Conference HighLights

July 16-17, 2004
Salt Lake City, Utah

Our twelfth National Conference was successful with two business meetings, an evening barbecue, a Candidate Forum, and the endorsements of candidates for the 2004 elections.

Standing and Special Committee Meetings

We met all day Friday, briefly as the Rules Committee, then as a special Candidate Screening Committee for half the day, then as the Platform Committee for the rest of the day. Everyone present participated in all committee sessions. We met in a conference room at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

As the special Candidate Screening Committee, we reviewed a number of candidate profiles that were either submitted to us or taken from candidate web sites.  We established a criteria for candidate endorsements. We discussed each candidate and prepared recommendations for the National Committee.

As the Platform Committee, we held a general discussion on possible future changes to the National Platform. We drafted significant changes for the Defense section and minor changes to several other sections of the platform, and prepared recommendations for the National Committee. 

Evening Barbecue Social

Friday evening we met at Murray Park (in Murray, Utah near Salt Lake City). We enjoyed a pork  barbecue dinner and visiting with each other. We got into several informal political discussions. The cool outdoor weather was refreshing.

National Committee Meeting

We met for six hours on Saturday for our National Committee business meeting in the Salt Lake County Commission Chambers, at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.  After opening ceremonies, we had a national report by the National Chairman, then a credentials report.

We received the Rules Committee report, then adopted their recommendation to switch our semi-annual National Conferences to the Spring and Fall (rather than Winter and Summer months) beginning in 2005, and to hold a special National Committee meeting shortly after the November elections.

We received the special Candidate Screening Committee report, then discussed and considered which candidates to endorse. We unanimously endorsed the Constitution Party nominees Michael Peroutka for President and Chuck Baldwin for Vice President. We also endorsed several congressional candidates, and a number of local candidates in several states.  

We received the Platform Committee report, and discussed and considered their recommendations. We then adopted most of the recommended platform changes.

Candidate Forum

At Saturday mid-afternoon we held our Candidate Forum also in the Salt Lake County Commission Chambers.  IAP Issues Committee Chair Richard Wilde gave our keynote address and spoke on "America at a Crossroads." U.S. Senate candidate Gary Van Horn spoke on "I Believe ...." U.S. House candidate Jeremy Petersen spoke on "Formula for Liberty." And U.S. House candidate Ronald Winfield spoke on "Most Crucial Issues."