Voice of the Chair
by Jay Vandersloot [yprocrastinate-emailme@yahoo.com]
"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength but by perseverance."
— H. Jackson Brown, Author
I plagiarized and condensed the below article from a six page email that appeared on the State Chairs' forum. I encourage each of you to attend this conference.
What – 2008 Leadership Conference
Where – Henderson Nevada (by Las Vegas)
When – Presidents' Day Weekend, 2008 (February 15-17)
The annual Leadership Conference is a meeting of all Libertarian activists, organizers, candidates, and financial supporters. No matter which category or categories you fit in, you will find more events that will interest you than you will be able to do.
This is where all Libertarians gather with the single purpose of building our party's structural integrity beyond the level required to defeat the other two parties. There will be an eight hour seminar on activist and candidate training. There will be job training for county and state officers, from filing with the FEC to how to organize volunteers in your area to organizing new affiliate parties in your state.
Those who will be attending the 2008 National Convention on Memorial Day in Denver need to attend the 2008 Leadership Conference in preparation. I hope everyone goes to our national convention. It is hands down the biggest event of the Party, occurring every two years. And the Annual Leadership Conference in Las Vegas will prepare first time convention goers to perform their responsibilities at the Convention.
At the 2008 Leadership Conference, the platform and bylaws committees will meet, and there will be various seminars on how to be a better and more effective delegate, with topics ranging from Roberts' Rules of Order to Conventioneering.
If you have ever wanted to attend a meeting of the Libertarian National Committee, you will have your chance on this glorious three day weekend in Henderson Nevada (Las Vegas).
Additionally, the tentative schedule of events includes both a debate of our Presidential candidates and a debate of our candidates for chair of the 2008 LNC. There will also be forums and lectures, concerning how we reach out to both Democrats and Republicans now that their combined approval rating is less than 50%. It's closer to 25%. The glass isn't even half full for the other two parties. Right now, conference planners are finding libertarian leaning Republicans and Democrats; to give their perspective on where the two party system has the weakest psychological hold on the electorate and where the LP should be staking out political ground.
There will be seminars from individuals accomplished in the fields of fundraising and marketing. In short it is the goal of the Leadership Conference organizers to offer a conference where you just can't see everything you want to. A full agenda will be included in next month's edition of the New Mexico Liberty newsletter.
Agenda
This agenda is designed with the interests of every libertarian at every level of activism in mind. Everyone who attends will be forced to choose between several simultaneous events of interest.
More information will be available to all members of the libertarian community than at any prior National Leadership Conference. There will be an eight hour seminar on communication. The first part designed for activists to better communicate the message on a one on one basis. The second four hours will be dedicated to those who want to represent the Party publicly as a candidate or a leader.
There will be courses on everything from how to take minutes at your local county meeting to the procedures of the National Convention, scheduled for Memorial Day 2008 in Denver.
There will be courses for treasurers to deal with basic accounting and Federal Election Commission procedures, so our local parties can compete in our national effort.
There will be courses on how to better utilize volunteers and how to make their work more rewarding. And to learn how to use some of the new advanced software tools created for our activists through national cooperation.
Betty Rose Ryan who has planned several successful state conventions, and who is coordinating our upcoming National Convention, will teach you how to hold a fun and effective convention right in your own state.
And, there will be many debates scheduled about the direction our party should take in the area of affiliate relations, a national affiliate agreement, and controversial issues within the party like abortion, immigration, national defense, and the purpose of our platform.
At lunch a panel of current and former Democrats and Republicans will discuss how we can most effectively speak our peace to both the left and the right of the two party political spectrum.
At dinner a debate between those vying for the Libertarian nomination for President of the United States of America will shed light on who our strongest candidates are.
More events are under consideration and the schedule is not yet full, so please let us know if there are any other suggestions you have that will make this conference even more useful and more exciting for your fellow libertarian attendees.
Venue
The 2008 National Leadership Conference will be held in the entertainment capital of the world, the great city of Las Vegas (Henderson, Nevada). You may know it better as Lost Wages or Sin City. And, on Presidents' Day Weekend 2008, Las Vegas will be known as the home of the 2008 National Leadership Conference.
