Letter from your President Margot Leurig

Transcription

1 TEXAS STRONG Letter from your President Margot Leurig Texas Strong Republican Women s club is growing! Issue 7, February 2017 Inside this issue February Meeting Membership Upcoming Events 8-9 TFRW Brief 10. Our Sponsors 8-9 In January, we held a special CHAT (Chicks Having an Awesome Time} event to showcase our energetic and effective club to prospective members. It was a great evening in Susan Parker s lovely home, with about a dozen guests attending. As our special guests, five Denton County elected officials --- who also are Republican women --- spoke informally with us about their positions, how they became interested in politics -and why they are Republicans. Thanks to County Clerk Juli Luke, County Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell, Judges Sherry Shipman and Tiffany Haertling, and City Council Woman Kathleen Wazny for informing and inspiring us. As of today, at least six new members have been added to our ranks and we welcome each of them! We will be learning other ways to grow our club and its influence during an upcoming Workshop that the TFRW Deputy President for our Region, Beryl Dowd, is presenting on Saturday, Feb. 11 in Ft. Worth. Any of our club members are welcome to attend, and full details are shown on the flyer which is on page 8 of this newsletter. Love to see you there! And your amazing Board of Officers has a really exciting year planned for our club --- great programs, Legislative Day in Austin, TFRW State convention, and heart-warming Caring for America projects. It s going to be a very important political year. Glad you re a part of our team! 1

2 February Meeting February 8th at 11:30 Italian Bistro 501 Byron Nelson Blvd Roanoke, Texas Denton County Commissioner Andy Eads will speak at our February meeting. Commissioner Eads will be speaking on the growth of the Southern Denton County and the current road construction in the area of 114, 377, and I35. Commissioner Eads is a native Texan and fifth generation resident of Denton County. After graduating from Liberty Christian School, he received his BBA from Howard Payne University and his Masters of Public Administration from the University of North Texas. Commissioner Eads has served on the Denton County Commissioners Court since He lives in Flower Mound with his wife Ginger and their children, Everett, Addison and Caroline. He enjoys volunteering and camping with his boys Scout Troop. Luncheon meetings are held every 2 nd Wednesday of the month Registration/social 11:30AM w Lunch/meeting 12:00 noon RSVP to dkhalar@msn.com two days before the meeting 2

3 What an exciting day January 10, 2017 was for Texas! That was the first day of our 85 th Legislative Session, and it dawned bright and a bit chilly in Austin, Texas. My husband Bob and I had been invited by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to attend that opening day as his guests and sit on the floor of the Texas Senate for the opening ceremonies. What an unexpected honor which we gratefully accepted. Waiting for the opening ceremonies, It was awesome to see many fellow Republicans mixing with our GOP senators. We visited with Tom Mechler, Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, and Toni Anne Dashiell, our Republican National Committeewoman, as well as several Senators and their families. Following in the swearing in ceremony, the Lt. Gov. had graciously arranged for a lovely buffet in his private reception room, and we enjoyed chatting with other Republican activists, including Tarrant County GOP Chair Tim O Hare and his lovely wife Christen, who was expecting their third child within a few days. Before heading back to Denton, we stopped by two of our State Representatives offices and had very nice visits with Pat Fallon and his wife, Susan, plus our new State Representative Dr. Lynn Stucky and his wife, Lori. We also visited our Senator Jane Nelson s office and had a good conversation with her Chief of Staff Dave Nelson. Each of them expressed optimism for the future of our state and, thanks to President Trump s Victory, also for the future of America. It was a great day to be an American, a Texan and a Republican! Dianne Edmondson 3

4 OUR CLUB IS A WINNER!! By Dianne Edmondson, Awards Chairman Texas Strong Republican Women s club has been working hard to earn awards in the fall from both the Texas Federation of Republican Women (TFRW) and the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW). We are right on track to win the TFRW John Tower award, and also have our sights set on achieving a high-level award at the NFRW Convention. One of the major accomplishments we must achieve is to grow our club and that goal directly relates to you our members. Here are some things YOU can do to help us: RENEW your Texas Strong RW membership (We need at least 80% renewal rate for award points.) RECRUIT a new member for our club. (We must have at least 10 new members for one level of award, and 10% increase for another level of award.) RESPOND to our club s goals by serving on one of the Texas Strong committees with easy but meaningful activities such as Hospitality, Membership, Americanism, Fund Raising, etc. Can you help us achieve our goals? Just talk to any of our officers about how YOU can be a part of our winning team! Communications We have the new website up and running. We picked the website that looked like the TFRW site. Hope you like it. We would love to hear your stories of attending events and pictures. We will put them on the blog, with your permission, of course. Jube Dankworth, VP Communications/Chaplain 4

