AFP Blogger of the Year 2010 Defending the American Dream

Dr. Bill Smith, editor: Today, officially kicked off the speeches and workshops at the Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Defending the American Dream (DAD) 2010 in Washington, D.C. Over 3200 people attended and that figure did not include people found wandering the hall. Some of these wanderers were people who had come to Washington, D.C. for the Honoring America 8/28 rally and were also staying at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

The day was a little different than normal for me and so not much is written today. I will post some articles about AFP DAD 2010 over the next few days. When I arrived yesterday around 6 pm, I saw lots of people I knew from other events. Some friendly chat and the getting to my room took another hour. It was great to see people from great groups like Smart Girl Politics and from Arkansas including the Faulkner County Tea Party. After an hour or so, I made it to my room, dropped my stuff and went down to event registration to pick up my media credentials. As I said that I was a blogger, a volunteer sent me down to blogger's row where credentials for new media bloggers and radio media were waiting. But, my credentials were not there. So, back to the event desk. Let me add that the event desk is close to 50 yards in length, so they had lots of volunteers and staff helping.

When I arrived back at the event desk, two of the AFP staff recognized me and said that my credentials were in the VIP section and walked me up to the section. Indeed, my name was on the VIP list. I chuckled and said I am not VIP, I am just an old blogger and that there must be a mistake. They said no, you are registered as a VIP. They even had a special information packet for me. They advised me that I would was to attend a breakfast, lunch and a series of presentations in the morning for VIPs and closed reception in the evening before the dinner. They also said that I would be at one of the head tables and gave me my seat assignment.

I showed up at the morning event with my computer and camera. Met some of the officers of AFP, state supporters and heard some interesting insights on strategy. After lunch, I slipped out a few minutes early because I wanted to visit the Arkansas delegation who were having a working lunch. Last year we had 8 people from Arkansas; but, this year there were over 150 people from Arkansas who attended.

I then went to bloggers row and and found the end of a table and set up operations. Besides meeting other great bloggers and video new media, I talked with some campaign staffers, other activists, and met Michele Bachmann. Also, after speaking at the main even, Herman Cain, a contributing author on the ARRA News Service, stopped by and spent a considerable time with the bloggers. If the photos turn out, I will post them next week. Some others made some video interviews which I hope to also be able to post.

At 5:30 pm, I attended an AFP Chairman's VIP reception before the evening dinner. At the reception, met people from the morning and also other AFP State leaders and friends of AFP. Rep Eric Cantor dropped by for a few minutes and spoke. Surprisingly, a lady who had sat next to me on the flight from Memphis to Washington, D.C. and was meeting her husband in Washington was also at the reception - sometimes it is small world.

As with all prior AFP Defending the American Dream summits, the "Tribute to Ronald Reagan" dinner was a success. Michele Bachmann gave a rousing speech and conservative columnist writer George Will gave an exceptional insightful speech full of wit, sarcasm, and even baseball metaphors. Then at the closing, they awarded a couple of awards. It was then that I learned why I was a VIP on this day. Americans for Prosperity presented the Blogger of the Year 2010 to me "in recognition of leadership in advancing economic freedom and liberty through modern media." I was indeed surprised, humbled and thankful. And, I am especially thankful for Americans for Prosperity.

Tomorrow, everyone is heading to the Honoring America 8/28 rally at the Lincoln Memorial. A crowd of between 500,000 and a million people are expected. Regardless, it should be both fun and educational.

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Tags: AFP, Defending American Dream, 2010, Washington, D.C., VIP, blogger, award, Bill Smith
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