Governor Brian Kemp & State Legislators at Pelican Pete’s May 22, 2025.

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Thank you!”

I got a text last week with instructions for registration to an event at Pelican Pete’s. These have been pretty decent networking in the past, so I registered. Then, a few days later Carter Barret texted me the flier, and told me I should come by, so that confirmed for me that I would definitely be going. Anything he’s invovled with is definitely worth my time.

I showed up a little after 5:45 to a completely packed parking lot, and so many people. Like the busiest I’ve ever seen it down there. Political signs everywhere, American Flag themed decorations lined the walkways both for this awesome event, and I’m guessing for Memorial Day Weekend. The first person I recognized in the crowd was Todd Levent, a Forsyth County Commissioner and all around good, but real talk type guy. He suggested I grab a bite to eat. Food catered by Tam’s Backstage. Very good call. I had some brisket, mac n cheese, and a little taste of each of the dishes. Delicious as always. Like seriously, any time Tam’s caters an event, it’s an insta-grin from me. Usually it’s the crab stuffed mushrooms, and Brian’s Chicken which are exactly what I order when I go to the restaurant. There seemed to be a lot of vegan options at this event, which I get. Just don’t enjoy personally as much.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Perfect weather, albeit a bit windy, but overall we couldn’t have asked for a better day. I made my way around asking folks if I could take thier photos. That process was a little slow to get started, but that changed after the official event business. Lauren McDonald ran the show, passing the mic to Brent Cox Representative for District 28 who introduced US Army Brigadier General (Retired) who spoke on the importance of memorial day. Then it was on to Carter Barrett for the pledge which hit with a fervor I haven’t experienced during the pledge in a long time. Truly a crowd of people who love America.

Next was Alan Powell, Chairmen of Regulated Industries who introduced Governor Kemp. You can hear for yourself what he had to say at the video below. Sorry for the shakey hand, I didn’t expect to do any video, but decided at that moment, that it was worth filming. Any other time, I’d have a stabilizer.

After the headliners were through, it got busy for me. Maybe because the sun was starting to go down, or the open bar was allowing me to be a bit more forward with my requests for photos. Either way, I was able to get a lot of photos of some really awesome people.

Those photos are published in reduced resolution here, but can also be found at https://ngaphoto.com/kemp. The password to download those images is folo. All lower case. It’s there just as a mild level of security with a disclaimer for terms of use shown below.

Note: All opinions and experiences are my own, and do not necessarily reflect that of those pictured, or those who sponsor me to attend and document the events that I do.