When an elephant talks, everyone listens!

Transcription

1 President s Corner February 2017 When an elephant talks, everyone listens! Thank you to all who attended the January meeting of Sierra Nevada Republican Women. Mary Porter did a great job in securing Jim DeGraffenreid as our speaker. Jim is Vice Chair of the Nevada Republican Committee. Jim did a step by step presentation on how to testify before a Senate Committee as well as how we can get involved in the legislative process. He showed us how easy it is to get into the website and how to follow a bill we may be interested in. Many thanks to Jim for taking time out of his busy day and for his fantastic presentation. Our speaker for next month will be Barry Penzel. I m sure you are aware that Barry is now Chair for the Douglas County Commissioners. Congratulations Barry! I d like to ask you all to consider helping at the St. Patrick s Dinner on March 12. It will be held again at St. Gall Pastoral Center. Doors open at 4:45 and happy hour begins at 5:00 PM. Dinner will be served at 6:00 PM. Nancy Jarvis and Sharon Calvert are co-chairing the event this year. I asked if everyone would be will to make a donation of a basket for the raffle at the January meeting. Sharon suggested using a theme for your basket. If you have any questions regarding donations, please call Sharon or Nancy. They are still looking for help, so please let them know if you are available. I am looking forward to working with all of you this next year. If you have suggestions or questions, please or call me. Thank you for your continued support of Sierra Nevada Republican Women. God Bless, Barb

2 The next meeting of the Sierra Nevada Republican Women will be held on WEDNESDAY, February 8, 2017 Carson Valley Inn, Douglas Room 11:30 a.m. Buffet Begins 12:00 noon Program/Meeting Speaker: Barry Penzel, Chairman Douglas County Board of Commissioners Barry will be speaking about Nevada legislative initiatives that will effect Douglas County. This is a follow-up to Jim DeGraffenreid s presentation last month on following our legislature during this session. RSVP to Treasurer Jacie Peters, at JACIEPETERS@GMAIL.COM or call 775/ Due to the Carson Valley Inn requiring a firm head count four business days in advance of our luncheon, we must turn in a firm headcount by 10:00 a.m., February 3rd.. If you make a reservation and are unable to attend, please remember to call and cancel so we won t be charged for your meal. For the Early Bird drawing RSVP must be in by January 30. It s not too early to start thinking and planning for the one and only fundraiser of the year The 20th Annual St. Patrick s Dinner Sunday March 12, 2017 St. Gall Catholic Church 1343 Centerville Lane, Gardnerville, NV Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner Good Food & Good Times Raffles & Prizes RAFFLE PRIZES WILL BE NEEDED! Let s be creative and come up with some special prizes. We are looking for already made gift baskets, things to go into a gift baskets (we ll do the work), that new vase that Aunt Myrtle gave you for Christmas but doesn t fit in with anything you have, gift cards, gift certificates from local vendors, etc. (with emphasis on etc.). You will be hearing more about this, but now is a good time to start thinking about it. Page 2

3 Sierra Nevada Republican Women Meeting Minutes January 11, 2017 The regularly scheduled meeting of the Sierra Nevada Republican Women was called to order at 12:00 noon by new President Barbara McRoberts. Invocation was given by Marie Schnock Salute to the flag was led by Barry Penzel Parliamentarian was Pat Smith The following guests were in attendance: State Assemblyman Jim Wheeler; Jim Degraffenreid, Vice Chair-Nevada Republican Party; Commissioners Barry Penzel, Steve Thaler, Dave Nelson; Karen Ellison, County Recorder; Kathy Lewis, County Clerk-Treasurer; Lynn Muzzy, Carl Schnock, DCRCC Vice Chairs. Mary Porter introduced our guest speaker, Jim DeGraffenreid, Vice Chair of Republican Party. Jim spoke about the Nevada Legislature process. He indicated that the 2017 focus would be Defense since the Nevada Republicans will be in the minority and will need to fight to ensure that the Democrats don t force their will on Nevada. He stressed that, in Nevada, it is easy for us to become involved to help in this fight. How a Bill is turned into Law: A bill starts off as a bill draft request Goes to legislative council bureau who drafts it into a bill that goes to a committee hearing When a hearing is held, you can go to it and comment on the bill The committee then decides if a bill should then go to the floor for a vote, however, it is not required that the committee bring the bill to vote; it can be discussed and put in a drawer If it does go to vote on the floor, it can go to the Assembly where they decide on what to do with the bill. They can vote on it and if it passes, it goes to Senate and the process starts over again. If passed exactly as originally presented, it goes to governor to sign into law. If not, it goes back and process starts again.all steps have a definite deadline date and if dates are mossed the bills are dead. Currently 798 bill draft requests exist; many die on the vine due to the deadline dates. Website: Go to calendar of meetings (right side) Click on meeting dates to see what bills are being discussed For a fee you can set up alerts for specific bills Under the Time of Day is VIEW; if you click on that you can actually watch the committee hearing live There is also a place that lists the bills that are being drafted NELIS -Dashboard for Bills, Budgets and Committees- deep dive into each category In general, if you wish to visit Senators or Legislative members, you should register as a Lobbyist (non-paid). There is a fee, but veterans are free. There is also training available for lobbyists. Meeting Minutes approved as presented. Treasurer s Report: Jacie Peters gave the treasurers report and it is on file. 50/50 Drawing Winner: $58.00 Pat Smith Early Bird Winner: Sharon O Berg Membership:, Bonnie Robinson reported 70 members 41 associate members; our newest associate member is Joe Hooven. Caring for America Chair, Sally Wiley, is sending out care packages on Feb 1 st. She asked that we all sign the Valentine cards on today s table and bring additional signed Valentine cards to her for the packages by January 28 th. New Business: Barbara McRoberts received information from Diane Baranowski, Northern Director of NvFRW, that everyone has been invited to attend the Northern Leadership Conference on January 28 (9AM 3PM) at the Governor s Mansion. This conference is free and the hope is that all will consider attending. She is asking you bring your laptop s, tablets, PC s, etc., as they will be having a handson lesson on how to navigate the Assembly and Senate websites, NELIS, social media lessons, etc. Pat Smith is taking names for those of you who might be interested in attending. Please see her after the meeting. Dave Nelson: Kiwanis Club is sponsoring Soar Like an Eagle JAN 21, 2017 concert at the Community Center; tickets $25.00; Supports Quilts of Valor and WAVE (Welcome to Veterans Everywhere) Carl Schnock, Central Committee member, supports the Soar like an Eagle concert and the Lincoln Reagan Dinner. He introduced Shawnyne Garren, Committee Chair for the dinner. Shawnyne reminded everyone that the featured speaker would be General John Abizaid. Tickets are $50 per person. Event is Sunday, Feb CVI. 5 PM cocktails, 6:15 PM dinner & program Old Business: St Patrick s Dinner, March 12, 2017 at St. Gall Pastoral Center. Doors open at 4:45PM, Happy hour at 5:00 PM and check out the Raffle table. Dinner will be served at 6:00 PM. Our co-chairs this year will be Nancy Jarvis and Sharon Calvert. Flyers were on all the tables. Mary Porter also has a signup sheet for help at the dinner. Please contribute either a gift basket or gift cards/dinner certificates. Lynn Muzzy: He will be stepping down in March and new member s will be joining. He will be taking over the voting registration committee. Next Meeting Date: Feb, 8, 2017 MEETING ADJOINED 1:08 PM Respectfully submitted, Birgit Okamoto, Recording Secretary Page 3

