Oct 12, 2012

The Next Great Americans Tour bus rolled down to southern Alabama today to Eufaula Elementary in Eufaula, Alabama!

The lovely auditorium was filled with lots of energetic students and lots of energetic teachers, faculty, and guests from the community!

The Eufaula Elementary students are so fortunate to have Alabama Power sponsor not only the kick-off event today, but also the entire Super Citizen Program at Eufaula! 

We were so honored to have support from the following Super Citizens in attendance at the kick-off show today:

Michelle McAndrews and Ralph Belamey of Alabama Power

Eufaula Elementary Assistant Principal Mr. Johnson

Eufaula City Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler

Barbour County Schools Superintendent Jimmie Fryer

Eufaula Mayor Jay Jaxon Jr.

We head north to Fort Knox, Kentucky for our next Super Citizen kick-off!

Oct 2, 2012

We had a busy day today with TWO kick-off programs for the Super Citizen Program at two different schools!

Early this morning we stopped at Westbrook Christian School in Rainbow City, Alabama! 

The Westbrook students were fortunate to have State Representative Craig Ford in attendance as well as several parents of Westbrook students! Thank you to Principal Cindy Greer and everyone else who made this day a success!

This afternoon we drove the big blue bus right up the road and visited Attalla Elementary in Attalla, Alabama. We had so many visitors at this event! It was exciting to see everyone there! They even decorated the gymnasium with red, white, and blue balloons!

Thank you to: 

- Principal Greg Edge and Assistant Principal Sheila Lankford for all of your help.

• The large number of parents in attendance at the kick-off today. It’s always great to see lots of parental involvement! 

• Rev. Preston Nix from the Attalla School Board
• Rev. Presley Nolan from the United Methodist Church
• Pastor Earl Michell from Attalla 1st Baptist Church
• Alabama Representative Craig Ford from District 28 Etowah County

To read more about the show at Attalla, click here for the account from the Gadsden Times: http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20121002/NEWS/121009971/1016 

Next the big blue tour bus travels down to Eufaula Elementary in Eufaula, Alabama!

Oct 1, 2012

It’s October, and our first tour stop of the month today was at Columbia Elementary in Madison, Alabama--home of the Astros! We were excited to visit with the students and see all of them at the kick-off with the Liberty crowns and American flags!

The Columbia 5th graders were up and ready to go early on this Monday morning!

All of us at Liberty Learning as well as the students and faculty at Columbia are very grateful to Northrup Gruman for sponsoring the kick-off event today. We had a great time and know that these students are well on their way to becoming Super Citizens!

Gotta rest up because tomorrow we have TWO kick-offs at Westbrook Christian and Attala Elementary!

Sept 27, 2012

The Next Great Americans Tour visited Double Springs Elementary in Double Springs, Alabama today. This school is inside the boundaries of the beautiful Bankhead National Forest, and the drive out to the school was lovely! 

Not only were the students of Double Springs in attendance today, but every elementary school in Winston County attended the kick-off! It was a big, enthusiastic audience and we loved it!

It is always encouraging to see the leaders of a school system so excited and ready to get started with the Super Citizen Program! Superintendent Sue Reed and Assistant Superintendent Sheila Wallace as well as the teachers and principals of the Winston County Schools were full of energy and had all of the students excited about becoming Super Citizens!

We were fortunate to experience a wonderful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner led by the student song leaders of the Winston County Schools. It was a treat to hear all of the students raise their voices to sing our national anthem!

It was also wonderful to see all of the guests at the performance, including Mrs. Virginia West with the Double Springs Study Group! The students of Winston County are fortunate to have such a supportive community!

Next up-- Columbia Elementary in Madison, AL!

Sept 25, 2012

Well, we are officially “big time” now! We performed in Hollywood today! That is, Hollywood Elementary in Hollywood, Alabama!

On this lovely day we were greeted by Principal Paul Kennamer to perform for 200 K-8th grade students!

The show today was very special to many at the Liberty Learning Foundation. The Super Citizen Program and my Lady Liberty Live performance were both sponsored anonymously in memory of Ted Green Sr. 

Mr. Green was a resident and student of Hollywood throughout his childhood. 

The Liberty Learning Foundation is fortunate to have on its team Mr. Green’s daughter, daughter-in-law and others who were greatly and positively affected by his life. He has obviously left a wonderful legacy that is being passed on to future generations.

We were also honored to have in attendance at today’s performance Alma Green, wife of the late Mr. Green, and Jack & Jane Waite, his aunt and uncle. 

Thanks to the Hollywood faculty, students and sponsors for a great day!

