Conservative activist Fred Nasseri wasn’t born in the United States, but as the saying goes, he got here as fast as he could – and the conservative community in Collin County, Texas is very glad he did.
Born in Iran, Fred says th
at when he and some friends heard a story on the radio announcing the first Moon landing in 1969, they looked at each other and said “let’s go to America!”
And within six months, they did. Years later, Fred had the opportunity to meet Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and shake his hand.
One of those friends moved to Texas and encouraged Fred to do the same. He did, eventually settling in Plano, where he and his wife Janis have lived for the past 38 years.
Fred credits becoming a U.S. citizen and loving his chosen country with inspiring him to get involved as a conservative activist in his community. Specifically, it was the 1980 presidential debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan which Fred says inspired his active engagement in politics – the Reagan brand.
Now 74, Fred is retired from business but very active in local grassroots politics. He and Janis, who is active in Plano politics as well, stay busy supporting conservative causes and candidates (but no RINOs, warns Fred) in Collin County.
Fred is also an active member of the Collin County Republican Party, and in 2015 the CCGOP presented Fred a Chairman’s Award for outstanding volunteer service.
Through his activism Fred aims to improve government by helping conservatives get elected. That can be as simple as volunteering to put up campaign signs for conservative candidates, which Fred is currently doing for a slate of challengers in Plano’s May city council and school board races.
Fred believes Collin County is lucky to have so many good people in office at the local and state levels. What’s needed, though, is some “young blood” – a new generation of grassroots conservatives willing to step up when activists like Fred eventually step down. He says he’s very willing to train his replacements.
When not volunteering his time to help conservative candidates and causes, Fred enjoys fishing, serving on the Texas Baptist Men Disaster Relief chainsaw team, and attending conservative club meetings.
In fact, Fred’s advice for fellow Texans who want to make a difference but aren’t sure what they can do or how to get started is to “start out by going to conservative clubs to become informed citizens.”
If you’re in Collin County, you’ll probably see Fred there!