The Leadership Conference will be held at the Sunset Station Hotel and Casino. Room Discounts for the Libertarian Leadership Conference are available. Ask for them by name. Hurry. We only have limited rooms blocked for this three day holiday weekend in Vegas. Book your discounted room now.
Tickets
The 2008 National Leadership Conference is the largest and most exciting one in our history. I expect the one in 2009 to be even better. But, don't wait. Come to this three day weekend in preparation for our national convention on Memorial Day 2008 in Denver and for valuable training you can employ in the fight for human liberty that we in the Libertarian Party wage on a daily basis.
A single ticket for this conference costs only $150. And, because this is a conference that every libertarian in the country would benefit from attending, discounts will be given to members based on the number of fellow libertarians from their state who attend.
When two libertarians from a single state party attend the 2008 National Leadership Conference, their price will be reduced from $150 per person to $135 each.
When three or more libertarians from your state attend this conference, each ticket will be reduced even further to only $125.
Travel Arrangements
The February 14th -- 19th week-end in Las Vegas will be very crowded with not only our LSLA group, but those planning Valentine's Day celebrations and others celebrating President's Day. With these crowds in mind please plan all of your travel needs as far in advance as possible. Booking early will help you ensure your first choice of flights. Southwest airlines will allow you to re-use your airfare if a last minute cancellation becomes necessary. Our hotel, Sunset Station, will allow cancellations and provide a prompt refund of your deposit with 48 hours notice. We have a limited number of rooms available at these low rates, so I can not stress strongly enough the need to lock in your reservations early. Should are room allotment be filled prior to November 1st we may be able to secure additional rooms at these low rates.Here are reservation and shuttle details for Sunset Station: Sunset Station Hotel and Casino is holding a limited number of rooms at low rates just for our LSLA group. Choose one of their newly renovated rooms with two Queen beds or one King for $79.00 Sunday to Thursday nights and $129.00 on Friday and Saturday nights. Room tax is currently 10% and a $4.95 amenity fee per night will be added. These rates are for single or double occupancy. Each additional person over double occupancy will add $15.00 to the room rate. Maximum allowed is four to a room. To reserve your room at the low LSLA rates call 888-786-7389 and request the LSLA group rates. It is common for Las Vegas hotels to require a deposit of one night plus tax to confirm your reservation. Sunset station will require your first nights room rate plus tax as a deposit payable by credit card or check. Should you need to cancel your reservation your deposit will be quickly and fully refunded, with 48 hour advance notice. With our meeting being held on the busy President's Day week-end, rooms at these rates will be limited and must be reserved well in advance. Please make your reservation today to ensure availability at these low LSLA rates. Take a look at this link to see all of the amenities offered at Sunset Station – www.sunsetstation.com/hotel/amenities/Check here for the Airport Shuttle Schedule to coordinate your flight arrival and departure times. Shuttle Schedule – www.sunsetstation.com/hotel/amenities/shuttle/Arriving airport passengers may board Sunset Station's White Shuttle Van at Ground Zero located adjacent to the Baggage Claim area. The Shuttle will be parked across the street from stall number 23.Taxi fare to/from the airport is approximately $30.00. Week-end car rental rates generally run $25.00 to $40.00 per day – lower rates tend to be available when reserving early. Most companies at the Car Rental Facility provide a special line for their frequent renters. Joining these frequent renter programs are generally free and can save you quite a long wait with most companies.Hotel Information Sunset Station Hotel & Casino –702-547-77771301 W Sunset Rd Henderson, NV 89014, USwww.sunsetstation.comI have a minivan and will be driving to the conference, leaving Albuquerque, NM on Thursday, February 14th, and driving back on Monday, February 18th, stopping both ways for lunch at Flagstaff, Arizona. If anyone wants to carpool and share the cost of the gas with me, email me at either yprocrastinate-emailme@yahoo.com or JayVandersloot@yahoo.com, or call me at 505-362-1733.