It’s autumn once again, and the Next Great Americans Tour is back at it! We have kicked off this leg of our tour at some great schools in Northern Alabama. Each one has been so much fun to visit! 

I could tell that all of the faculty and students have been eager to get started on the Super Citizen Program, including the newest most exciting element of the program, the Torch Teams! On these “Torch Teams” students will nominate and honor local heroes, or “Super Citizens” that they know personally!

I have been a little late getting my blog started this time, so I will recap the first six shows of the tour today. There’s so much to tell!

Our first stop in August was at Douglas Elementary in Marshall County. These students were fortunate that the Marshall County Commissioners sponsored the program at Douglas. Mr. Robert Kilgore of District 5 was even in attendance at the event! Also, Chris Clay from Clay Irrigation was able to attend. He sponsored our Lady Liberty Live kickoff show! Douglas Elementary and principal Willard Moses were so welcoming to our crew and we enjoyed our time there!

On September 11 we had a special show at Arab Elementary in Arab, Alabama. Principal Mike Shipp greeted us as we arrived and the staff at the school were so helpful! We were happy to have in attendance not only Arab Elementary’s sponsor of our program at the school that day, Mr. Jeff Taffer from Wells Fargo of Arab, but also the sponsors of our kickoff show, Clay Scofield, Annette Duncan from Bancorp South of Arab, and Corey Williams from Peoples Bank of Arab. It was also wonderful to have John Ingram, Arab Jr. High principal and Dr. Michael Douglas, Arab High School principal.

We visited Brindlee Mountain Elementary in Marshall County on September 17. Principal Beverly Kirkland’s enthusiasm was contagious! The Marshall County Commissioners also sponsored the program at this school. Bill Stricklend from District 1 was present at the performance as well as many of the students’ parents! It was great to see the parents’ involvement!

The very next day, September 18, we stopped at Crossville Elementary in Crossville, AL! Their principal is Ed Burke. We arrived very early on that rainy morning and appreciate the help of the staff that was there to greet us! We had several guests at this show including a representative from the show’s sponsor, Dale Carroll of Lee Energy Solutions. Also present were Assistant Principal Tony Bright, SRO Terry Baird, Sheriff Jimmy Harris, Deputy Michal Edmonson, 4th Grade teacher & City Councilwoman Beverly Robinson, school board member Harold Bobo, and Methodist Church Pastor Daniel Pope. It was wonderful to see the passion of the Crossville Elementary staff and the participation of so many in the community!

September 19 brought The Next Great Americans Tour to Mill Creek Elementary in Madison, AL. The students at Mill Creek were fortunate to have Northrup Gruman sponsor the Super Citizen Program at their school. Two representatives from Northrup Gruman were even in attendance at the show! Lincoln Hudson and Lisa Bath enjoyed the show with the students! We appreciate the help of Principal Melanie Barkley and all the faculty and staff at Mill Creek!

Our last stop of the week was all the way out at a school on the river in Sheffield, Alabama: L.E. Wilson Elementary. Sandra Cepeda of Cepeda Systems & Software Analysis, Inc. not only has sponsored the Lady Liberty Live kickoff show, but she also sponsored the entire Super Citizen Program for the school, including 2 year refills of the kits! We were glad to have Sheffiled Mayor Ian Sanford join us for the show, and we enjoyed visiting with Principal Carlos Nelson and the other faculty at Wilson.

I want to say a personal “thank you” to all of the sponsors of our Next Great Americans Tour and the Super Citizen Program at each of the schools. We honored you as local heroes at our shows and we truly mean that. And to all of the faculty and staff at the schools that we visit: you are in the trenches day in and day out. We appreciate all you do for our students in this country. I know that you will find the Super Citizen Program to be a very useful and indispensable tool for teaching, inspiring and empowering the Next Great Americans!

 Next up, Hollywood....Alabama!

Friday was a very special holiday for those of us at the Liberty Learning Foundation and for many across our wonderful country. Our team was so honored to be in the Huntsville, Alabama Veteran’s Day parade!

We had a beautiful, sunny day for the parade, and I had the best seat in the house. I got to ride in the parade alongside WWII veteran Chief Warrant Officer Bill Shields! It is always a joy to have Chief Shields with us at our events! Please take a minute to watch this video of Chief Shields. You will understand why he is so special to us! http://freedomisnotfree.causevox.com/

We had some great kids marching behind us (along with our big blue tour bus!) and singing our tour anthems “Next Great Americans” and “You in the USA!” They did a great job of getting the crowd pumped up and excited!

It was such a joy to see how many people turned out to honor our veterans, and all of the signs that they held up saying “Thank You.” I even heard several people yell out “thank you” to Chief Shields as we rode by! It was heartwarming to say the least. The parade was huge and the crowd to see it was even bigger! What a great day!

