Georgia State Leader Sam Fleet traveled to the Pickens Plan Alabama Town Hall Meeting last week and had the chance to meet T. Boone Pickens. She shared her experience with us below. Thanks Sam!
Monday, October 18th was an exciting day for me. I meet Mr. T. Boone Pickens for the first time. You see, although I have spent the last 2 ½ years as the Georgia state leader for the Pickens Plan, I have never had the opportunity to meet him face to face. We have corresponded back and forth, just never met in person.
Why am I so excited to meet him you may ask? Well, back on July 8, 2008 I was still a Realtor, one that had little prospect of being able to continue my business due to the economic downturn. Things looked pretty grim. Watching CNN, I saw one of the first ever Pickens Plan commercials Boone ran. This commercial got me curious about our struggle with foreign oil in the United States. Never having been involved politically, or really taken interest in public policy, I stepped out of my norm, and educated myself on www.pickensplan.com. I quickly developed a passion for ending our crippling dependence on foreign oil.
In short, I got involved. I became a State Leader, started speaking on the subject, met with political leaders, traveled across the state and got more regular folks like me involved. I have been inspired by others like me across the nation who have done the same. In meeting T. Boone Pickens, I was introduced to the man who ignited that spark in me to get involved and participate in what happens in our country. The Pickens Plan has taught me that leadership is everything, and our country is facing a crisis of leadership from our elected officials in Washington on energy. I never really considered myself a leader, and did not really want to be. I just felt compelled to step up. Working toward energy independence for our nation was just something I had to do.
The Town Hall was truly fantastic! It was held in the beautiful “Zone – at Bryant-Denny Stadium,” on campus at the University of Alabama. All 800 chairs filled up in the first few minutes after the doors opened. I was already impressed with the turnout, and then people kept pouring into the auditorium! All told, when Mr. Pickens took the stage, there were 1,300 people there to hear about the Pickens Plan. I saw several hundred college students, and people from all races, colors, creeds and walks of life. It really represented what is so powerful about the Pickens Plan, that our dependence on foreign oil impacts us all the same. It’s not a partisan issue, but an American one.
Mr. Pickens took the stage to a standing ovation. He gave a 40 minute presentation, with no notes, about the history of our addiction to foreign oil, the national and economic security concerns of our dependence and, most importantly, a viable solution to get on our own resources.
It was well worth the three hour drive from Atlanta, and really an opportunity I will cherish for a long time. I thank Mr. Pickens for stepping forward and inspiring so many just like me to have a real heartfelt concern for what is going on in our nation today. If I hadn’t seen that commercial back in July a couple of years ago, well, I may not have become what I was supposed to….an unexpected leader.
Sam Fleet