The Texas Defending the American Dream® Summit gave us an opportunity to honor those that have worked tirelessly for the conservative movement over the past year. 

Our Award Recipients this year were:

American Exceptionalism Stars

Don McLeroy & Gail LoweThe elected State Board of Education has been under fire by far left activists as the SBOE worked to adopt social studies curriculum which recognize the contributions of our Founding Fathers and represent the values which make this country exceptional. Some organizations and media outlets have been making erroneous and outrageous statements about the new Texas Social Studies standards. AFP honored the SBOE members who voted consistently to promote the principles upon which this country was founded.

Award Recepients: Don McLeroy, Gail Lowe, Barbara Cargill, Terri Leo, Geraldine Miller, Cynthia Dunbar, Ken Mercer, David Bradley, Patricia Hardy

Blogger of the Year: Sybil West

Sybil West of Ramparts360.com is blogger of the year. The slogan of the blog Ramparts 360 is "Defending and Preserving Liberty." The blog has been around since the Tea Party movement started gaining steam in 2009, and since that time, Sybil has ensured that the content she and her team of bloggers provides at Ramparts not only imparts knowledge, but provides ways for individuals to participate in defending and preserving the liberty that is under attack in our nation today.

Check out her blog at www.Ramparts360.com, her Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/Ramparts360 and her Facebook page by Clicking Here.

Citizen Leader Stars

The Friendswood FiveIt takes nerve to fight city hall. When the City of Friendswood leaders decided they wanted to circumvent their city charter and issue debt without voter approval, they sought approval from a judge in Austin. Five citizens lead the court battle to oppose the mayor and City Council. They fought city hall and won. 

The Friendswood Five - Mel Austin, Deborah Winters Chaney, Janis Lowe, Kathy Rogers, and Leslie Roque

Comal County Commissioners voted to issue debt without voter approval, but several citizens lead a successful petition drive to put the measure on the ballot. Considering the debt the county currently carried, the citizens referred to the county action as a "debt bomb" and the citizens were deemed the "The Comal County Debt Bomb Squad"

The Comal County Debt Bomb Squad - Wade Jacoby, Doug Kirk, Michael Maurer, Rittler Strachan, and Ken Valentine

Lifetime Award: Jason Moore

No one as young as Jason Moore should be receiving a lifetime award, but this Watchdog from Odessa deserves the designation. He has been the Texas and the national Watchdog Leader of the Year, he has fought local tax increases in West Texas, and has his own radio talk show. Deemed "Captain Watchdog", Jason Moore is a devoted husband, the father of five, owns a masonry business, and was the hands-down winner for the Lifetime Award for his unrelenting fight for economic freedom issues. 

Media Watchdogs of the Year

The Texas Daily Newspaper Association, the Texas Press Association and the Texas Association of Broadcasters have together fought for years to increase transparency, open records and support the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA). When one city council members in West Texas town fought the TOMA and the Texas Municipal League voted to gut the Act, these media organizations stepped in to

The Fort Worth Star Telegram is awarded a media watchdog award for successfully suing the City of Grapevine for violating the Texas Open Meetings Act when they met behind closed doors and hired former legislator turned million-dollar lobbyist Fred Hill. 

New Citizen Watchdog: Heather Liggett

This new citizen watchdog calls herself a stay-at-home Mom but she is anything but that. She is constantly on-the-go, planning tea parties, organizing citizens to testify before the State Board of Education, all the while carpooling kids to school and sporting events. Heather Liggett has earned the New Citizen Watchdog award of the year.

Tea Party Leader of the Year: Toby Marie Walker

AFP has worked with some excellent tea party organizations in Texas and tea party leaders are usually individuals who dedicate countless hours along with personal and financial resources fight an expanding government and stop government intrusion in our lives and our livelihoods. Toby Marie Walker heads the Waco Tea Party, one of the most outstanding tea parties in the country.

Watchdog of the Year: Adrian Heath

Everyone is aware of the ballooning federal debt, but in traveling the state, AFP has worked to make people aware of just how out-of-control local government spending and debt can be. Adrian Heath is the leader of the AFP-Montgomery County chapter, and he's made it his personal mission to educate citizens and legislators alike of the problem of local government spending and debt. Adrian has testified before legislative committees on the problem and is working closely with AFP to hold elected officials accountable and fight for more taxpayer protections.

Watchdog Website of the Year: King Street Patriots

One of the keys to having a successful Watchdog group is having a clear message and communicating effectively about issues and events. King Street Patriots deserves the honor of Watchdog Website of the Year for their website www.KingStreetPatriots.org, which gives members a clear way to get plugged in and take action on key issues.

Be sure to check out King Street's LINKS program, which fosters coalition-building between conservative groups in Texas and the rest of the nation.