THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Thanks to all who participated in Heartland LibertyFest--those who donated, the many sponsors, and to those who worked so tirelessly in getting it put together.

"Mother Nature" had some surprises for us: a week before the event, the high temperature was supposed to be 85 degrees--it turned out to be closer to 95 degrees; the chance of rain was slim, but by the early evening, we ended up with a much abbreviated musical portion of our event because of the thunderstorms that rolled in.

Still the day was worthwhile. We got to hear from candidates, great speakers, and some outstanding entertainers. Attendees had the chance to visit with almost 30 different organizations or businesses who were sponsoring the event in some manner.

There were opportunities for networking amongst those in attendance--both among the table sponsors, and those who were "stopping by" to see what we were up to.

This WAS the first event like this. We learned some lessons--things we would have done differently, and will do differently in the future. Our numbers looked significantly smaller than we believe they really were, in large part because the venue was so large that no one ever felt closed in. We believe, based on the the materials we handed out, a one time count of everyone who was on the premises at the time, and some spot observations of new people coming in (even while others were leaving), that we circulated something in the neighborhood of 600-700 people through the event.

Regardless of the numbers, though--whether larger or smaller than our “best guess”--it was a fun day for those who love liberty to mix and mingle, and learn.

Our raw straw poll results:

An “adjusted” average, to take into consideration one candidate’s enthusiastic and large support, showed essentially the same ordering, however with a spread ranging from .32 to 6.82, with the top 5 options ranging from 4.78 to 6.82.

Thanks again for your support and participation. We’re already starting to consider the possibilities for the next time around! Stay tuned. (Hint: you can still sign up for our email list at the top of this page to receive updates.) When we’re ready to announce, we’ll reconfigure this website for Heartland LibertyFest 2012!