Title: Volunteer Highlight: Featuring Jo'El Lapp
Original CoS Document (slug): volunteer-highlight-jo-el-lapp
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Created: 2021-02-27 13:20:04
Updated: 2025-02-18 23:49:07
Published: 2021-03-05 00:00:00
Converted: 2025-04-14T21:09:58.652945215
Name: Jo’ El Lapp
Position: State Grassroots Coordinator, Regional Captain for Region 6, District Captain, Telepatriot Volunteer
Years With COS: May 2020-Present
You might remember Jo’El Lapp from our overview of the Convention of States Georgia Strategy weekend in Warner Robins. What you might not know is how instrumental Jo’El was in putting the event together.
We did not yet have an Events Coordinator, so Jo’El stepped up to the plate! She arranged for rooms, food, speakers, and a visit to Robins Airforce Base Museum. She was also the keynote speaker at the event in her position as Grassroots Coordinator.
Additionally, Jo’El volunteers as Regional Captain for Region 6, District Captain, and Telepatriot Volunteer.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Jo’El Lapp at Olive & Vine/Southern Muggs in downtown Cartersville. She shared her story about how she became involved in Convention of States.
Jo’El has had an interest in politics for a long time. In her own words, “Well, I come from a very Democratic family. My mother and father were Democrats. My mother is still involved in the Democratic Party in her hometown. When I turned 18, I registered as a Republican, which kind of shook the house a bit.”
Jo'El at Georgia's Red Rally in Cartersville,
meeting Texas Representative Dan Crenshaw.
Jo’El studied Political Science with the expectation that she was going to be involved in politics. She wound up working for the government, and politics was relegated to the backburner for the time being. Life happened, she had kids, and politics were put on hold.
Come 2020, her children were old enough to take care of themselves. Jo’El found herself in a new season of life where that old dream started to make a comeback.
“Actually,” says Jo’ El, “I was in this building, sitting with my husband, having a craft beer. I was scrolling through Facebook, and the Convention of States came up. I started looking at it, reading it. The next thing I knew, I was applying. And the whole process, including picking a role, was less than 24 hours.”
It was the position of District Captain that piqued her interest.
Why District Captain?
“That was the role that they said in the information made the most difference. And then it explained how you were out on the front lines. You were the one, you know, dealing with the volunteers, spreading information about the Convention of States.” Jo’El added, “I wanted to make a difference.”
For Jo’El, this was key. She had her kids and grandkids on her mind. She was thinking about the kind of country they were going to grow up in.
“I saw that we had four years of Trump, and things were good. But you could see that there was a tide turning. You started to see some of the things coming out of Washington with the radical left.”
Jo’El mentions her concern regarding, among other things, Antifa burning down cities. The momma bear had awakened. There would be no prisoners.
I asked Jo’El what she found most exciting about the Convention of States right now.
“We’re looking at anywhere between eight and 15 this year,” said Jo’El, in referring to the number of states who are currently looking at coming on board with COS. Momentum is building!
With the Convention of States being a bipartisan organization, I was curious as to what had drawn Jo’El to COS instead of the Republican Party or anything else of that nature. I asked her to explain a little more.
“Well, all of the other organizations don’t have a solution. They hope that they’ll send good people to Washington, and those good people will change things. But that hasn’t worked, ever. So, when you look at the Convention of States, it’s the only organization with a solution. It’s in the Constitution. So, like we say, ‘Use the Constitution to save the Constitution.'
“And that’s what I like. In college, I studied the Constitution, and I never learned about Article V. You know, I learned about Congress being able to change the Constitution, how they could do it—but I don’t ever remember learning anything about Article V and having a Convention of States.”
I asked Jo’El what message she would send to anyone who was on the fence and a little intimidated by the prospect of getting involved.
“That time is past. You can’t sit on the fence. You have to look at the way things are going at this moment. Just open up the newspaper that is closest to you. Get on social media. Just look at the news, both the conservative and the liberal stations. Just take a really good, wide-open look, and you’re going to see that you can’t sit back anymore.
“I hear people all the time saying, ‘Well, I just don’t have time.’ Who does?“ said Jo'EL.
Her question is, if you can’t make a phone call or write a letter to your legislator or become a District Captain, she wonders what can you do for your country? There are simple things everyone can do. “Get off the fence, and make a choice! We need you.”
And, indeed, we do.
Contact us today or view the Take Action link below to find out how you can get involved with Convention of States Georgia.
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