After the parade I got to perform for a great group of kids and adults at the Early Works Children’s Museum in downtown Huntsville! The Early Works Museum is such a great facility, and the staff was so helpful and friendly. We truly had a wonderful time meeting everyone and we want to thank them for their help and support! Our “Little Liberty” absolutely did NOT want to leave the museum! I think this must have been her favorite stop of the tour!

My hope, and I’m sure the hope of all of us at the Liberty Learning Foundation is that the Super Citizen Program will help students around America remember that our freedom was and is NOT free. Our veterans know this better than anyone. I know I have said it before, but I will say it again: Thank you, veterans. We appreciate your service!

We were so honored on Thursday to be a part of Valley Intermediate School’s Veteran’s Day program.

The program began today with around 70 veterans (all of whom are related to a student at Valley Intermediate) filing into the auditorium to great applause from the many students, staff, parents and visitors to the school. The president of the VIS student council then led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance and Principal Dana Payne began the program by listing many of our past presidents who were also veterans.

I was amazed at the huge crowd that had gathered when I came out of the crate! This was a huge room, and it was packed- standing room only!

I have mentioned before in this blog about how the Super Citizen Program emphasizes honoring our service men & women and our veterans. Really, our Next Great Americans Tour fit perfectly into the Veteran’s Day program today. Those of us at the Liberty Learning Foundation are always reminding ourselves that our freedom is not free. Our veterans know that better than anyone. We will always be grateful for their service and sacrifice.

We had many special guests today including the mayor of Pelham, Alabama, Mr. Donald R. Murphy. We also welcomed Neil Wagner from the Shelby County Reporter, several parents, and of course, our guests of honor, the veterans.

Thank you to principal Dana Payne for welcoming us to Valley Intermediate!

Next, we visit Alberta Elementary in Tuscaloosa, Alabama!

On Tuesday, November 8 we stopped by Belvedere Elementary in Belvedere, South Carolina!

Assistant Principal Kimmerie Lee thought that the Belvedere students really enjoyed the show. She said that they would never forget when I came out of that crate! She even told us how that she heard some of the children singing “You in the USA” as they walked down the hall after the show.

We do hope that the students remember the show that we put on for them, but mostly we hope that they remember and take with them the lessons of the Super Citizen Program. I am so glad that we are able to continue to be of service to all of the students that we visit even after we leave.

We were glad to have a photographer from the North Augusta Star join us for the show!

Thank you to Ms. Lee, and Principal Alison Churm for welcoming our tour to your school, and thank you to Ms. Cathey Farrell for bringing us to Belvedere!

Wednesday the Next Great Americans tour visited Wheeler Elementary in Alamo, GA!

We received such a warm welcome at Wheeler! The faculty and staff were so helpful to us!

I was glad to see many of the students wearing the Lady Liberty crowns from our Super Citizen kit! After the show, I got to visit with the K-2 students in their classrooms! We visited for a bit and took some pictures. We had a great time!

We were also glad to welcome Superintendent Dr. Mark Davidson to the show! He shared with us after the show that he believes that each new generation seems to take our liberties more for granted. He was excited that the Super Citizen Program teaches the value of these freedoms and the sacrifices that have been made to preserve them.

Thank you to Ms. Barbara Avery, Principal Ronda Hightower, Ms. Joy Warren, Ms. Cindy Bowen, and Mr. Samuel Burdette for all of your help and generosity!

On this lovely day in “The Low Country” the Next Great Americans Tour made a stop at Angel Oak Elementary in beautiful John’s Island, South Carolina!

Principal Rodney Moore was very helpful to our team and got everything started for us this morning. At the end of the show he led the students in giving the show three “Angel Oak Owl Hoots!” I take it from the smiles and enthusiasm from the students that this was a good thing! I can honestly say that we’ve never gotten “hoots” from any other school!

Mr. Moore read off a long list of activities that Angel Oak will be facilitating this week in celebration of Veteran’s Day on Friday! This school really honors their veterans! They are having guest speakers (veterans), parades, and more! I’m glad we could help them to kick off such a special week. It just warms my heart to hear of our students in America, our Next Great Americans, honoring our current Great Americans. It’s like we always say at the Liberty Learning Foundation- our freedom isn’t free!

It just so happened that a special guest was able to stop by and see our show today as well! We were glad to have Ms. Lori Leary from the Kiawah-Seabrook Exchange Club! Did you know that the Exchange Club is celebrating 100 years of service this year?!

Thanks to Mr. Moore for bringing the Next Great Americans Tour to your school and for all of your help!

Next up: Belvedere Elementary in Belvedere, South Carolina!