It’s been a month since a very big, exciting change happened in my life. In case you missed it, the Free State Project’s torch was passed from one Executive Director to the next. Accordingly, this change was publicly announced on February 1st at the 2020 New Hampshire Liberty Forum.

After Rachel Goldsmith informed the crowd that she was stepping down to focus on her family, she revealed her successor and introduced me as the new Executive Director of the Free State Project.

Thank you, already!

During my first month in the office, many volunteers have already answered the call and stepped up. Additionally, during my transition into this job, I’ve leaned heavily on the help of former Executive Director, Rachel Goldsmith; Board Member, Jeremy Kauffman; Treasurer, Steve Villee; Webmaster and Tech Guru, Jon DiPietro; and most of all, Chair of the Board, Carla Gericke (I still can’t believe one of my heroes is also a great friend of mine!).

Without a doubt, this first month has been a whirlwind. I need to thank everybody who’s helped me, encouraged me, and made me feel welcome.

A quick intro to the new Executive Director

By and large, most readers don’t know me. So, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vince. I found out about the Free State Project in 2007, moved to New Hampshire in 2010, became a successful salesperson, quit my job, left the United States, traveled for more than three years, and moved to New Hampshire a second time.

When the Board approached me to take over as the new Executive Director, I felt shocked and humbled. For the past 10 years, the Free State Project has been the primary focus of my activism. The results that I’d produced convinced the Board of Directors to elevate me from my dual role as Director of Development and Communications Director to my current position.

Major contributions to date

Among the many contributions that I’ve made to the Free State Project, the few that I’m most proud of are:

• In 2012, I was part of the team of about a dozen Free Staters who went to two, major Ron Paul events in Tampa, Florida. Together, we effectively promoted the Free State Project, made genuine, personal connections with hundreds of attendees; acquired pledges from dozens of new, future activists for the New Hampshire liberty movement; and passed out thousands of flyers.
• Consistently, I’ve financially contributed to the Free State Project, including being one of the 62 historic Trigger the Move donors in 2013.
• Perhaps most notably, I helped produce the 2014 crowd funded documentary, 101 Reasons: Liberty Lives in New Hampshire, which now has over 150,000 views on Youtube.
• Together, then-President, Carla Gericke and I Triggered the Move by gathering nearly all of the final 3,300+ individuals to join the Free State Project in 2015/2016.
• While traveling, I continued to volunteer my time remotely, starting in the summer of 2018 until January. I worked in our CRM (Contact Relationship Management software), created and optimized forms; created new and improved existing landing pages; created and curated content for our website; raised funds for the Household Name marketing budget; researched, bought, and analyzed the results of our advertising campaigns; executed targeted email marketing campaigns; and produced engaging social media content. As an interesting side note, most of that volunteer work was done from half way around the world.

What should you expect from me?

Since I moved to New Hampshire in 2010, my focus has always been on communicating the mission of the Free State Project, then attracting more people to join, move, and continue their activism in New Hampshire. As of now, about 2,200 people have moved to New Hampshire for the Free State Project and approximately an additional 2,500 have signed on while already living in New Hampshire.

Vince

Along with the indispensable help of many talented volunteers, we’re well on our way to achieving the 5+ goals that I promised you we’d accomplish in my first year. To demonstrate my commitment to you and to the Free State Project, today is Day 30 of my new job and I have yet to take a day off. Inevitably, I will achieve those goals that I promised you.

You should expect all of the above to continue.

What should you demand from me?

In a word: results! If you see that I’m falling behind in any area, please let me know. If you support the Free State Project, you should demand accountability from me.

But what about you? How do you fit into this equation? Well, if you have talents that you think will help our long standing, successful charity, my door is always open. If you don’t have time to give your talents, you know what to do instead.

In closing, I can honestly say, I’ve never been more focused and driven to achieve success in my entire life. I am the new Executive Director of the Free State Project. Now, more than ever before, my eyes are on the prize.

And that prize is liberty.