Spreading the Word About the JBS in Georgia
by Arthur Hampton, Field Coordinator for Alabama and parts of Georgia and South Carolina
In June, members of The John Birch Society across Georgia met in Columbus for the Republican State Convention, where they set up a vendor booth. Several thousand Republican delegates and guests came in anticipation of hearing Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and other prominent speakers. National Public Radio came to the JBS booth and interviewed me for an hour. In my humble opinion, exposure — even dubious exposure — can help those who see through the propaganda but feel alone find The John Birch Society. Most people we spoke to at the convention knew something was terribly wrong in our civil government, but did not know what to do about the problems plaguing our land. We had a great opportunity to share the solutions that The John Birch Society has to offer to the thousands of people in attendance in Columbus, Georgia.
We also met those who believed our efforts were in vain, and we had the privilege of informing them that we have hope. To quote Tom DeWeese, “we outnumber the liberals 100 to 1, if not more. If we all stood up and got active, we would be unstoppable.” We were able to cut through the propaganda of despair among several attendees, and we handed out JBS and TNA materials to many more. Because of our presence at the convention, we gained many new members and raised up three new chapters.
The key to success is follow-up. This includes getting the names and numbers of those who don’t sign up right away, calling and — if possible — meeting in-person with them, and explaining what the JBS has to offer. Pictured below is a Constitution Is the Solution workshop being conducted by Keith Cochran of Ringgold, Georgia, who signed up for membership at the Republican State Convention in Columbus. JBS national field director Wayne Morrow and I followed up with him afterward and encouraged him to facilitate a Constitution Is the Solution workshop in order to start a chapter. The workshop was a great success, with 30 people in attendance. Keith is holding the six-lecture workshop over three sessions. This is ideal because it is easier for people to commit to three weeks than six, and attendees sometimes fall off after the fourth or fifth lecture. Additionally, we had a sign-up sheet at the workshop so we could follow up with attendees to continue the process of getting them connected in The John Birch Society.