Today a coalition of groups concerned about massive debt, high taxes and an ever increasing role of government in our economic lives announced the first ever North Carolina Tea Party Summits.
These two 3-day events will focus on issues that affect the free market movement in North Carolina and how tea party minded people can help bring about change in North Carolina.
The event will attempt to answer questions like: “Where does the tea party movement go from here?” And, “What can we do in 2010 to bring free market solutions to North Carolina?” And, “How can I make a difference?”

The event is intended for tea party leaders and attendees, grassroots activists, conservative/libertarian candidates/volunteers and members of the general public who are interested in advancing the free market, limited government agenda.

2009 will always be known as the Year of the Tea Party. The beauty of the Tea Party Movement is that you can’t own it, buy it, or control it. Click here to find a Tea Party near you.

These Tea Party Summits attempt only to bring tea party minded people together to learn, discuss, and get motivated to take that tea party spirit into the 2010 election season.
This is an event FOR activists BY activists.

The Western North Carolina Tea Party Summit
Friday-Sunday May 14, 15, 16 Hickory Convention Center

The Eastern North Carolina Tea Party Summit
(in conjunction with the North Carolina Coastal Conservative Conference NCCCC)
Friday-Sunday, May 21, 22, 23 Hilton Wilmington Riverside

Cost for the 3-day event is just $99.00 and will include several meals. You may also purchase tickets on an event-by-event basis.
Click here for more information.

Conference Agenda

Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Grassroots Get-Out-The-Vote Workshop

The Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) Workshop teaches you to plan GOTV strategies, implement effective targeted voter-contact, and 72-hour programs, and how to identify supporters and organize a winning program to get them to the polls on Election Day.

In addition, you will learn how to develop a systematic plan to get the most out of mail, phones, precinct walks, and Election Day strategies that deliver successful results.

Training included in the workshop:
Precinct Organization
Door-to-Door
Organizing Telephone Banks
Recruiting and Motivating Volunteers
Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV)
Building a Grassroots Organization

5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Networking Social (Cash Bar)

9:00 PM -10:00 PM : Free Market Short Film Screening and discussion
LET ME RISE
The Struggle to Save the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program
To highlight the ongoing fight for school choice in Washington, D.C., The Heritage Foundation produced this new mini-documentary. This 30 minute film about the school choice debate in our Nation’s Capital and around the country features the personal stories and perspectives of District of Columbia families who are fighting to provide their children with a safe and effective education.

Saturday
8:15 AM – 9:00 AM
Continental breakfast

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Morning Session: Lets Get Motivated in North Carolina in 2010.
(With Mary Katherine Ham from Fox News)
Topics to be covered
Year of the Tea Party Movement
Future of the Tea Party Movement
Tea Party Movement going forward
What resources are available to you?
North Carolina Electoral landscape 2010/Redistricting
What can we do?/What should we do? Electioneering and get out the vote.
Agenda for Change in North Carolina

11:00 AM -11:15 AM
Break

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Social (optional with no additional cost)
Sunday
1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Citizen Watchdog/Investigative Journalism Training

Newspapers are on the decline nationally. With staff layoffs, come the downsizing or elimination of one of our daily newspaper’s greatest strengths: investigative reporting. Many papers served as the public watchdog for voters and taxpayers.
While the function may be slipping away, the need for trained investigative journalists is not. Over the past several years, more and more citizen journalists have been successfully investigating fraud, waste and government abuse and reporting results to burgeoning community blogs and Internet sites devoted to government transparency.
Click here to register.
To further these efforts in North Carolina, Civitas Institute is sponsoring an Investigative Journalism Training which will include the following topics:

What is Investigative Journalism?
Story Writing
Making Request for Public Records
Investigating City Hall and State Government
Investigating Campaigns
Investigating Schools
Interviewing and Developing Sources
Investigative Journalism Helps
Investigative Journalism Ethics
Successful Investigations in North Carolina

Click here to register.

To further these efforts in North Carolina, Civitas Institute is sponsoring an Investigative Journalism

2009 will forever be the year of the Tea Party Movement. When it came to the big government takeover of healthcare, the banks, the auto companies, and our nation’s free market capitalist system, the Tea Party Movement stood its ground and defended liberty and freedom.

This event is planned to help keep the Tea Party Movement active and effective in 2010 in North Carolina. Although the Tea Party Movement must continue to be relentless on national issues, we would like to help focus the Tea Party Movement on important issues in North Carolina at the same time

In North Carolina limited government and conservative/libertarian ideas do not have any chance to be heard in the General Assembly. We are the highest taxed state in our region. Our schools are failing. We can not get a vote to stop forced annexation, stop eminent domain abuse, limit spending, add more charter schools and much more. This summit hopes to help channel the tea party energy towards some of these issues.