Menu
Last Defenders of Liberty meeting scheduled for Monday
The Greencastle Defenders of Liberty was organized in the fall of 2009 by a small group of concerned citizens.
Noticing the need for the public to become knowledgeable on political issues involving our country's present and future, a meeting place was found, a date and a time determined. Notices were placed around town, inviting the public to attend the first meeting at Autumn Glen, on the second Monday of the month, Nov. 9. Ninety people showed up, eager to learn, wanting to do something.
With the crowd too large for the facility, Art Evans offered the use of the hangar at the Putnam County Airport, Dixie Chopper Business Center, to be used for the meetings, and throughout the years this has been the venue for more than 70 educated speakers.
Speakers have come from all parts of Indiana, some from out-of-state, and even one from New Zealand. They came without a fee to share their expertise and experience, and the passion for this country, with those who were interested enough to attend. There has never been a membership requirement. The public has always been invited.
Once again, the public is invited to attend the seventh anniversary meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14. The guest speaker will be Gary Varvel, editorial cartoonist for The Indianapolis Star.
The Nov. 14 event is going to be a party, a celebration and a tribute to the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It will be the final meeting of the Greencastle Defenders of Liberty having accomplished its goals and hoping that America will be made great again.
A native of Indiana, Varvel attended John Herron School of Art (IUPUI) after graduating from Danville High School. After college he spent 16 years working as the chief artist for The Indianapolis News. In 1994 he joined The Star as its editorial cartoonist.
Varvel's awards over the years include his 2016 induction into Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame; 2012 National Headliners Award for editorial cartooning; 2011 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for Cartooning; 2010 Nationalist Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Best Cartoonist Division; 2010 Grambs Aronson Award for Cartooning with a Conscience for his Path to Hope series on Child poverty; 15-time first-place winner of the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists' Award for Best Editorial Cartoon; 13-time winner of the first-place award for Best Editorial Cartoonist in the Hoosier State Press Association Contest; and 2006 H. Dean Evans Legacy Award for community service.
His work is nationally syndicated through Creators Syndicate. His cartoons have appeared on CNN, FoxNews and in Newsweek, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Washington Times, National Review and Sports Illustrated. His cartoons have also been reprinted in many college and high school text books.