We hosted our very first NEST Talks last night, and though technologically it was rough…the net results were rewarding. I wanted to host a LIVE NEST Event to gauge your interest in the concept of a national program to get our communities prepared for every situation. That was successful! We had 3,704 registrations in 4 days. As that number climbed, we had to scramble to identify a platform that could handle a group of that size. That proved more difficult than we could ever have imagined since the entire world is hosting events online. The webinar providers are slammed.

Unfortunately, the experience of the majority of our registrants did not reflect the dedication of our team and their thorough planning. While I want to acknowledge and celebrate their perseverance, I also want to ask you to accept my sincerest personal apology if you registered, but were unable to log in to the NEST Talks.

We saw your feedback, and we have a long list of learnings–thankfully, many of you expressed hope and enthusiasm for the NEST Program. Our team made sure to capture and edit the videos–even if it meant staying up most of the night. The triumph of the evening was the poise of our host, Colin Mapp, one of our most dedicated NAAGA leaders serving in National Outreach and as the President of our Bass Reeves Chapter in Atlanta, and the wisdom of our speakers. I want to share my heartfelt gratitude for Colin. Thank you to Sean Campbell, Sharon Ross, Dexter “Doc” Peggins, and Hakim Isler and their willingness to share their experience to make us all safer, more skilled, and more prepared.

Since so many of you were unable to log in to the Talks, we did not do the giveaways. We will draw names from ALL of the registrants to identify the winners, and instead of 1 SIG Sauer P365 and 1 Glock 19 Gen 5, we’re giving away two of each! The winners will be announced tomorrow after we have had an opportunity to accurately gather all of the entrants.

The replays are all available for you to view free of charge at nest.naaga.co/replays, and since this is such an urgent need for our members and all African-Americans, we have already begun planning our next NEST Talks. We will let you know as soon as we have confirmed the date and our lineup.

For any other questions and concerns, please contact nest.committee@naaga.co.