Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida: Conscience of the Republican Party of Duval County, Clay County, St. Johns County, Nassau County, Baker County, Putnam County, Flagler County

We would like to thank each and every one who came out to Island Girl on September 18th for our RLCNEF Constitution Day Event! It was a great time for our group to relax and enjoy each other’s company as well as to recruit and fundraise. It was an honor to toast our founding document and to give our North Florida area Chairman, John Stevens, the Jefferson Cup Award to recognize his efforts in championing the cause for liberty over the past year.

We look forward to growing this event into our signature annual gala and we have already started planning for Constitution Day 2010! Mark your calendars now because the things we have in store are sure to impress! Go check out the pictures from this year’s event in the photo gallery!

We have begun the nomination process for the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida presentation of the Jefferson Cup Award at our annual Constitution Day Celebration on September 18th.

Below you will find links to the bios of the four Patriots that have already been nominated and some background on this unique award.

If you would like to nominate someone for this award please send Kristi Dunn your nomination, along with their bio no later than 5pm Saturday, September 5th to:

Kristi Dunn-

Once all nominations are in, the additional bios will be posted and a poll will be placed on the right column of this website, where it currently says Jefferson Cup Award Poll. Please return to vote for on the nominee of your choice starting Sunday, September 6th.
BIOS:
Sarah Lovett
John Stevens
Kimberly Wells
Will Pitts

The Background of this Award:

I would like to take a moment to tell you a story about one of the most influential men credited with our historic founding as a Nation of States, Thomas Jefferson. As you have probably observed, the RLC quotes Thomas Jefferson quite extensively as a source for many of our stances and has become an identifying figure for our movement of fellow Liberty loving compatriots.

Thomas Jefferson had a very close friend and mentor, George Wythe, whom he often referred to as a “Second Father”. During a time when many men only studied law for a year, Jefferson, under Wythe as his instructor studied law, philosophy and political science for more than five years. Wythe became a highly influential member of the Continental Congress in 1775, voting in favor of the resolution for Independence and as first from the Virginia delegation to sign the Declaration of Independence. Following his tenure in the Continental Congress he served in various public office positions in his home State of Virginia, and became the first Professor of Law in U.S. History. When he later died in 1806, he left many items to Thomas Jefferson. , Among those items where two Silver Cups.

Later, Jefferson had the Wythe cups melted down to make eight 5-ounce silver cups, gilded inside. The model was a very small cup, believed to be French in origin. The maker was John Leitelier, a silversmith from Richmond. Jefferson had four of the cups marked “G.W. to T.J.” and four marked “T.J.”

Based on this story we have decided to begin a new tradition in the RLC of Northeast Florida. Every year we will select an individual based on their dedication and commitment to the cause of Liberty and Freedom. To commemorate their contribution, this person will receive a Jefferson Silver Cup, crafted from Sterling Silver, which shall then be passed on from year to year. It is our intention for this to symbolize the passing of the torch of Liberty and Freedom and the internal vigilance required to maintain them both as they were intended by our Founding Fathers.

Additionally, we will be awarding Jefferson Cups made of Pewter to the Jefferson Silver Cup holder. This cup will be kept permanently by the recipient as a token of our deepest gratitude for their invaluable efforts and vigilance. Like in the Original Jefferson Cups that Jefferson had inscribed with “G.W. to T.J.” we will customize these cups with Thomas Jefferson’s initials to the initials of the cup recipient as we feel Jefferson would want these cups to go to those who share his commitment to Freedom and Liberty.

Kimberly Wells Nominated by Micheal Wahlman

Kimberly Wells has been an active and founding member within the Republican Liberty Caucus of North East Florida. She currently holds the office of Vice Chairman of the RLCNEF board. She led the way in creating our web presence on both meetup.com and our new independent website, www.RLCNEF.org. She has created the bulk of our business graphics, documents, and brochures.

Kimberly is a successful entrepreneur and works within various aspects the web-presence industry. She has three children, and her significant other, Buck Wright, is also an active member who currently acts as Treasurer of our regional board.

She has been active within the Duval County Republican Executive Committee, and competed in a tough race for Duval County State Committeewoman. She has worked with various campaigns as a consultant for their web presence.

Will Pitts Nominated by John Stevens

Will Pitts is the founding Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida and is now the current State Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida. He is the CEO of W.G. Pitts Construction, husband to Susan Pitts and father of four children.

