2003 Champions of Freedom

The Missouri Libertarian Party was pleased to present eight hard working Missouri Libertarians volunteer awards in 2003. Winners included

Jerry Geier, current MO LP treasurer and candidate from KC

Adam Shahid, Mizzou campus activist and leader

Scott Johnson, St. Joseph’s libertarian newspaper publisher

Glen and Catherine Blackmon, St. Charles’ most unsung but richly deserving

Activists

J. Mark Oglesby, Springfield’s erstwhile activist and candidate

Mike Ferguson, Belton’s activist and webmaster

A special award named after the late Karl Wetzel, went to Tamara Millay.

Tamara Millay has not once but twice performed the simple service of saving Party’s bacon. At the top of our ticket we had for US Senate in 1998 and in 2002 a firey little redhead from North St. Louis.

Readers may recall the semi-literate felon who filed for US Senate on the Libertarian ticket in 2002. Running as a Democrat in 2000, the individual had been forced off the ballot for Sheriff of Hillsboro. It is against the law to run for Sheriff after having pleaded guilty to the felony of killing one’s drinking buddy with a knife after drinking a quart of vodka and subsequently serving a multi-year prison sentence. Strangely, it is not unlawful to run the US Senate under those circumstances.

A similar situation had occurred in 1998 as well in which Tamara had rescued the Party.

Jerry Geier of Kansas City first voted Libertarian for presidential candidate Roger McBride in 1976. He became active locally in 1984 with a group of 5-10 people. In 1988 he managed a petition drive as well as ran for state treasurer. A decade later, he ran for state auditor. He has been active in many local issues, as well as been the state party’s treasurer for many years.

Adam Shahid was not politically active until coming to Missouri. For his 21^st birthday, as a rite of passage and as a token of personal responsibility, he bought a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol in Indiana. Upon moving to Missouri and disturbed by the state’s belief he was neither responsible nor honorable enough to decide for himself whether to carry such a weapon, he started looking into political parties. He agreed with 90% of the Libertarian’s views initially, now 99%, and the Libertarian Party’s positions had the consistency that the others lacked.

Once Adam knew he was a Libertarian, he joined the MU campus Libertarians and after a year he became their leader for the next four. During this time he ran numerous Operation for the Politically homeless booths, as well as run for the state house. The latter provided opportunities to address various groups from high schools to professional organizations.

Scott Johnson has published the St. Joseph Telegraph, a weekly newspaper in St. Joseph, for 15 years. In Missouri’s Blue Book, a registry of state offices, political parties, electoral results and affiliations, newspapers can identify themselves as favoring a political party. The St. Joseph Telegraph is one of two newspapers to have registered with the Libertarian Party, the other being the Sedalia Democrat (of all names). The Telegraph has a paid subscription base of 1000 and circulation of 2500. It employs five people full time and supports columnists like Mike Bozarth, a previous award winner. The Telegraph supplemented its paper with copies of the Viewpoint, a generic insert available from the national LP.

Glen and Catherine Blackmon are two of the most unsung heroes we have in the state. There are always people needed to show up early to hang signs and to stay late and clean up. There are people needed to process convention registrations and handle the treasury as these two have done for three of the last four state conventions. There are people needed to smooth out the rough edges in negotiations with the local post office after their state chair manages to get the cops called on him during a tax day protest. There are convention auctioneers and fundraising chairs needed. There are county treasurers needed, and Tax Day protest organizers needed, and people to deliver Show-Me Freedoms to the St. Louis Post Office. (That last item by the way is not at all like visiting the returns counter at Famous Barr). Glen and Catherine have done all of these things, as well as serve on the Executive and State Committees.

Mark Oglesby helped found the party in the state, working on the petition drive in Springfield in 1992. This enabled the Libertarian Party to get onto the ballot and establish itself. He ran for the state house in the 134^th district in 1992 and 1994, and for governor in 1996. He was on the executive committee and is a regular monthly contributor to the party. Unfortunately, Mark has been sidelined in recent years due to his hemophilia, but he hopes to regain his health and one day help again. Meanwhile, his accounting practice in Springfield continues.

Mike Ferguson first learned about the LP around 1995 while hosting a small cable access TV show in Warrensburg (Libertarian Party on Wayne). When reading through LP materials preparing for a show on third parties, he knew he had found his political home.

In 1998 with help from Jeanne Bojarski and Grant Stauffer, he collaborated with Dave White to form the Cass County LP. In 2000 on his radio show "The Independent Perspective" he interviewed various candidates including Libertarian presidential hopefuls Don Gorman and Harry Browne, as well as Phil Horras and Al Newberry.

In 2001, he devised the Internet Presidential Straw Poll for the LP.

In 2002, he ran for Belton Charter Commissioner finishing only 300 votes short of winning a seat.

In 2003, after the Belton Charter Commission drafted a horrible, big-government charter, he launched a campaign to oppose it. A local developer photocopied and distributed his letter to the editor of the Belton Star-Herald to over 4,000 voters. The charter proposal failed and both newspapers in town credited the letter as a major factor in its defeat.

Mike hosted a “Road to Freedom” event covered by C-SPAN and featuring presidential candidates Michael Badnarik and Gary Nolan in Cass County.

Despite his demonstrated track record of year-in-year-out accomplishment, Mike is quick to credit his peers in Cass County for their teamwork without which his efforts would not have been successful. These include Dave & Lori White, Rick Bailie and Mike Hurley.

Karl Wetzel was a Libertarian Party activist, candidate and state treasurer who suffered a heart attack several years ago, leaving no heirs. His $50k life insurance proceeds were split 50-50 with the National Libertarian Party and Missouri Libertarian Party, while his $17k 401(k) with no beneficiary went to the state.