"Exhilarating" is the word that best describes the Christian Civic League of Maine's Annual Fund Raising Banquet and Value Voters Summit.

There are other descriptive terms that could also be used to describe the evening. 150 people gathered around banquet tables to enjoy a wonderful meal provided by the folks at Bangor Baptist Church. The food was wonderful, the service was first rate and the atmosphere was exciting.

Michael Heath presented two Ben Bubar Awards honoring heroes in the battle to preserve the family and society in Maine. They were, Pastor Sandy Williams of First Baptist Church in Freeport, who led the Coalition for Marriage and Mr. Tim Russell, former lobbyist for the League.

We were blessed by the presence of national pro-family representatives from two organizations the League works closely with. Mr. Bill Spencer from Focus On The Family and Cynthia Hill from Family Research Council brought greetings from their respective organizations.

The crowd was blessed by the appearance and Christian testimony of baseball great, Bernie Carbo, former Red Sox player. Since his conversion he has started a ministry called Diamond Club that takes him into schools and baseball camps (among other venues) to share the Gospel.  This was followed by a rousing message from Coach David Daubenmire from Pass The Salt Ministry in Hebron, Ohio. Coach Daubenmire has a radio broadcast and speaks all over the nation. In addition, he leads summer Football and Faith camps where, using football as a platform, Coach Dave and a staff of Godly leaders teach youngsters that a true man of God will stand and defend his faith, his family and his country. The Coach walked "all over the place" as he challenged us to action. I can assure you that no one was asleep while he spoke. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the Coach's comments. We left, charged up for action.

Oh yes, at the end of everything, Mrs. Elaine Bridge, Board President of the Christian Education League shared the winner of the first Christian Straw Poll for U.S. President in 2008. The winner was…..Fred Thompson.

Plans are already underway for next year. Those present will be encouraging many others to attend this very enjoyable event.