2017 PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION
Charlotte and Forrest Lucas represented Protect The Harvest at the 2017 Presidential Inauguration in Washington D.C., earlier last month. Their trip included: VIP seating at the ceremony, attending four speeches by President Trump as well as a speech by Vice President Pence. They attended the Victory Reception, the Vice President’s Dinner, the Leadership Luncheon, the Candlelight Dinner and the Inaugural Ball. Despite the weather and cold temperatures, Charlotte noted, “To witness the inauguration is very important and exciting, simply because you are part of history”.
The Presidential Inauguration was a wonderful opportunity to meet leaders from all over the country and talk with them about the challenges facing agriculture and the threats to our heritage. Many of the leaders they spoke with were familiar with Protect The Harvest and our mission. They felt President Trump has selected a lot of really good people who will be able to fix the problems that have had a significant impact on agriculture and our way of life. They reported that everyone was excited about President Trump and very encouraged about the future.
Even though we have made great strides in introducing Protect The Harvest, our mission, and informing and educating the public, there is still work to be done. The inauguration presented the perfect opportunity to make new contacts with political leaders that were not as tuned in to the agricultural community and the challenges we face. Charlotte and Forrest reported that for some, it was hard to take in that our government has allowed extremist groups to push their agenda. They said the positive side about this is those new contacts were an interested audience, shocked to learn the truth about what was going on. This gave them the opportunity to answer a lot of questions and those conversations ended with the promise to do some investigating and research.
Overall, Charlotte and Forrest Lucas had a great experience representing Protect The Harvest in Washington D.C. It was clear to them that our message has been heard and recognized, not only by those leaders already familiar with the challenges faced by agriculture today, but also by leaders outside agriculture’s circle. They left feeling hopeful and confident that we have strong support in our mission.
