HARRISONBURG -- Less than 24 hours after officially launching its new Virginia state chapter, the free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity this morning hosted a breakfast meeting with Shenandoah Valley citizens who are interested in joining the group's grassroots army in support of free-market policies. The meeting featured former U.S. Senate candidate and former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain, who is spearheading AFP's Prosperity Expansion Project, as well as several state legislators.

"Out-of-control spending by government requires a different kind of taxpayer group. AFP is that difference because we organize, educate and mobilize real grassroots citizens and help them make sure their elected officials are held accountable and understand free-market policies," said Herman Cain, former U.S. Senate candidate and former Godfather's Pizza CEO, who is heading AFP's Prosperity Expansion Project. "We're hitting the ground running, with two grassroots training schools set for citizens in Charlottesville and Roanoke in the next week, and we'll have at least half a dozen grassroots schools completed by November 1. This new grassroots presence will lead to a stronger economy, which means new and better-paying jobs and more prosperity across Virginia."

Americans for Prosperity is a national organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and believes that reducing the size and scope of government is the best way to ensure individual prosperity for all Americans.

Rob Whitney, director of AFP's new chapter in Virginia, said that the need for a free-market grassroots presence in the Commonwealth is evident in the fact that over just the past 10 years, the state budget has increased by 81 percent, which has led to unnecessary tax increases.

"We're going to build the best grassroots organization our Commonwealth has ever seen, and our grassroots members will call for the kind of job-creating, quality-of-life-enhancing reforms that families and businesses want," Whitney said. "We'll establish at least six local chapters across the state by November 1, and 10 by time the General Assembly convenes in January. AFP Virginia is going to be a strong voice for fiscal responsibility, and that means reasonable spending on programs that really work and looking for ways to ease the tax burden."