Meetup at the Waffle House worked out pretty good.. Some of the brothers got bogged down somewhere and couldn't make it, but we left at nine AM, after a good breakfast.. That IH-35 traffic was pretty bad, all the way to Waco.. The folks were dropping off all the sons and daugters at Baylor and College Station.. but, we made pretty good time, even with all the traffic.. The five of us got to the State Office in Elgin, in time to get some visiting done before the meeting.. There was a pretty decent crew already there and a couple of late arrivals came in, just in time .. The Chairman called the meeting to order straight up at one, and it was off and running.. Looks like every Chapter is experiencing a flat spot right now.. This last legislative special session has kinda left everyone with a bad case of burnout.. All anyone needs is a little break and catch their breath.. Quite a few of the Advisors reported some movement in membership, so that part is looking good.. After the meeting adjourned, everyone ate a good dinner in town and some of the guys were planning to spend the night, so they could go through Crawford Sunday morning.. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to join that party.. I'd just run out of time and besides, the guest that I'd invited to the DA meeting had to get back home for work.. I'll make the trip one day this coming week.. Mando couldn't make the meeting this time.. That is a long way from El Paso and he's running a pretty demanding business.. Stuff like that happens.. He did send a Stand In.. As it turned out, the stand in was one of the good ABATE brothers from across the state line, New Mexico..The Rev.. attends meeting with the TMRA 2 Chapter in the Pass and he brought us up to speed on all the happenings out there, as well as what is going on with next state neighbors.. Those NM ABATE boys are making a lot of changes and are definitely getting it right, these days.. The governor's office is being visited on a regular basis and the attorney general is becoming very familiar with the ABATE brothers and sisters.. Way to go guys.. I'm proud of you.. All told, we had a successful meeting and everyone split up, feeling pretty good about our state of the organization.. Looks like the upcoming campaign season is going to be lively, and that's to say the least.. Bill Walker Irving, Tx.
