What would it look like to have a TP USA Chapter here in Chaffee County, Colorado?
Issue #3
October 19, 2025
Think of it this way: If the young people who are engaged in these types of tough discussions become the next leaders of our county, state, and nation, WE ARE GOING TO BE OK! For instance, when asked about rewriting the Constitution, one young pupil replied, “Why don’t we just read and follow the one we have!” How clear and succinct! Thank you, SIr!
Summary of Second Public Interest Meeting in Salida
On October 16 at Granzella Hall in Salida, approximately 45 engaged adults and young people attended our second public interest meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the framework of Turning Point and to recruit volunteers to contribute their time, talent, or resources.
Following an overview of Turning Point and its six areas of focus, attendees formed three breakout groups based on their interests:
TPUSA Club America: A group of students and parents began planning for future off-campus meetings. These meetings will be open to students from public schools, private schools, and homeschools and will focus on studying current political and social issues.
TP Action: A group of adults discussed strategies for engaging in the political process within Chaffee County. Brainstorming efforts were described as inspiring, focusing on proactive local involvement.
TP Faith: This support group connected with others to discuss strategies for engaging local pastors and church leaders in a common conservative dialogue.
The evening was marked by significant energy and passion, with attendees feeling they had advanced their collective goals. As a next step, the organization plans to develop small, mobilized teams to expand conversations with like-minded individuals throughout Central Colorado.
Next Steps and Future Events
Bring in staff from TPUSA for guidance.
Develop small, mobilized teams to expand conversations among like-minded individuals in Central Colorado.
Work toward establishing new chapters for local districts and homeschoolers.
Host TPUSA at the next Chaffee County Patriots meeting on November 14 in Buena Vista at St. Rose Church.
Facilitate the formation of new teams in other geographic areas.
Background
This latest meeting builds on the momentum from our first gathering on September 18 at the Buena Vista Airport Meeting Room. Following that initial meeting, we successfully expanded our network through word-of-mouth, public informational booths, and email outreach.
For those interested in getting involved, please respond via email. We are also available to travel to other locations to share information about the TP Platform.
Summary of the meeting and talking points shared through our ZOOM AI note-taker
Quick recap
The meeting began with Tom discussing his background in education and providing updates on Turning Point USA's national expansion and local initiatives in Chaffee County. He outlined the process for starting and maintaining high school chapters, covering guidelines for meetings, financial contributions, and various support opportunities. The session concluded with discussions about conservative organizations and events, followed by group activities focused on organizing student engagement and planning future activities.
Turning Point USA Expansion Update
Tom discussed his background in education and his current role as an administrator. He emphasized the importance of engaging with young people and mentioned that the community school still recites the pledge daily. Tom also provided an update on Turning Point USA's renovations, noting that they have increased from 3,000 to 54,000 requests nationwide.
TPUSA Chaffee County Expansion Plans
Tom discussed the progress and future plans for TPUSA (Turning Point USA) in Chaffee County, focusing on organizing high school clubs and engaging with the local community. He emphasized the need for adult involvement in hosting meetings and events, and highlighted the importance of building confidence among young people in expressing conservative perspectives. Tom also mentioned the six main areas of focus for TPUSA, including Club America for high school students, and encouraged attendees to register their interest in these initiatives.
High School Club Chapter Guidelines
Tom discussed the guidelines and opportunities for starting a high school chapter of a club, emphasizing the need for private meetings off-campus due to possible school restrictions. He highlighted the potential for regional or district meetings and mentioned that eighth-grade students can join high school meetings in the spring semester. He mentioned various ways to support chapters, including hosting events, providing scholarships, and addressing pushback from opponents. Tom briefly touched on college chapter activities, noting that while Western College is nearby, the focus should be on high school chapters for now, and suggested using Colorado Mountain College's free meeting rooms for events.
Conservative Organizations and Engagement
Tom discussed various conservative organizations and events, including Turning Point Education, TP Faith, Blexit, and America Fest. He encouraged attendees to get involved by joining these groups, attending events, and supporting them financially or through volunteer work. Tom mentioned that a handbook is available for $20 and offered to help arrange copies for interested participants. The next step was for attendees to choose how they wanted to engage with the organizations, focusing on time, treasure, or talent.
Group Organization and Activity Planning
Tom led a discussion on organizing groups and preparing for future activities. He emphasized the importance of self-introduction and outlined steps for group members to build to-do lists and identify needs. Tom also introduced a chart showing political issues from 2016 to 2025 and mentioned nine discussion questions for group members to debate. He instructed participants to split into specific groups for pizza and explained the layout for different groups in the room.
High School Student Group Planning
The meeting focused on organizing a group for high school students, discussing potential activities, and planning future events. Tom outlined the layout of different groups and activities, including political involvement and education. The group discussed integrating high school students into existing programs and considered monthly meetings with various topics. They also planned to invite a representative from Colorado to share more information on November 14th. The conversation ended with a birthday comparison exercise and a prayer.
Please consider how you might stay involved. Here are just a few ideas.
Stay connected by logging onto the tpusa.com website and registering to ask for more information on the area that interests you. Be sure and let them know you are from Chaffee County.
Share the emails, highlights, enthusiasm and upcoming events with others. (Feel free to send their contact information forward to us as well)
Attend local meetings and encourage your like-minded associates to do the same.
Share their information (with their permission of course) with this team so we can keep them posted. So many people say things like, “I never knew!”
Invite us to share pizza and a powerpoint with your own sphere of influence, church people and people who ask you about this important work.
Think how you would respond to the question, “What role could you play in this movement?”
Host another outreach event like this in your venue.
And… What did I forget?
Take the hard road!
We look forward to hearing from you.
Tom LeBarron
Tom McCracken
Blane Clark
Jake Farber
Photo Credits to Jen and Tom. Thank you.
