Advocates president remembers Ron
Quotes from others about Ron
Links for more remembrances
Photos of Ron

The cause of liberty has lost a great champion, and I have lost a dear personal friend.

Ron Crickenberger died January 20 from cancer. He was 48.

Many of you will know Ron as the Libertarian Party's political director from 1997 to 2003. And many of you also know him as someone who fought tirelessly for freedom at every level of activism -- from stuffing envelopes and collecting petition signatures, to managing campaigns and running for office himself, to eventually winning national recognition for his political campaign achievements.

I first met Ron in the mid-1980s in Georgia. I liked him immediately, and we quickly became good friends. He had recently discovered libertarian ideas, and liberty was his great passion. He was determined to do everything possible to bring the light of liberty to the world.

I watched Ron work hard to develop skills to make his work for liberty ever more effective. I watched him become ever more persuasive in one-on-one communication. I watched him become a wonderful and inspiring public speaker. I watched him learn how to run effective and successful local campaigns.

I often worked side-by-side with Ron on libertarian activities in Georgia in the 1980s and 1990s. Time and time again I was struck by his good humor and his willingness to jump in and do the nitty-gritty, often unappreciated kind of activism that makes a political movement possible. His enthusiasm and energy and unfailing cheerfulness was catching. His integrity was inspiring. And I was impressed how he continued to grow as an activist, communicator, and as just a wonderful human being.

Not to mention his SMILE. He was almost always cheerful and smiling. How I'll miss that smile...

Ron was a big fan of the Advocates. He used Advocates tools constantly, and recommended them. He probably did more Operation Politically Homeless booths than anyone else, ever. For a while, he held the world record for the most contact names ever collected at a single OPH booth. Year after year he was a winner of the Advocates' Lights of Liberty Awards for libertarian activism.

Ron was involved at all levels of the Libertarian Party. While he was Libertarian Party political director, the number of Libertarians in office more than tripled, from 180 to about 600, and the party also set new records for the number of candidates on the ballot. In recognition of this, Campaigns and Elections magazine -- the bible of professional campaigning -- named Ron a "Rising Star of Politics," a great honor.

My husband Jimmy had also been friends with Ron since the mid-1980s, and they worked together on several libertarian projects. Just last year we were surprised and delighted to accidentally discover that Ron and Jimmy were related -- second cousins! After all those years, it turns out that we were not just friends and political allies, we were also family.

The Advocates had contracted with Ron just a few months ago to do fundraising for a couple of major projects for 2004. Ron was enthusiastic about working for the Advocates. We had hoped it would be the first of many projects together. But it was not to be.

In November, Ron was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, which had spread to his bones and lymph nodes. Ron's life was cut tragically short. Yet he accomplished a world of good in this cause so dear to his heart.

Helmut Forren, state chair of the Georgia Libertarian Party and one of Ron's closest friends, told Libertarian Party News: "Ron was the most driven freedom fighter in the world. Time after time, when everyone else was tired and dragging, weary from the battle for liberty, Ron was still out there in front, leading the charge, never wavering, never slowing down."

I could fill pages with similar quotes from activists and organizations around the country (a few are below).

Ron is survived by his longtime partner and fellow libertarian, Noelle Stettner, also a dear friend of mine; a son, Jason; daughter, Anna; and newborn grandchild, Sabrina. And by a movement for liberty that is stronger and more effective because of his efforts.

Like so many other people, I will greatly miss Ron. And it is not just rhetoric when I say that his example will continue to inspire me to strive harder to make our world a freer place -- and to make myself a better person.

                                                                                                               -- Sharon Harris

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Quotes from others (in alphabetical order)

"The libertarian movement has lost a superb activist.

"I last saw Ron, in good health, back in August. He was working hard to assure the future of the Virginia Libertarian Party. I was there to give a speech. Ron sat near the front during my speech and I can still
see his encouraging nods.

