It was a privilege to attend the NFRW 2015 Spring Board of Directors Meeting in Washington DC, March 18 -21 as CFRW State President. The informative four days began with a tour of Monticello. We had the opportunity to explore the grounds, Smith Gallery complete with blue prints and models of the house, a film in the visitors center Thomas Jefferson’s World, out buildings , his burial site and Jefferson’s beautiful home built on top of a hill surrounded by a magnificent 50 mile view. Thomas Jefferson was truly ahead of his time and he had so many innovative ideas. Our tour also included lunch at Michie Tavern complete with decor and food reminiscent of the late 18th Century.
Thursday was Legislative Day on Capitol Hill. We heard from many legislators including,Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator John McCain,and our own California Congresswoman Mimi Walters. We had a luncheon reception at the Capitol Hill Club with many GOP Senators and Representatives joining us including Missouri Senator Roy Blunt and North Carolina Senator, Thom Tillis. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and Vice Chair Sharon Day were guest speakers and after lunch we took a tour of the RNC office and visited our local representatives. The State Presidents meeting was in the afternoon. It is always enjoyable to share ideas with State Presidents from across the country. It is an honor and a privilege to attend the meeting as CFRW President. At this meeting we shared state projects for Caring for America and it was a thrill to have the opportunity to talk about our successful All Terrain Track Chair Project. The NFRW PAC hosted a very inspiring event with honored guest speakers Senator Chuck Grassley and newly elected Senator Joni Ernst. The day ended with a lively Regents event complete with piano music and a chance to relax after a very busy day!
The Friday and Saturday General sessions included NFRW Business and Committee reports. Congratulations to Carol Hadley for being elected to the 2015 NFRW Nominating Committee. Having served on the 2013 Committee I know it will be a very memorable experience for Carol. We also had some very passionate speakers! Kellyanne Conway, founder of WomenTrend spoke about how women look at the issues and she stressed how important it is that more women run for office. Kellyanne will also be doing the Straw Poll at the NFRW Convention in Arizona. Susan Allen became First Lady of Virginia when her husband George Allen was elected 67th Governor of Virginia . She asked us what are we doing on our journey? She spoke to us about being positive about conservatism, online opportunities to get our message out like virtual precincts and virtual clubs and appealing to your best hope not your strongest fear! Mrs. Allen has just completed a book about Ronald Reagan. Newt Gingrich was our Friday luncheon speaker and Mr. Gingrich always does a very entertaining and informative presentation.
On Friday afternoon there was a choice of 3 workshops. I attended the most inspiring and innovative presentation I have ever attended on Grassroots politics. Holly Robichaud is a 4 time Pollie Award winner and she really thinks out side of the box with great success!
On Saturday we had the opportunity to attend the luncheon for Unlocking Potential, hosted by Carly Fiorina. The luncheon speakers included Michele Reagan Arizona Secretary of State, Missy Shore, Public Relations expert and of course Carly Fiorina! Every time I hear Carly speak, I still can’t believe that California actually reelected Barbara Boxer in 2010 rather than electing Carly Fiorina as our US Senator?? Ladies we have a lot of voters we need to educate for the 2016 election! What an INSPIRING four days!
Thank you for all you do,
Roseann
Working Together To Make A Difference
SB 128 Update
On Wednesday of last week, SB 128 (Wolk, D) was heard and passed out of its first committee. As you will recall from last week's Capitol Update, SB 128, or "Aid in Dying", is OPPOSED by the CFRW. SB 128 seeks to allow terminally ill people to choose to end their lives with physician prescribed medication. This is an extremely dangerous bill with many unforeseeable or unintended consequences. The bill passed out of the Senate Health Committee on a party line vote, 6-2, despite the many present in opposition to the bill. Many committees are stacked in the Democrats favor, so it is important to call EVERY committee member to express your support or opposition to legislation. The bill will be heard next in the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 7th at 1:30 pm. Please call the Senate Judiciary members and ask them to VOTE NO on SB 128!
Senate Judiciary Committee
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (Chair)- (916) 651-4019
Senator Andy Vidak (Vice Chair)- (916) 651-4014
Senator Joel Anderson- (916) 651-4038
Senator Robert Hertzberg- (916) 651-4018
Senator Mark Leno- (916) 651-4011
Senator Bill Monning- (916) 651-4017
Senator Bob Wieckowski- (916) 651-4010
Advocacy Workshop
Our 40th Annual Advocacy Workshop is right around the corner! Join us, April 20th & 21st in Sacramento for and exciting and educational workshop! We need our clubs to go out and sponsor as many high school students as you can, because we have an amazing opportunity for our student guests! The student’s session will have a private showing of Dinesh D’Souza’s movie, AMERICA. But it is not the movie you’ve all seen- it is a special, educational cut that Dinesh created specifically for high school students! After the movie we are working on a skype interview with Dinesh himself! Our students will also have the opportunity to participate in a legislative committee hearing at the Capitol! For our members, we have the opportunity to hear from our amazing new Republican legislators, our luncheon speaker is CRP Vice Chair Harmeet Dhillon, and afterwards an informative program on Women in Politics by GrassRoots Lab. Be sure to get your registration in by April 13th to avoid a late fee. Remember to fill out the form completely, even the lunch preference portion! Please also be sure to make your hotel reservation by April 7 to get the special room rate of $119 a night. The Holiday Inn Express is not set up to do online reservations so please call the number on the registration form in Call to Advocacy or here (877-408-0083). Be sure to tell the reservations agent you are with the California Federation of Republican Women (CFRW) to get the special rate of $119. Remember to sign up for the Hands on Workshop for the New NFRW Data Base on Tuesday, April 21st, with NFRW Membership Chair, Frederika Verhulst! We look forward to seeing you April 20 & 21 in Sacramento. ◼ CLICK HERE for the Call to Advocacy!