Next Sunday is August 18th. What does it mean? That day will mark the 5th month Pocket Full Of Liberty has been around.
Five months.
When I started this, I told everybody involved it could be something good or it could fail instantly. It’s been very cool to see it turned out to be the former (for now….it could still fail spectacularly!). It’s been so much fun. There have been some frustrations but that’s bound to happen. You take 8-10 different personalities and throw them together, there is bound to be friction at times.
We’re looking forward to what’s coming up in the next few months but I wanted to take this moment to say, “Thank you” to the following people:
The strategy & leadership team
Jacob was with Conservative Intelligence Briefing and I knew what he did with that site. Plus, I knew he had real world campaign experience and wanted to bring that experience to the table. He’s already given me some indispensable advice and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with him.
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Beth was a managing editor from the start and has recently joined me and Jacob to take on a role with more strategic input. In addition, she has authored some of our best pieces. I trust her completely and I rely often on her intelligence (which is higher than mine), real world experience and leadership to discuss blog happenings. I’m glad to bring her into some of the big picture discussions we’ll have going forward.
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The managing editor team:
SR Mann, Anna Morris, Mike Gannon
SR has been with us from the start and has been a tireless advocate for the site. She writes, edits, and sometimes handles some of the social media duties. She’s also on the weekly podcast and never runs out of ideas to throw at me. She’s a very valuable member of the team.
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Anna was the first writer we “stole” from another site. She joined the team as a managing editor and dove right in. She’s funny, bright and also an excellent writer. She’s been a great addition to the team.
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Mike is pretty brand new to the team. He guest posted and published one of the most controversial pieces we ever published. When we looking for some new people to join the team, it was SR Mann who suggested Mike and I thought, “What a great idea.” I asked, he accepted and jumped right in as a managing editor. He’s already kicking butt.
I just recently stepped back from editing duties and left it up to these three and they will do an amazing job.
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To the contributing editors:
Amy Otto, Neal Dewing, Mike Peters, Kevin Boyd, J. Cal Davenport, StrokesofCandor, Matt Hockman
Amy is another of my team members that has been on from the start and one that I often find myself talking to about the blog (that’s because she’s on the west coast and many of the PFoL team are off sleeping at midnight!) and other areas of politics. We’ll DM each other #HeadDesk worthy tweets we see from others and have a good laugh. She is also one of the co-hosts on the podcast and I can describe her blogging as “fearless” which is a great thing.
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Neal has been such a good sport as I have constantly made him the butt end of “cheap beer” jokes despite it being a total fabrication. We have a great team of writers, but in all honesty, Neal makes me shake my head when I read his posts — he’s really that good. I’m still worried about getting that email where he tells me he’s quitting because he was picked up by NRO or some other conservative outlet. Neal is also a podcast co-host and his sharp wit is one of his best qualities. It’s much better than his affinity for warm Schaefer.
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Mike has recently been bumped as he is the new Business Editor. When it comes to market and finance news, he was always on top of that so I decided to give him the reins of the business and finance area and go to town. His weekly post on Monday mornings is one of my favorite reads. He fills in at times on the podcast and I suspect you’ll be hearing more from him on that front in the future.
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Kevin is easily one of the more enthusiastic members of the team. Sometimes we have to beat back that enthusiasm, but it’s better than if he were just passive and offered up nothing. Kevin also handles the social media for PFoL and while I was assisting with that, I recently turned it all over to him and he has engaged the community very well which is bringing interest from quarters we hadn’t seen before.
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Cal just started with us and he came over Conservative Intelligence Briefing after he was recommended by Jacob Perry. He jumped right in with ‘Cal’s Corner’ and already produced dividends. He will start having a regular Monday post along with Mike so look for it!
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StrokesofCandor has been on somewhat of a hiatus as of late because of his work. However, he authored several pieces prior to that which made some waves. He’s hoping to be back with us, writing again at the end of this month and we can’t wait!
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Matt has built quite the social media following with his Embrace The Cause project and it was one of those nail biting moments to see if he would join the team (Jacob and I schemed about it for days) and it was with great relief that he agreed. Matt’s a great guy, very funny and smart. Look for his debut post this week on PFoL and lots of good stuff beyond then.
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The PFoL team kicks so much ass. And I am lucky to have them.
I also want to give a big thanks to Bill O’Keefe. You know him as DefendWallSt on Twitter. It didn’t work out with Bill and he has since moved on, but he did great stuff for us when he was on and has continued to be a big supporter as time has gone by. Under that crazy exterior, is a guy with a big heart and one of the funniest people I’ve ever come across.
Also, a big “Mike Francesa” HA-YOOG thank you to all of the people who read, tweet, share on FB and comment on the blog. This site goes nowhere without an engaged audience and I’m thrilled the team has produced the kind of content you want to share with others. Shout out to Kristina Ribali and Rachel Burger for guest posting. You’re both welcome at any time!
From the bottom of my heart to all of you – Thank you!