We were invited to join friends and fellow Americans at the Faith and Freedom conference in Washington DC. It was a fantastic experience. It was a real treat being part of such a big, professional conference filled with people from all over our country who came together to hear about issues concerning all Americans.
The three-day conference was jam-packed with remarkable speakers and representatives from many different groups and organizations. We were addressed by a huge variety of key statesmen from our US Government: our Florida Senator Marco Rubio; author and filmmaker, Dinesh DeSouza; Counselor to the President of the United States, Kellyanne Conway; The United States Speaker of the House, Representative Paul Ryan; and even the Vice President of the United States of America, to name JUST a few! I even had the sincere pleasure of bumping into my favorite Chief White House Correspondent for One America News Network, @Treyyingst (Trey Yingst)!
Each day there were breakout sessions and many activities inviting us to become active participants in our government—from voting participation to engaging our communities in social betterment. One of the breakout sessions concerned human trafficking and current actions that are working to attack these networks.
Of course we fit in a visit to beloved Florida Representative, local Good-Guy, @Gus Bilirakis who, with a phone call, arranged a tour of the Capitol building for me and some friends! It’s not a trip to Washington, D.C. without visiting our beyond-gorgeous U.S. Capitol building!
Supporting Community However We Can
When you put out the effort to help others, you tend to meet a lot of Good-Guys! As our CEO, Patrick Clouden, has always directed me to “meet and work with like-minded individuals,” I often join forces with great humanitarians to make GOOD happen!
One such encounter happened recently where I came to the aid of a wonderful Clearwater lady named Tami Martin. Tami needed some help in bringing a Make a Wish adventure, here, for a sweet little boy named Eli, from Kentucky. I jumped at the chance to help.
Using my CES van, I became the chauffer to pick up the family and transport them around on their big adventure. But it turned out to be so much more! I stayed and helped keep the day happy by assisting with Eli’s little sister Ava (age 6) who really needed a pal! With all of the cameras and nonstop people, it became a bit too difficult to bear. Being a mom of 4 and grandma to 7, I easily became helpful. And Ava, me, and the whole family became buddies.
Our fabulous firefighters and first responders of Clearwater Fire and Rescue Station 45 put on quite the experience for Eli and family. From an amazing tour and thoughtful gifts for everyone, to the delicious lunch spread of burgers and dogs and corn and watermelon, it was a feast!
Eli was CHIEF for the Day and was able to ride in the big fire truck over to Clearwater Marine Aquarium to enjoy a VIP tour! We also took a boat ride to Shell Island with two amazing fire rescue guardians from Station 45 who brought medical equipment with them in case Eli needed some help!
There is perhaps no better thing to do than to HELP others! When you realize how easy it is to help, and how incredibly appreciated your help is, then you know why it is that at CES we really do love to reach out and contribute our help to the community, wherever and whenever and however we can!
See the full Tampa Bay Times story here: https://www.tampabay.com/photos/2018/06/30/3-year-old-enjoys-being-chief-for-a-day-at-clearwater-fire-station/
