Allen West surprised on Palm Beach

Take a beautiful day on Palm Beach Island, add several dozen great conservative people for a fundraiser, surprise the head of the foundation with a visit by Brigitte Gabriel, and you have the makings of a great day for everyone in attendance.

Several months ago, two very busy ladies in Palm Beach County, Clai Reading and Audrey Dalton started putting their minds together along with a lot of other people to arrange today’s very successful fund raising event for the Allen West Foundation.  

Fundraisers for the Allen West Foundation, like most fundraisers, are not usually what one might call newsworthy, and can become a bit ho hum; so Clai and Audrey decided to do something different for the Congressman.  

During his public career, he has never been one to shy away from speaking out about the enemies we face, including the perils of radical Islam and the threat it poses.  Along the way, he has become a fan and friend of Brigitte Gabriel; a woman who lived through a youth robbing hellish nightmare at the hands of terrorists, and who is the founder and CEO of Act for America.  

As such, she has been sounding the alarm and spreading her message to all that will listen, including government agencies, Fox News, corporate entities, and at countless gatherings around the country and world.  

Knowing of their friendship, Clai reached out to Brigitte and asked if she could attend and perhaps say a few words.  Ever the friend and patriot, Brigitte could not say yes fast enough.  

Arranging for her to get to Palm Beach was the easy part.  The really tough part was keeping her visit a secret from Allen West because, well, he gets around and knows people, they talk.  

In my travels, I not only report on such events, sometimes I also get to be a small part, and today was one of those days.  I had the distinct honor and privilege to unveil the surprise and introduce Brigitte into the room.  After a rousing round of applause, she did what she does best.

She spoke as effortlessly a fish swimming in water and briefly told the gathering about how she and the Congressman met, how many she has seen come and go in DC, and how Congressman West understands as few do the very real threats we face.  Before closing her remarks and bringing him up to the podium, she did chide him just a bit about one day becoming President West, which got a loud round of applause. 

That’s when he took to the podium and discussed the Allen West Foundation and what it stands for. The foundation is really simple enough and is all about getting back to basic values, the principles of our founders, and the things that made America great. 

During his very brief commentary, he discussed his youth and how he walked past the final resting place of Dr. Martin Luther King daily on his way to school; how at the time he was born, his parents could not even have crossed the bridge to get to the place where today’s event was held in his old district.  

He brought his comments to a close by mentioning the day back in 1787 when after finalizing the establishment of this nation, Dr. Benjamin Franklin was asked, “Dr. Franklin, what sort of government have you given us?”  To which he replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.”  

He mentioned that encounter with Dr. Franklin because the answer was not so much to the woman who posed it as it was broadly to We the People, then and now, as a whole.  

And that is the essence of what the Allen West Foundation is really all about…keeping our Republic.

You can find out much more about the Allen West Foundation by clicking here, and you may also gain more information about Act for America by clicking here.