5 Membership Our Fireside C.H.A.T. was a success! We have 7 new members! Current member total 44; 28 Full members, 16 Associate, 22 Patron members. TIME TO RENEW YOUR TX STRONG RW MEMBERSHIP EXCITING NEW OPTION IS AVAILABLE! by Diane Khalar Membership Vice President It s time to renew our 2017 memberships for Texas Strong Republican Women and we definitely need you to re-join! You may pay at the meeting or mail your check to PO BOX 549 Our dues structure remains the same: $30 for Full Members and $15 for Associate Members (men or full members of another TFRW club.) Texas Strong Patron Membership is $100 and includes either an associate or full membership as appropriate! (If your contact information and membership level remains the same as when you first joined, you do not have to fill out another Membership Application.) 5

6 a t r o n (n): A very special supporter; one who provides extra encouragement and help; one who is especially appreciated. The Texas Strong Republican Women s Patron Program We cordially invite you to become a Patron Member of the Texas Strong Republican Women. This group of supporters will donate $100 each year to Texas Strong RW. The Patron s program will serve two purposes: 1) To raise additional funds for TX Strong RW and 2) To provide our Patrons with a few exclusive and enjoyable experiences each year to foster fellowship and friendship among our Patrons. A Patron membership is $100 a calendar year and a Patron membership also includes either Active or Associate member as appropriate. Special Patron events will be announced periodically and will include Patron receptions and other special outings. Patrons also will be specially identified in the Texas Strong Membership Directory. Yes, I want to be a TX Strong Patron Member! Buy One Get One half off for couples - $150 Name: Address: City: Zip Phone: Occupation: Employer: Spouse (if applicable): Type of Membership: Active Associate BOGO Spousal (Active Member of which other TFRW Club?) Political advertising paid for by Texas Strong Republican Women, Susan Parker PAC Treasurer, Contributions are not deductible as charitable contributions for income tax purposes. Corporate contributions are not permitted. 6

7 Texas Strong Republican Women Club Membership Application Membership Information Date: Name Spouse s name Address Referred by City ST Zip Home number Work number Cell number Occupation homemaker, retired, private tutor, volunteers) (Required by law for Political Action Committee. If not employed; address Please print legibly and notify us with changes. This is our preferred means of communication Registered Voter? Yes No Precinct # Senate District # $30 Active Membership $15 Associate Membership (women with another federated membership, spouse, Republican men) Donation to Local RW (optional) $10 Nametag ( magnetic pin) I do not want my information printed in the annual Membership Directory TOTAL ENCLOSED $ CHECK # CASH I AM INTERESTED IN THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEES Campaign Activities Fund Raising Community Engagement Legislative Membership Caring for America Programs Publicity Fundraising Telephone Other Political advertising paid for by Texas Strong Republican Women, Susan Parker, PAC Treasurer, 8816 Crestview Dr., Denton, TX Contributions are not deductible as charitable contributions for income tax purposes. Corporate Contributions Are Not Permitted. Mail to: Membership 7

8 Breakout sessions! Networking! Q&A with the experts Fort Worth Club 306 W 7 th Street Fort Worth am 2pm! FEBRUARY 11, 2017 LOCAL TFRW LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP Workshop Speakers Toni Ann Dashielle, Texas RNC Rep, TFRW past president - Luncheon Speaker and President s Break Away $35.00 Registration Fee Payable to: Cindi Ann Stouff Registration Fee includes Parking & Lunch! Please submit your RSVP and Registration Fee to: Cindi Ann Stouff Los Rios Dr. Ft. Worth, TX No later than February 4 Julie Johncox, Staff Member for Mayor Betsy Price - Fundraising for Small Clubs Dianne Edmondson, District Director SD 12 - Membership Recruiting from New Sources Michele Samuelson, TFRW VP - Legislation and Social Media Ann Marie Birdwell, 2026 Victory Chair - Getting the Word Out on Social Media Cynthia Morrison, Tarrant Star Pac Treasurer - Pac Treasure Michele Martin, TFRW Awards Chair - Programs and Awards 8