"I first met Ron in 1997 at a Success conference put on by the Libertarian Party. Ron, Rob Shuford, and I all had an interest in precinct organization and voter I.D. We discussed proposals and tactics for building Libertarian precincts, and how to test those plans. It was exactly the kind of conversation Ron enjoyed the most. He was tireless in his work as political director of the party.

"I've asked Perry Willis to write the American Liberty Foundation memorial to Ron [see below]. Perry is the co-founder of the foundation. He was the national director of the Libertarian Party from 1993-1997. He worked in the office daily with Ron for a couple of years, and it was Ron who took his place as national director."

                                                                                                                   -- Jim Babka

* * *

"Ron Crickenberger made the world a better place. Ron was one of those street smart guys who could always see a way to get done what had to be done and the willingness to do the whole job himself if need be. "On the job for liberty" might have been his motto.

"I don't know much about immortality. If, as I suspect, there is no such thing, then perhaps the closest we can come to it is to be kept alive in the memories of those who follow us. It is gratifying to me to believe that those who loved us, our family and friends, will keep us alive in their hearts and minds, perhaps even telling our stories to the children and grandchildren to come. Of course, if a life has been a particularly inspiring one, filled with happiness, humor, love, and good works like Ron's, the prospects for immortality must improve considerably.

"As for me, I know I shall Remember Ron Crickenberger for the rest of my life. And I plan to tell what I know of his story to those who follow. It pleases me to believe that all of Ron's other libertarian friends will do the same."

                                                                                              -- David Bergland

* * *

"Ron was one of the party's most dedicated activists. He spent much of the last 20 years of his life pouring his heart and soul into libertarian projects. He was best known for his tireless support of
Libertarian candidates and for working to end the failed and destructive War on Drugs.

"Great activists inspire new activists. While our losing Ron is a sizable tragedy for liberty, his hard work, positive energy, and enthusiasm inspired many who will carry the torch he held high.

"May the light of liberty shine for the work of Ron Crickenberger."

                                                                                                  -- Michael Cloud & Carla Howell

  * * *

"I first met Ron at an LP of GA meeting about 1987. It seems he was the one person at every event in the succeeding years, until he moved on to his very deserved Political Director job with National. 

"We had occasion to work together many times, but he was of course working much more than I. Ron became the all-time champion petition gatherer from Georgia (and I imagine across the entire country). He managed fundraisers, volunteered for every job that needed doing, ran campaigns, and donated money all out of proportion to his income. 

"On only one occasion do I remember standing in opposition to him. As it turned out I had to come to agree with Ron in the end. But I never recall him in a foul mood or complaining about anyone. 

"I'm glad to have known Ron and to be able to call him my friend. He is missed."

                                                                                                                     -- Jim Cox

* * *

"A Minuteman with musket and tri-corner hat graces the cover of the Libertarian Party's campaign manual, which Ron created. In my mind, that Minuteman will always be Ron Crickenberger.

"Instead of a musket, Ron wielded the weapons of modern politics in the service of Lady Liberty: petitions, polls, phone banks, debates, T.V. ads, and good old-fashioned shoe leather.

"It is said that some of the strongest bonds of friendship are forged among soldiers in the heat of battle. That was certainly the result of spending two decades in the heat of the battle for liberty with Ron Crickenberger.

"For Ron, politics was all about people. People impoverished by the IRS. People imprisoned for smoking a joint instead of having a drink. People denied the right to life-saving medicine, or to the means to defend themselves and their loved ones.

"The quest for liberty - everyone's liberty -- was Ron's passion. His enthusiasm was contagious, infecting thousands of Libertarians with the desire to run for office, volunteer for campaigns, and willingly contribute theirhard-earned money to the cause of freedom.

"As a former teacher, I appreciated Ron's ability to communicate libertarian ideas. I especially liked "Ron's Law of Economics: In order to get what you want, you have to give up some of what you've got."

