$10 Gadsden Flags Raise $2,200 For USO At Morristown NJ Tea Party
By Alonzo Hosford
Morristown Tea Party Labor Day September 7, 2009 event speaker Tom Adkins spontaneously raised $2,200 for the USO.Tom Adkins auctioned two $10.00 Gadsden Flags to a crowd over 5,000 people.
Gadsden flag
The first flag was offered at the start of his talk to honor those who serve in the armed services. Later Tom got a request to repeat the flag fund raising effort from anonymous person who served on the USS Ronald Regan.
The first flag was auctioned for $1,000 matched by Tom with $500. The winner of the auction, only identified himself as Ken, noted before becoming an American he was a Brit. Ken bumped the bidding from $650 to $1,000 just after Tom offered a $500 match if the bidding reached $1,000. Ken relinquished the flag and requested the flag to be carried to Washington DC on 9/12/09.
Video Story Of $1,500 Gadsden Flag USO Donation
[ 9/18/09 Follow-up]
In a brief email from Tom Adkins, he said “It’s really strange…I decided to do this on the spur of the moment. I was actually shocked to get a bid that high. I actually expected maybe $100. And a better man couldn’t have won the bid. A Brit who moved here because he loved America!!! Does it get any better than that?”
After Tom concluded his presentation, an encore request from the person who served on the USS Ronald Reagan started another auction. The auction for the USO donation concluded with two women, only identified by first names, joining forces to raise $700 for the second Gadsden flag. During the bidding a crowd cheer erupted when Tom observed “She is counting her money, I love this lady. That is a good American. They count their money before they spend it.”
Video Story Of $700 Gadsden Flag USO Donation
The event is one in a series of model Tea Parties hosted by The Morristown Tea Party organization that in addition to leading conservative speakers, offers patriotic activities such as information booths loaded with information on bills in Congress, family activity center, constitutional signing, 911 displays and patriotic musicians. To hear all speakers at the event visit the organization’s YouTube site.
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The USO is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the troops by providing morale, welfare and recreation-type services to our men and women in uniform. You can make a donation at their site.
