III Grassroots: Now is the time...

Many of us have discussed the desire to find others who think as do we and bring them into the III.

We have printed books. We've advertised online. We've cut and run radio ads. We run blogs. PatComs are happening locally and TL's national event is about a month from now. (Georgia is meeting this weekend, go to CA's place). We have a line of III Gear to help spread our Brand on caps, shirts, and more. The SHTF Book Project is progressing, and building corporate support which I hope to fold into our gun show tour. (More on that as it develops)

As we have discussed the topic of finding and welcoming fellow thinkers, an overwhelming 98% of you agreed we should establish a presence at Gun Shows, where thousands of folks come through the doors each weekend.

Now it is time to make that happen. Now we need to finance our first few shows, set up booths, invite local III Patriots into the booth, and find our allies in the crowds.

The primary function of a III booth at a gun show is to talk to people, to disseminate our message and get these people to begin visiting our online community where we can grow our networks. As this happens, local networks will grow at the same time. We will grow our brand at the local level, one Patriot at a time.

Political organizations have a very hard time getting into shows. So, I have put camouflage in place. I have now established Dealer/Wholesale accounts with Cold Steel, KA-BAR, SOG Knives, Condor, Maxpedition, Rothco, 5.11, US Palm, S.O.C., Spec Ops and Traditions Firearms (non-FFL RevWarI repro muzzleloaders only). I have dealer pricing in my hands, accounts finalized and ready to go. Not only will we have a selection of quality gear on the table of the booth for sale to support the 527, we'll be able to offer III Patriots serious discounts off retail. Win-Win.

My wife is behind this effort, both with our wallet, our sweat and our schedule. She is willing to invest up to a full year to build the gun show infrastructure.

Believe me, with the plates we have in the air in our business and personal lives, packing and dragging two grown Akita's for 2-3 weekend gun shows a month, often hundreds of miles from home, is a serious bit of work. (My new HVAC system will have me traveling far more this summer than I like to travel)

I have established a tentative show schedule at FightingArms.com and talked with show promoters to ensure we can get the booth arrangements I want. Many of you have already written and volunteered to meet us at your local shows and help meet & greet other Patriots. We can add more shows, change shows, it is flexible. The key is to dive into it and work out the details to build a working model so we can put together "Show Kits" and send them out to Patriots who are willing to handle the show in their AO. When the "Kit" arrives, they have everything they need to run a show.

You have all watched me work for almost 2 years now. You know that I get the work done.

It is time to get this Gun Show Tour going.

I can't afford to underwrite the entire project. I will cover my travel, hotels, et cetera, and of course no payroll is attached to any 527 work. Right now I have several thousands invested in III Gear alone, not counting significant investments elsewhere regarding our efforts. Right now we need to put in a few initial orders from vendors and invest in a few essentials for running the shows, and a small cash reserve for the 527 to get us through 3-6 shows before the effort begins to pay for itself.

So, I am going to ask you to make an investment in this effort. I need people to hit the Donate Button at the top-right of this page. Hit it hard. Buying hats and shirts will not get the capital we need for this project, folks.

For instance, the hoodies: After all is said and done, the 527 makes about $6 per unit, and we'll move 2-3 dozen at most.

Selling III Gear online is not intended to be a money-making endeavor as much as it is to be a Brand Development endeavor.

Rather than spend $40 on a hoodie that leaves $6 in the 527 afterward, we need folks to just offer cash. (Both would be nice, but cash is more important. ;)

For those of you who have dropped cash on Gear, please do not feel like I am asking you to now drop more - you know who you are, and you know you've carried your weight as well as that of others.

If every single person who visits this site every day offered just $10, we'd have more than enough. BUT - My experience thus far is that only a small number of you will participate. So, I'll ask you straight: Please donate what you can so we can launch these shows. Some folks simply do not have $10 to spare, and I get it. No foul.

Other folks, however, simply let others carry their weight.

I'm asking those of you who can do it, to please do it. As much as you are willing and able to get us rolling.

I am not going to publish the amount targeted. But I'll say this: If we do not hit the target we need to do this properly, we'll be hitting the "Refund" button at PayPal and you'll all get your money back. If we don't hit our target, I'll also be done with this aspect of my efforts. This involves way too much of my personal time and energy to be forced to constantly beg for 527 funds.

I've told you before I hate asking for money. But there is no other way to get this done. We need to get the ball rolling, and hope our message is well-received and gear on our tables moves during the shows.

I have all of the pieces in place, right now. We are ready to go. It is time to pull the trigger.

It is time to ask, and I am asking.

Please hit the Donate Button, if you are willing and able.

I look forward to meeting you at the shows.

Yours in Liberty,

Kerodin
III