins and the Milwaukee Brewers in Wisconsin with my friends Tom Keeley and Zac and Kristin Gappa; and I was able to go to my first game in the new Miami Marlins stadium in August, with my parents and my brother Tony. What amazing experiences. I’ve now added two new teams’ ball parks to my list: Milwaukee and Anaheim. I had already seen plenty of Florida Marlins home games and one previous one in Washington, but 2012 was my first year in their new stadiums. That said, when counting baseball stadiums, I only count one per team. I have now been to the ballparks of 14 of the 30 Major League baseball teams.

I was also able to go to my very first FAU football game. I had graduated FAU in the spring of 2001. They added a football team that fall and this year they played their second season in the new FAU football stadium. Thanks to a friend and a JMI donor, I was able to enjoy my first game from the Presidential suite. Life doesn’t get much better.

One of the coolest experiences of 2012 was also being able to attend the world’s largest music festival, the 45th annual SummerFest, held in Milwaukee. It goes on for almost two weeks. I was there for three days and got to see ton of bands and hear some great music. One great experience was seeing the Zac Brown Band and being less than 10 feet from the stage.  I also spent July 4th at SummerFest — and got to see their huge Independence Day fireworks display (at least 45 minutes long), which they actually do on July 3rd. I also got to travel to Frazee, MN (home of the world’s largest turkey) to see two other turkeys get married: my friends Mike and Katie Williams.

But getting the opportunity to visit with my family members and have them visit me is also rewarding. My parents and my grandmother visited me in July and my parents came back up to Tallahassee for the Thanksgiving weekend. I was able to make two personal trips to South Florida to see my parents and one of my brothers in December. And I get down to South Florida many times for work which allows me to stay with my parents in Delray Beach. I was able to spend a fun weekend with my brothers in Los Angeles and Anaheim over Memorial Day weekend. And, I got to see so many of my friends across the USA in the many places noted above.

 

I am thankful for the opportunity to see so many great people and places and experience the good life that God has promised for us. There are of course many trying moments in life, but faith certainly lights the way. May we all persevere through the challenges brought our way and hope for the new year to bring us joy, happiness, and a deepening of our faith in this journey of life.

Thank you, 2012. I’m ready to ring in 2013! 2012 should end well and 2013 should begin well as I plan to spend New Year’s Eve in downtown Tallahassee listening to one of my favorite Florida bands, Sister Hazel, in our state’s capital city. When 2013 rings in, we can all say “Viva Florida 500!”