"Ron gave everything he had to the cause he believed in so passionately, and he received something priceless in return - the love and respect of everyone whose life he touched.

"His dream and his legacy will continue to live on, wherever free men and women stand up and fight for liberty."

                                                                                                                  -- Steve Dasbach

* * *

"Ron Crickenberger was the single most Libertarian person I've ever known. And not just because he was the LP's political director, or that he worked so tirelessly when he campaigned for office, or that he helped others get elected -- though he did all of those things.

"A love for Liberty permeated every aspect of his life.

"I still remember the time I told Ron I had gone out the night before with a few high school friends, and mentioned that two of them were Republicans.

"With a shocked look on his face, Ron said, "You mean you have friends who aren't Libertarians?" I laughed, but over the years I learned that he wasn't kidding. Everyone he knew was a Libertarian.

"Ron never just read a book, he read a Libertarian book. One year when he and Noelle gave me a Christmas gift (Jefferson Starship's "Blows Against the Empire,") it came complete with Ron's enthusiastic explanation about why it was actually a very Libertarian album.

"One night a group of us from the national office went out after work to see "The Postman," a Kevin Costner film. The ride home just wouldn't have been complete without Ron's analysis of -- you guessed it -- why it was a Libertarian-themed movie, though the rest of us weren't quite so sure.

"Ron had Libertarian posters in his house, LP bumper stickers and signs on his white van, and a Libertarian heart beating red, white and blue inside his body.

"A lot of us are going to miss him dearly."

                                                                                                                 -- George Getz

* * *

I first met Ron in February, 1993. I was visiting Georgia Tech as part of an LP campus organizing tour, and Ron attended the meeting I had arranged with the Tech students. One could sense immediately his passion and dedication to the cause of liberty.

Since that time we worked together in many ways, including our service as faculty members of the "Success '97" and "Success '99" seminars and his work as political director during my tenure as national chairman. He was always looking for opportunities to promote liberty, and he was usually successful.

Ron was a good friend and a great champion of liberty. The best way to honor him and his memory is to help America become a land of liberty and responsibility, a goal for which he worked so hard and so well.

                                                                                                               -- James W. Lark III

* * *

"Ron was one of the most inspired libertarians I've known. His strategic insight impressed me greatly. Ron was not often in the spotlight; he mostly worked behind the scenes. Although he is no longer with us in body, his legacy remains. Those of us he has touched and inspired are better torch bearers because of his efforts. In a very real sense, Ron still lives on and continues his work behind the scenes. Thank you, Ron, for making the world a better place!"

                                                                                                                -- Mary Ruwart

* * *

"While I did not know Ron well, I always found him to be professional, helpful and friendly. When I spoke at an Advocates conference in the Fall of 1999, I gave a talk urging libertarians to focus on the Drug Wars as a central issue in our ongoing battle for liberty. Ron cornered me afterward, and urged me to run for Congress the following year. After some initial reluctance I agreed, and became one of more than 250 Libertarian Congressional candidates the following year. This was the largest number of Congressional candidates fielded by any alternative party in close to 80 years, and Ron Crickenberger made it happen.

"My most vivid memory of Ron is of watching him at the Melanie concert he arranged for the LP 2000 Convention in Anaheim. He was a great fan of Melanie, and somehow learned that she is a libertarian ... so he got hold of her and persuaded her to appear at the convention. He was clearly enjoying himself that evening, and it was a pleasure for all of us."

                                                                                                                -- David Nolan

* * *

"Ron was a tireless freedom fighter. No matter what he did -- recruiting candidates or running himself, petitioning for ballot access signatures or trying to get cooperation from the LNC -- the man had the energy of a room full of 8 year olds. Yet I never saw him speak a cross word to anyone, not even political enemies. He got along with people when I was thinking 'phasers on vaporize.'

