Lancaster's Anne Beiler tells GOP about prosperity, giving

Intelligencer Journal

Published: Sep 04, 2008
01:07 EST

MN, St Paul

By LORI VAN INGEN, Staff

Anne Beiler, founder of Lancaster-based Auntie Anne's Pretzels, said it was "very exciting" to speak Wednesday in front of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

 

Anne Beiler at GOP convention

 

The GOP convention was the first national convention Beiler attended.

"It was a great experience. I was energized by it all," Beiler said in a telephone interview after her speech.

"There's a lot of great people here," she said. "I was pleasantly surprised by the people working with organizing and the speech writers.

"They have an amazing organization who do a whole lot of work. With the hurricane in the Gulf, there were a lot of changes to the program. Everybody had to be on and work together to keep the convention going."

Beiler said she was not nervous when she gave her speech.

"I was just excited about my message and that I was able to encourage the American people," she said. "I felt a real connection with the crowd. There was a lot of energy in the crowd."

Beiler told the GOP convention about what she learned from the pain of losing her 19-month-old daughter in a farming accident and from her journey from poverty as a young Amish girl to prosperity as the founder of an international enterprise.

"Life is never about what you can accumulate. It's not about the pocketbook. True prosperity is a richness of heart and spirit," Beiler said during her speech.

Beiler said she began to live when she learned to give. "I believe it is our responsibility to unleash this spirit in others and to keep it the hallmark of our great country. Our success is not a point of arrival. It is a launching pad to do more.

"We are a blessed nation," she told the convention crowd. "We must continue to be a giving people and we must continue to be a giving nation. … While our economic fortunes may rise and fall, it is our prosperity of spirit which has made us a shining star for others. Our spiritual richness was forged by our earliest endeavors to safeguard our liberty and protect our families and values.

"The spirit of prosperity that has engulfed my life is the spirit of America. Under the leadership of John McCain and Sarah Palin this spirit will continue," Beiler said.

E-mail: lvaningen@lnpnews.com