Prominent National Tea Party Member Scheduled to Speak in Redlands

Bill Norton, a national Tea Party Patriots coordinator is scheduled to speak to the Redlands Tea Party Thursday during the organizations monthly general meeting.

Norton, a resident of Arizona, is the National Support Team Constitutional Coordinator for TeaPartyPatriots.org. He is scheduled to address a number of topics ranging from tea party history and relevance to grassroots organizing and mobilization, meeting organizers said. A question and answer session is expected to follow his 45-minute talk.

Norton, a constitutional expert, travels the United States to discuss the tea party movement and is one of the most prominent speakers who has addressed the Redlands Tea Party Patriots since the local chapter first formed in 2009, officials said.

Norton is chairman of the Arizona State Constitutional Commemoration Committee and the founder of Constitution Week USA, the largest celebration on the Constitution in the nation. He is a recipient of the George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, meeting organizers said.

“Norton is flying into California just to speak -- and for free -- to us,” Redlands Tea Party members wrote in a meeting announcement. “We will have fliers on the front table showing how you can join the national Tea Party Patriots. Please show your appreciation by joining so you, too, can become a card-carrying member of the Tea Party Patriots!”

Doors for the meeting open at 5:30 p.m. for a no-host dinner at the Mill Creek Cattle Co., 1874 Mentone Blvd. in Mentone. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.