Given by His Excellency, President Kevin Baugh
27 May 2012 XXXV
My fellow Molossians, friends and family, Greetings.
Today marks the thirty-fifth birthday of our country, thirty-five years in which we have gone from an idea to a reality, a dream to nation. Much has happened in those long years, and many steps have been taken on the path leading to today. But these steps are not just my own nor do I tread that path alone. No, we are a nation and we walk the course together. Each project, each activity, involves us all, every Molossian, and in each case we come together again and again, to show the world that we are small but mighty and we can accomplish anything to which we put our minds. And indeed never has that been truer than this past year, for the year has been one of great effort and greater reward, in all that we have done.
To begin, this past year has been one of State visits, beginning with a visit from King Montague and Queen Catherine of Calsahara in late May of last year. The King is an old friend of Molossia and it was very good to see him. In June we preformed a State Visit of our own and traveled to the Great Republic of Rough and Ready, located in the town of the same name in California. While the Great Republic hasn’t actually existed since 1850, The First Lady and I still toured the town and visited with the locals, celebrating the quirky history of their self-declared nation. And in October, Molossia received a visit from the Grand Premier of the Socialist Republic of Hydrovia, a micronation located in Reno.
Diplomatic efforts continued in fall, as our government sent out a number of letters to small nations around the world, in an effort called Operation Outreach, to attempt to establish diplomacy with those countries. Sadly, they failed to appreciate our diplomatic efforts and no response has yet been received. But I am certain that our day of diplomacy is yet to come.
By far the biggest event of the past year, of course, was the Presidential Wedding, a beautiful ceremony wherein the First Lady and I wed last September. The First Lady is my muse and inspiration and the greatest thing to happen in my life. Besides being my soul mate and sweetheart, she is committed to Molossia and stands by my side as steward of the nation. Without her Molossia was great, with her it is amazing and fantastic.
Last fall also saw the event of the first annual Misfit Regatta. The Regatta is a dry land race taking place on Misfit Flats, not far from Molossia. Racers construct cardboard “boats” and run with them in a variety of heats. Conceived in fun, the race was just that and a fine time was had by all – and will certainly be repeated next year!
The past year also has been one of celebrations and remembrances. For the first time our nation celebrated Guy Fawkes Night last November 5th, with a unique Guy Fawkes dinner, followed by a bonfire and burning of the Guy. This was an entertaining celebration, another in our pantheon of adopted holidays. Of course we also celebrated Chinese New Year, as always, the symbolic beginning to our year, and we then followed it with our Qingming celebration in April. Also in April we held a solemn remembrance of the sinking of the Titanic, which foundered 100 years ago on April 15th.
Speaking of holidays, Christmas of 2011 was historical, with the whole First Family (which is much of our country’s population) assembled to celebrate together for the first time in many years. Also, on Christmas Day itself, I had the honor of performing the wedding of my oldest son, Mark to his new bride Lindsay, making her our first naturalized citizen.
Winter and spring were busy times of construction. Last year, the germ of an idea was planted by The First Lady, that I should have a dedicated office. Of course this idea appealed to me and one thing led to another and the office plan quickly grew to an expansion of Red Square and remodel of the existing buildings there. Thus, in January my office was built, in February the Post Office was remodeled, and subsequently Red Square was expanded. The site was leveled and filled with dirt and tons of red gravel and even the water tower received a face lift, now sporting a water wheel and wishing well. The entire project, taking over four months to complete, was a mighty effort and is now a wonderful addition to our nation and new center around which Molossian activities can take place.
Incidentally, at the time of the remodel, we buried a time capsule under Red Square, near the Peace Pole. Sited on 29 February 2012 XXXV, the time capsule will be dug up on 29 February 2016 XXXIX, exactly four years later. Then plan is to then examine the contents and rebury it, for another four years. It is a great project to explore the history and culture of our great nation through the years.
In spring, I decreed the extension of citizenship to family members that do not live, nor have ever lived, in Molossia. Thus, overnight, our population exploded, going from 14 to 27, still tiny compared to some nations, but enormous for one our size! In addition, in March, I instituted the National Assembly. An advisory body consisting of all the citizens of our nation, the Assembly meets once a month to propose new ideas and projects for our nation. One of the new initiatives proposed was our Pledge of Allegiance, which was adopted just this month and will be recited at each Assembly meeting. Thus far the National Assembly has met twice with great results and we expect that it will continue to be a valuable tool in the growth and success of Molossia.
And so the path of the last year leads us to today, the anniversary of Molossia’s founding and the celebration of our nation. As we gather to reflect on the achievements of the past year and years past, we also look ahead as always to the future. I believe that future belongs to us because we have the drive and initiative to continue to build our nation into something greater. There is nothing we cannot accomplish together and I am very, very proud to lead you to that future.