9 BIG REPUBLICAN GALAS COMING UP! Texas Strong Republican Women represent both Denton and Tarrant Counties, both among the reddest of the red in Texas. And both counties annual gala fundraisers are fast approaching. We encourage our members to attend one or both of these events. See details below. Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday, February 18 Omni Hotel Fort Worth Speaker: Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz ker Ticket information here: Denton County Lincoln Reagan Dinner Saturday, March 4 DFW Hyatt Regency Speaker: Dr. Sebastian Gorka Purchase Tickets Here: Purchase Tickets 9

10 TFRW Legislative Brief - The State of Texas By Michele Samuelson TFRW VP of Legislation There is a lot to report on from Austin, so let's jump right in! On Tuesday, Jan. 31, Governor Abbott addressed a joint session of the House and Senate to give his State of the State address. The full transcript, and other resources, can be found here on the Governor's website. During his speech, Gov. Abbott laid out four emergency items for the Legislature to take up. The Texas Constitution does not allow the Legislature to consider any legislation until the 60th day of session, unless the governor declares an emergency item, so this means that legislation pertaining to his items will be considered as soon as possible. The four emergency items are: 1 - Child Protective Services reform (SB 11) 2 - Banning sanctuary cities and strengthening border security (SB 4) 3 - Ethics reform (SB 14) 4 - Article V Convention of States (SB 21, HJR 39, SJR 2, HB 506) We can expect bills on these topics to be scheduled for hearings quickly. SB 11 by Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) will be heard on February 2 in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, and SB 14 by Sen. Van Taylor (R-Plano) will be heard February 1 in Senate State Affairs. You can watch those hearings online at Speaking of the Texas Senate, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick made his committee assignments on January 18. You can view all of them online here. Committee assignments have not been made in the House, which means that House committees cannot yet take testimony on legislation. We expect those assignments to be made soon. Confused about all the acronyms? The Texas House glossary of terms may be useful to you. Click here. In addition to all that is happening in the Legislature, the State Board of Education is meeting in Austin this week. They were sworn in for this biennium on Tuesday. You can view meeting webcasts and find more information about the SBOE on their website here. Sign up for Legislative Day (and Belles and Boots!) today!! You don't want to miss these events, happening on April 5 and 6 in Austin! New sponsorship levels have been added. Click here for registration form. You can register online for Legislative Day events here: See you all in Austin soon! 10

11 Thank you to our Sponsors! PROUD TO SUPPORT TEXAS STRONG REPUBLICAN WOMEN SenJaneNelson SenatorJaneNelson JaneNelson.Org Paid Pol. Adv. Friends of Senator Jane Nelson, P.O. Box 608, Grapevine, TX

12 From the Treasurer Donating Cash to the Club Our club is considered a PAC under the Texas State Legislature (via the Texas Ethics Commission). ALL cash donations to our club require the following information along with the donation: Name, address, occupation and employer. Failure to provide the information requires our club to donate the money to a 501(c) (3). Susan Parker, Treasurer 12

13 2016 Board of Directors President... Margot Leurig VP Campaign...Jill Tate VP Communications/Chaplain...Jube Dankworth VP Legislation...Vandolyn Roszell VP Membership...Diane Khalar VP Programs...Jill Tate Treasurer/PAC Treasurer...Susan Parker Secretary...Avie Raburn Fundraising Committee Chair...Jeanne DeArment Newsletter Editor.....Heather Moss Awards Chairman.....Dianne Edmondson Political advertising paid for by Texas Strong Republican Women Susan Parker, PAC Treasurer, 8816 Crestview Dr Denton TX Contributions are not federal tax deductible as charitable contributions. Corporate contributions are not permitted. Texas strong PO BOX 549 [Recipient] Address Line 1 Address Line 2 Address Line 3 Address Line 4 13