2003 Liberty Festival
Held at the Hampton Inn Suites. Okemos, 2200 Hampton Place, Okemos, MI
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Winners
- Greg Dirasian
- Joe Overton (posthumous)
- Jeff Steinport
LibertyFest a Big Success
by Will Tyler White
The annual Michigan LP LibertyFest, hosted this year by the Capital Area Liberty Party at the Okemos Hampton Inn, drew about eighty people from around the State. A half dozen Green Party members and Libertarian city councilmen were in attendance, along with four prominent media personalities.
A panel discussion on Media & Third Party Politics was the featured program. Moderated by noted political commentator Bill Ballenger of Inside Michigan Politics, the open forum was informative, interesting, and entertaining. Executive editor Mickey Hirten from the Lansing State Journal, politcal reporter Dawson Bell of the Detroit Free Press Lansing bureau, and anchorman Paul Junge from Fox47 TV were the panelists. A social hour with a cash bar preceded the event, which was followed by a buffet banquet and presentation of the Defender of Liberty (Libby) awards.
This year’s Producer of Liberty award went to Greg Dirasian for his work in creating an online data-base system, newsletter changes, and campaign management.
The Promoter of Liberty award went to Joe Overton, former LPM Chair and former vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, who passed away earlier this year when his ultralight crashed. Jack McHugh of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy accepted the award for Joe.
And, the Spokesperson for Liberty award went to Jeff Steinport who was elected to the Grand Rapids School Board in 2001.
Video tapes of the event are available from Will Tyler White.
