with Shelley Leeson? Any run ins with her?
I can answer those questions, as I am intimately familiar with Shelley Leeson.
Who is Shelley Leeson?
Since birth: Resident of Twin Cities, Minnesota.
Early 80s: While riding a motorcycle from classes at the U of M, survived being
hit by a car with an inattentive driver, thrown 30 ft. and narrowly missed
losing part of a leg as a result of the crash.
Since 1987: Successful, creative and independent entrepreneur in varying
professions as a self-taught seamstress, dog trainer, promoter/PR specialist
and producer of eco-friendly pet products, most of which continue to date.
1994: Ascended from the ashes of domestic abuse, an escape which fanned her
inner flame of resilience and fortitude.
Since 1995: Resident of Northeast Minneapolis where she began her immersion in
community activism, volunteerism and community organizing with a focus on
neighborhood watch, crime prevention and public safety.
1995: Survived a hellacious 70 mph rollover crash in the Lowry Tunnel, while
not wearing a seat belt, and walked away virtually without a scratch, at which
time she had an inkling that she must be destined for something more important.
Late 90โs/Early 2000s: Served multiple terms as a director on the Waite Park
Community Council (WPCC) in Northeast Minneapolis. At the end of her final term
and frustrated with the vision-less **politics as usual** attitude of a number
of the entrenched council members who were seemingly stuck in some long lost
era of dinosaurs, Shelley, in her usual flair of anti-establishment defiance
and controversy, recruited a handful of nominees and helped to usher in the
young blood and fresh faces of a new era of leadership on the WPCC.
Late 90โs/Early 2000s: Acquired and refurbished an array of classic cars during
which time she also lived in and renovated three houses in Northeast
Minneapolis (current abode still in progress).
2003: Was presented with an opportunity to employ her skills in creativity and
thinking outside-the-box to embark upon building a career as an independent
**promoter** and PR specialist (of various businesses and personal interests),
which continues to date.
2005/2006: Played an instrumental leadership role in growing a network of
neighborhood crime watch volunteers and directed numerous crime prevention
walking groups; Set up and directed a crime watch information-sharing email
network of over a thousand recipients; Helped recruit and launch the
Minneapolis Guardian Angels; Helped launch and acted as editor for a
short-lived but extremely popular local newspaper focused on crime prevention
and public safety.
2006: While walking one afternoon on the secluded, wooded side of the Columbia
Park walking path, Shelley was accosted and stalked by a deranged person who
ran out of the woods at her. Multiple calls to 911 were made, but due to a
series of botched dispatches and miscommunications about whether Minneapolis
police or Park police should respond to the incident, police never arrived. The
aftermath of the incident emboldened her activism in building a
community-driven crime prevention network and honed her focus on police
accountability. And, although a gun owner for most of her adult life, the
incident spurred her to more firearms training and obtaining her
permit-to-carry. The incident also watered the seed of what would eventually
become her advocacy for an increase in a lawfully armed citizenry as a crime
prevention tool.
2006: Nominated by the community and selected by the Northeast Minneapolis
Chamber of Commerce to be honored in the Northeast Parade as **Community
Ambassador - Volunteer** for 2006. (Also a member and volunteer in the
Northeast Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce and member of the Minneapolis
Regional Chamber of Commerce for several years in the mid 2000s.)
2006/2007: Shelley was recognized repeatedly as a key contributor in a small
business that received the *Community Advocate Business Award 2006** for
**outstanding community involvement** from the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of
Commerce;
Received the **Business of the Year** Award (under 50 employees) for 2006 from
the Northeast Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce;
Received multiple prestigious customer service awards from a leading national
consumer ratings service in multiple consecutive years;
And was nominated in 2006 for UpsizeMag.comโs โBest Practices โ Customer
Relationsโ award.
2009: Launched the Northeast Neighbors & Business Association whose membership
grew to over 100 area businesses, and through which she volunteered countless
hours every week for several years tirelessly promoting and advocating for
neighborhood businesses.
2010: Dissatisfied with the lack of access and availability of necessary
neighborhood crime and public safety information from police and city channels,
Shelley launched what would become a network of local crime watch pages on
social media which are now followed by thousands, and for which she has
volunteered dozens of hours per week researching cases, compiling crime data
and information, attending precinct meetings and networking with residents and
officials to provide much needed community public safety information to
residents.
2011: Volunteered to lead a PR tour of her Waite Park neighborhood for the
Minneapolis 81 Project, http://minneapolis81.com/tag/waite-park/, through which
she highlighted nuances in her neighborhood and showcased the neighborhood
businesses, artists and organizations.
2011: Launched a Twin Cities advocacy group for law abiding firearms owners and
gun rights, which continues to date and has now sprouted multiple offshoots and
has grown to several thousand members.
June 2012: On a Saturday afternoon while walking her dog, Shelley was held at
gunpoint and detained for 20 minutes by 6 โ 8 Minneapolis police officers and
Park police officers in an egregious and unwarranted over-reaction to her
lawful open-carry of a securely holstered firearm. This incident further fueled
her activism and community organizing of other lawful gun owners to **come out
of the closet** in an ongoing, pro-active visibility and public education
campaign regarding law abiding gun owners, which continues to date.
August 2012: Took a hiatus from the crime watch network in fear for her safety
after she and the crime watch pages became the target of intolerant
Leftists/Progressives who ramped up a bullying and hate-filled disinformation
and online stalking campaign against her (because they took umbrage with
comments made by others on the page), which subsequently resulted in her
receiving death threats and vandalism to her property.
January 2013: Was a featured speaker on the steps of the state capitol in front
of nearly 1,500 attendees, where she spoke about the failure of our criminal
justice system, its failure to enforce existing laws and its lack of proper
prosecution of criminals who commit violent crimes, and helped to rally a
throng of law abiding gun owners in the eventual defeat of specious,
emotion-driven and misguided state and federal gun control legislation aimed at
punitively punishing law abiding citizens.
February 2013: Spoke again on the capitol steps to rally several hundred law
abiding gun rights supporters toward the defeat of misguided, emotion-driven
state and federal gun control legislation.
2013: Her volunteer work and advocacy activities continue between spates of
home renovation, gardening and life.