By Nick McLaren

The heavy Vermont snowfall didn’t stop a sizable turnout at Barre, Vermont’s Turning Point USA Activism Hub’s first public event, organized and led by Spaulding High School student and Barre native Seth Fewer.  

With help from the hub’s co-founder, fellow Spaulding student and player in Spaulding Crimson Tide’s 2023 title win of the middle school Northern Vermont Youth Football League Javion Kastner, and Club America field representative Renee McEvilly, the inaugural “club” meeting drew a varied speaking list. Among them several student organizers (including fellow TPUSA chapter leader Jonathan Martin, who drove with his three hours from upstate NY to support Fewer, his friend) and prominent attendees from throughout Vermont.   

Speakers for the Friday night event at Barre’s Canadian Club included Barre school board chair, city council member, and Rep. Michael Boutin, citizen journalist Hank “Planet Hank” Poitras of Brattleboro, and a pre-recorded video from VT GOP chair Paul Dame, who was unable to attend in person.  

In his message, Dame stressed the importance for young people entering community government and politics to be humble, courageous, listen well, and to adopt an attitude of service.  

Dame highlighted that young people tend to think they’re entering the beginning of the story, and that one should rather “walk into the room asking, ‘What can I learn here?’.” He said that good questions demonstrate curiosity and seriousness in young people. He also commended Fewer and Kastner for their courage in standing up despite pressure to conform in a state where “the Left doesn’t want competition, they want a monopoly they can control.”

Many common themes appeared among the speakers – being bold in the face of adversity, freedom of expression, standing for truth as late TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk had, and the transformative power of Jesus Christ.  

Before his speech, Boutin even joked that going in he had expected to have the most bible verses in his speech, but was pleasantly surprised that was by no means guaranteed.  McEvilly, as well as her daughter Clara, spoke on the impact of their faith in Jesus Christ in their lives, and Renee on Christ as her source of strength in her work.  

Responding to media uproar4 from TPUSA’s presence in Vermont, Renee McEvilly pushed back on the accusation that their impact was putting politics over community: “This is not political activism, this is student development.” 

Renee added that the goal of Club America is to educate students on not what to think, but how to think,” and to give them confidence to stand for the truth. 

 Overall, attendees expressed their support and appreciation for the young Fewer and Kastner.  For most in attendance, the attitude was that of encouragement and optimism for both the future of free expression and the grassroots support of conservative ideas and activism in the state.

The question on everyone’s mind: what happens next?  Currently unable to procure a sponsorship necessary from any of their teachers at Spaulding High School to create an official Club America chapter, Fewer and Kastner will continue to operate the “club” as an TPUSA Activism Hub, and plan to hold future club meetings of a smaller scale.  

They expect more pushback from what has turned into a statewide news story but seemed encouraged by the turnout and support from their community Friday night.  With more events planned in the spring, it remains to be seen not whether TPUSA will have a presence in the state of Vermont, only of how much.