"My favorite story about Ron is one he told himself about his first act of political monkey-wrenching. When he was just a kid growing up in Charlottesville, Virginia, one day he was playing with friends up in a magnolia tree near the town square. He used a big seed pod to bomb some unsuspecting man walking below. It turned out to be the mayor! Ron's father deferentially apologized, and dragged our wayward hero to the mayor's office to do the same. But standing face to face with the man, Ron refused to apologize.

"We are better for having known Ron. The light of liberty is just a little bit dimmer without him."

                                                                                         -- Tony Trauring

* * *

"I wish I could remember the first time I met Ron Crickenberger, but I can't. It just seems like he was always there. And those words, "he was always there," seem appropriate to describe what Ron did with his life, and what he meant to others.

"He was always there when the libertarian cause needed him. He was always there when his friends needed him. He was always there when people who were being victimized by the state needed someone to defend them.

"There are so many examples of Ron's willingness to "be there," things that amaze me because of my own inability to follow his example. For instance, after my first couple of years collecting petition signatures for Libertarian Party ballot drives, I just couldn't bring myself to do it anymore. But Ron never stopped. No matter how high he rose in the LP  he was always there to collect signatures for candidates. It didn't matter if it was a local race, or the presidential ticket, Ron was there.

"Ron was the kind of guy you could always count on to step forward for the hard jobs - the tasks most people aren't willing to do. It's hard to look someone in the eye and ask them for money, but whenever money was needed Ron was there to raise it, either on the phone, or out pounding the pavement.

"And Ron was even there for people he barely knew. If he saw someone in need, like Peter McWilliams or Todd McCormick (both victims of the drug war), he went to them to find out what he could do to help.

"But Ron was also notable for what he didn't do. In all the years I knew him, I can't recall that he ever said a negative word about anyone. He seemed to me to be completely without malice. He was always positive. And not because he didn't see flaws or problems, but because he was more interested in making things better than in assigning blame.

"I have many fond memories of Ron, but perhaps the dearest is of an incident that happened during a meeting of the Libertarian National Committee in Phoenix in the mid-90s. I had the sometimes-questionable habit of making humorous comments during the course of the meetings.

"Ron was giving his report and said something that could be taken in two ways, a perverse way, and the way Ron intended. I decided to focus on the perverse way and said something that got most of the committee laughing. But Ron was focused and kept right on with his report, until suddenly, after about two minutes, he started laughing. And he looked at me and said, "That thing you said two minutes ago was very funny."

"Then he set his face in an expression of mock seriousness, and said, "Don't do that again." And I smiled and resolved to behave myself for the rest of his report.

"Ron Crickenberger deserved to live a lot longer than he did, but illness is no respecter of merit. If it were, the man who was always there, would be here still. His passing saddens me greatly, and I will
always remember him - as should all who care about human liberty."

                                                                                                                   -- Perry Willis

* * *

"When most libertarians talk about Ron Crickenberger, they use words like dedicated, principled, and hardworking. I can't argue; Ron was all that and more. 

"However, when I think about Ron, the words that come to mind are friendly, cheerful, and diplomatic. When I worked with Ron for five years at the Libertarian Party's national office, I learned he was one of the movement's original good guys. He always had a smile on his face (except when talking about the
latest pronouncement from the Drug Czar). 

"He also had a wonderfully calm way of dealing with angry people, and a rare ability to handle any crisis that might pop up. When someone telephoned to shout at us for some real or imagined error, we'd say, "Put Ron on the phone -- he'll put out the fire." (And he usually did.) 

"In a movement that can feature fractious personalities and indignation about vanishing freedoms, Ron was a warm ray of sunshine on an overcast day."

                                                                                                                    -- Bill Winter

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For more, see some great photos of Ron and read remembrances posted by the following:

Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet)
          
Libertarian Party News     

Life in Legacy

Liberty for All 

The November Coalition

Media Awareness Project

Equal Rights for All

Samizdata.net Blog

Neal Boortz

Libertarian Party of Tennessee