We Surround Them: Our Journey from Apathy to Action

by J. Eric Wilson, R. Justen Collins

The 9/12 Project began all across America, in homes and communities, on March 13, 2009. Twenty months later, the grassroots organization that was formed that day has grown to include millions of members and has changed the lives of each and every one of them. Its motivation is simple and profound: to inspire and unite our countrymen back to the place we were on 9/12/2001-the day after the attack on our nation. On that day, we stood shoulder-to-shoulder, unconcerned about our different religious beliefs, skin colors, or political parties. We were united as Americans to protect our nation and the patriots that make it the greatest country in the world. The 9/12 Project is devoted to inspiring individuals and groups to connect their communities through education, service, and dedication to its nine fundamental principles and twelve core values. In doing so, the 9/12 Project reminds us all that we are not alone and that others are going through similar struggles in these turbulent times-but we can find a common path. From its inception to its current state, the 9/12 Project has gained strength by reinforcing that we are the key-people who have triumphs, discover who they are, make mistakes, and find the courage to continue and to create change. Exploring the human side of the movement, this diary-style work is full of hope, insight, and the surging power of individuals choosing to make a difference. These vivid firsthand accounts provide an opportunity to do more than just read a group's history, but to live their sacrifices and accomplishments along with them. Promoting personal responsibility, We Surround Them: Our Journey from Apathy to Action is the inspirational story of the Kentucky 9/12 Project's members, their successes and failures, and the indomitable spirit of Americans unafraid of learning who they truly are as they restore the principles and values on which this country was founded.

186 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 2011

About the author

Eric Wilson is married with three children and calls Kentucky his home. Eric is the Director of Thought Leadership at The Institute of Business Forecasting (IBF). He is an award-winning professional in his field of predictive analytics and business forecasting and always had writing, political science and history enthusiast, and storyteller as a hobby. He is a Thought Leader, Influencer, Accomplished Author, Public Speaker, Husband, and Dad.

Wilson has a passion for history and politically science. Telling the human of social movements he authored his first book, “We Surround Them; Our Journey from Apathy to Action” (Georgetown Grassroots Publications 2011).

In 2016 Eric wrote “Cultural Cycles” (Georgetown Grassroots Publications, 2017) which was a five-year project and was the coming together of his professional life and personal passions where he uses history and analytics and most of all the readers own intuition and logic to explain the seemly rhythmic nature of history and current events.

Eric has an established record and is considered a visionary in his field of predictive analytics both as a practitioner and for his research. One of the breakthrough books in this field written by Eric was “Predictive Analytics for Business Forecasting” (Graceway Publishing Company 2020) recently released and brings the advancements and future of business forecasting and planning to a new era of planners and data-junkies.

Now in the immortal words of Monty Python “And now for something completely different”

Most recently Eric collaborated with his sister on bringing to life a lovable character and humorous fictional tall tales from a time growing up in a coal camp. Although he never lived in West Virginia, he does love Pepperoni rolls and knows all the lyrics of John Denver’s "Country Roads". Taking his passion for writing, quick witted humor, ability to tell tales, and his sister craving and ability to tell stories from her life – Eric co-authored their newest book “Dino: Tall Tales from the Simpler Times up on the Hill” (Independently published, 2021).