Blue Helm

We just had a wonderful Independence Day weekend and in the spirit of the season I want to tell you about America’s Freedom Festival, a not-for-profit organization we have the privilege of working with. I do want to make it clear that they are one of our clients, but they are not paying me or even know that I’m writing this.

I have always loved America. I think our country is the best in the world, and I will always stand by that opinion. I’ve always celebrated patriotic holidays and honored our servicemen and women. US history was one of my favorite subjects in school and I get emotional every time I watch Gettysburg (one of my top ten favorite movies). But as I’ve worked with the people at the Freedom Festival, I’ve seen a whole new level of what love for America means.

America’s Freedom Festival is an organization devoted to Family, Freedom, God, and Country–the core values the Founding Fathers relied upon in the establishment of America. The Festival organizes around 30 annual events, the bulk of which take place in late June and early July. These events are big time. They organize a parade that attracts around 300,000 people. They organize Freedom Days, where hundreds of vendors come together to turn downtown Provo into an exciting patriotic shopping center. They put on a Patriotic Service where talented musical guests contribute to a patriotic message from a notable person to inspire the 10,000+ in attendance. They organize a massive production where thousands of fifth graders come together to put on a patriotic program that will stir your inner Patriot. And of course the main event, Stadium of Fire, where huge musical stars like Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and many more perform in front of 50,000 people and add their talents to an Independence Day production and fireworks show rivaled by few.

The question is, why? Why does this organization do it? Are they pushing some political agenda? Isn’t someone making a bunch of money off Stadium of Fire and rolling in it after the show? No. There is no monetary motivation, there is no political agenda. All of the money made off Stadium of Fire goes to pay for the 25+ other free events, which are not cheap to put on, as well as the next year’s Stadium of Fire. I’ve been in a ton of Freedom Festival meetings and I’ve worked in their offices for a year now and I am so surprised how little politics are spoken of. Honestly I can’t remember politics coming up once outside of the conversations my business partner Emory and I have.

I really wish you could spend a few days hanging out with the organizers and the volunteers in this organization. I’ve never met a group of people more genuinely in love with their country. When you see the work, the effort, the stress, the tears shed, and the volunteer time given to honoring America you can’t help but glean from the pure patriotic spirit that they radiate.

So what has the Freedom Festival taught me about what it means to love America? It means you serve regardless of your own interests. It means you give of your money, time, and even your life, for the good of others. It means you understand that freedom is not free as you try to empathize with the pain of parents and spouses who have survived the troops they sent out. It means you look and treat the American flag with respect and honor. It means that whenever you say the pledge or sing the national anthem you can’t help but think of the thousands of lives and the billions of hours that have been given to ensure freedom. It means so much more that a weekend of celebration.

So thank you to America’s Freedom Festival for opening my eyes a little more to what it means to love America. America is amazing!