Given by His Excellency, President Kevin Baugh
26 May 2025 XLVIII
My Fellow Molossians, Family and Friends.
48 years ago today the Republic of Molossia was founded, a tiny spark from which the ever-brighter flame of our nation has grown. In those 48 years, Molossia has gone from an idea on paper to the great nation you see today. We have gone from a dream, from hand drawn pictures on lined paper to a land, a fully-functioning nation, with our own government, national symbols, culture, laws, currency and stamps. We have everything a nation should have in Molossia, wrapped up in a tiny, tidy package. And as much as we have accomplished, we always strive to do more. In the past year we have accomplished mighty things indeed, and as always let us look back on our nation's accomplishments.
Diplomacy has taken the spotlight both this year and last. Last Summer we hosted two State Visits, from the great nations of Sylvestria and Khalata. In addition, we performed a State Visit to the Conch Republic, located in Key West, Florida. Although we failed to meet with any dignitaries there it was a please to visit that quirky nation in the Florida Keys. This year we had the honor of visiting the nation of Ironland, located in North Carolina, for a slightly less formal State Visit. We expect to visit that nation again in the future, and will of course see their President and his First Lady at the upcoming MicroCon micronational meetup in June. In addition, we had the opportunity to visit the United Nations in January, an awesome occasion to see the heart of international diplomacy.
Speaking of North Carolina, we had the opportunity to visit the Hurricane Helene disaster area there, wherein the First Parents live. It was a truly tragic situation, but I am pleased to say that the area is recovering well, as we observed on a follow-up visit.
Here at home, we have seen some mighty changes indeed. I recently directed upgrades and updates to several of our government institutions, which have become weathered and decrepit over the years. Thus, earlier this year we unveiled our new Customs Office, in a bright blue, to serve as a better welcoming bureau for visitors to our nation. In addition, we also debuted our new Post Office, much larger and in bright yellow, as the new home to that venerable agency. In addition, atop the new post is the broadcast booth of Radio Molossia, finally having its own home after broadcasting for over 20 years. Last, the Molossia Trading Post was retired and replaced with a brand-new building, restyled as the Molossia Mercado. We are very proud of these wonderful improvements to our nation and expect that they will serve us well for many years to come.
On the topic of our Post Office, we had the opportunity to yet again launch rocket mail, this time from the top of the new building itself. Rocket mail is our unique way of sending airmail, not by plane but by rocket, soaring through the air across Molossia. Like the first iteration, some years ago, this go around was also a complete success and we are very proud that it is a part of our postal system.
Of course there were some adventures during the past year, starting with our annual voyage to far flung Farfalla Province, in Northern California. It is always a joy to visit this serene, forested realm, far from the Molossian Home Territory but close to our hearts. Even further afield, the First Lady and I had the opportunity to swim with sea turtles in Mexico and dolphins and manatees in Florida during the last year, an honor to pass the time with these amazing animals. I had the chance to get a little dangerous and learn to wrangle alligators in Colorado, of all places, not an activity for everyone but I enjoyed it immensely.
Back at home we celebrated the Misfit Regatta last fall, our biennial dry-land boat race. It is always a pleasure to see the fleet of cardboard box boats zooming across the desert in this truly unique festivity!
Molossia grew a little during the last year and sadly shrank a bit. We grew by adding the Signoria of Ulivi, a tiny patch of land in faraway Italy to our archipelago of possessions around the world. Ulivi is an olive tree covered hillside in Tuscany, Italy, and beyond being a piece of land in that storied region, is also a nod to my own Italian heritage, of which I'm quite proud.
When I say we shrank, I mean in population. This year alone we lost three of our beloved canine citizens, Max, Tom and Bella. They were a part of our heart and soul, and they are deeply missed every day.
We endured a couple of other slight setbacks as well, fairly recently in fact. Earlier this I went through minor heart surgery to correct a defect that had been plaguing lately. The surgery was quick, went well and I am back in fighting shape. Not related but also a hiccup was the recent failure of Molossia's well. Molossia does not depend on US water, we have our own, but in March the well finally failed after 27 years. In a matter of days it was repaired, a fairly painless rebound from a much-dreaded disaster.
And so we look ahead, after all the unusual and happy and sometimes sad events of the last year toward the coming year and years. As small as we are, Molossia has always had and will always have great potential. We seek to explore that potential every day, always seeking to make our nation a little better, more enjoyable and even perhaps a little more unique. We have done so very well for the last 48 years, making our stamp on this big world in our special ways, and we will always continue to do so.