Will’s work in this movement began in the summer of 2007 when he joined a small group of 20 to 25 people who, like him, felt compelled to do more than talk about the erosion of freedom and liberty that has been occurring in our country.   He has never let up since.

Over the past year Will has…

1.    Continued to open his personal business (during tough economic times) as a headquarters where activists continually meet & organize to further the cause of liberty.

2.    Traveled all over the state of Florida at his own expense to further the cause of liberty.

3.    Was elected State Chairman of the RLC of Florida in March

4.    Has written and delivered numerous informative and inspiring speeches on the subject of liberty.

5.    Endured unfair personal character assaults due to his unwavering commitment to further the cause of liberty – even when it requires going against popular opinion.

Will is a man of ideas and solutions who continually inspires those around him to fight for the cause of liberty.

Sarah Lovett Nominated by Jon Anderson

Sarah Lovett is the founding Secretary of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida and is now the current State Secretary of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida. She is wife to Justin Lovett and mother of two children.

Sarah’s journey has taken her from the halls of FSU with a degree in Real Estate then through her experiences in childbearing education first as a doula and a childbearing educator to being the Legislative Chair for Florida Friends of Midwives, this type of grassroots involvement helped her realize this is what she had thrived on.  This took her to exploration of other health and wellness issues which brought her to lead a local buying club in organic and health foods.

In the recent past Sarah has…

1.    Worked to continue the fight for liberty by running for Florida House seat District 14 educating many people in the process about liberty and the constitution often to those who have been neglected by the Republican Party and not presented the message of liberty.

2.    Traveled and helped organize activists to stop excessive tax burdens placed on ordinary citizens of Florida.

3.    Was elected State Secretary of the RLC of Florida in March

4.    Continued as Secretary of the RLC of Northeast Florida.

5.    Planned and implemented both the Florida state and National RLC conventions held in Jacksonville that one of the original founders of the National RLC stated was “The Best Convention that he has EVER attended”.

Sarah is a person that many have noted, through her gravitas alone, has inspired those around her to accomplish large RLC goals and continue the fight for the cause of liberty.

John Stevens Nominated by Kimberly Wells

John Stevens, currently the Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Northeast Florida and the previous Vice Chairman, is a consummate leader of liberty.  Employed at Fidelity as a manager in their technology division for lender processes software, John has quite a bit on his plate.

John’s history in politics runs through his entire adult life.  A life-long believer in limited government and a proponent for liberty, he was a National Coordinator for the Pat Buchanan presidential campaign.  He was also a founding member of the Northeast Florida Republican Liberty Caucus.

John has done many things in the last year to further the cause of liberty:

1.    John has been a leader and a peacemaker.  Working within the RECs in both Duval and St. Johns counties, John has sent endless emails, attended many lunches, and spent hours on phone calls establishing and building relationships with those who are proponents of Liberty.  He has also met with numerous individuals and groups who have disagreed with the RLC in an effort to put myths to rest and to build alliances. He even recommended hosting a forum as an opportunity to air out these differences.

2.    In an effort to promote smaller government, John ran for State Committeeman in St. Johns County.  He is currently a precinct committeeman in St. Johns County.

3.    As a way to help other regional RLCs start up, John coordinated a start-up manual with valuable resources to help groups start an RLC.  This manual has been an asset to the regions of the state and was applauded at the national level.

4.    John has suffered unjust accusations by the Florida GOP that he was not Republican (enough), instigating organizational terrorism and not deserving of a precinct chairmanship.  He was even accused of working against the Republican Party and endured a grossly subjective grievance hearing.  Though John has worked countless hours for Freedom and Liberty, brought new ideas and approaches to the table, fought hard for legislation on state and local levels, he was accused of not aligning with conservative principles.  HOWEVER, being the leader that he is, John has continued to work to build relationships and to get true conservatives elected within the Republican Party.

5.    John is not afraid to challenge local elected leadership to be more accountable.

6.    John has also been on the front lines fighting for lower taxes.  He worked against the Jacksonville Journey tax increase, against the recent Duval County property tax increase and fought for taxpayers state-wide to pass the Taxpayer Protection Amendment.

John is truly a leader, a peacemaker and a man of action.  He is an inspiration for all freedom fighters, conservatives, and those who love liberty.  He has a vision, communicates it to others.  He is a great leader in the charge toward less government and more individual freedom!