4 2017 SNRW President Barb McRoberts calling the January 11, 2017 meeting to order. JIM DE GRAFFENREID, Vice Chair of Nevada Republican Committee, with Mary Porter (left) and Barb McRoberts (right) Joe Hooven, Precinct Leader, Winhaven newest associate member Page 4

5 MEMBERSHIP DUES FOR 2017 Member...$25.00 Associate $15.00 Name Badge..$15.00 Associates are Republican men or Republican women with membership in another NFRW club. An Associate may belong to more than one club, a Member may not be a member of more than one club, but may be an associate in other clubs. If you belong to another Republican Women s Club, which club? Please make check payable to: Sierra Nevada Republican Women Member:$ Associate:$ Name Badge/s $ Total:$ Name/s on badge: I am a registered Republican and I will support Republican ideals and encourage loyalty to the Republican Party. (signature) Mail to: SNRW, Post Office Box 2504, Minden, NV Name: Mailing Address: City: State: Zip: Home Phone: Cell Committees/Interests: Please indicate the area/s in which you have an interest: Literacy Campaign Activities PR/Communications Fundraising Legislative Membership Americanism Caring for America (Troop Support) I can help where needed. The above information will be published in our club roster and is intended for the sole use of club members. If you object, circle do not publish. Do Not Publish. Questions? Contact Vice President Bonnie Robinson, 775/ ;bonbini@sbcglobal.net. Meet Your Officers This is a new section in The Rumbler., and will start with President Barbara Barb McRoberts is your 2017 President. She has served most admirably as Vice President for the past two years, which included acting as Program Director. She did a fabulous job in getting terrific speakers and organized great programs. Barb comes to this office of President very qualified. She has held a Vice President position in International Footprint Association for three years. IFA is a peace officer association which raises money for Douglas County Sheriff s Office. She was President of St. Gall Women s Society for three years. She was chair of the St. Gall Women s Society Tea one year and Co-Chair of the Women s Society Luncheon and Fashion show for three years. She also was on the Pastoral Council for St. Gall for three years and was chairman of the board her last year in office. Barb also has been on the board of directors of Carson Valley Community Food Closet for four years. Barb, and her husband, Don, have lived in Minden for the past 11 1/2 years, transplanting from the Bay area. They have two children, a son and a daughter and five grandchildren, three granddaughters and two grandsons. She has held jobs as administrative assistant, sales support, and owned her own housekeeping business for seven years, and worked as a Financial Services Officer at Bank of the West in San Jose, CA Barb is a life-long Republican and has been active in SNRW for nine years. One of her goals for this next year is to see SNRW grow and to get more new members involved. She would like to encourage more members to become involved in the standing committees. She enjoys cooking, baking, entertaining and is an avid quilter. She has donated several of her exquisite pieces for SNRW events Page 5

6 Groundhog Day is a traditional holiday celebrated on February 2. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then the spring season will arrive early, some time before the vernal equinox; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its den, and winter weather will persist for six more weeks. DATES TO REMEMBER January 28 U.S.-Vietnam Cease Fire (1973) February 1 National Freedom Day February 2 Groundhog Day February 6 Ronald Reagan s Birthday February 8 SNRW Luncheon/Meeting Commissioner Barry Penzel-Speaker February 12 Lincoln s Birthday February 14 Valentines Day February 20 President s Day February 22 Washington s Birthday February 23 Flag raised on Iwo Jima (1945) -Official Fly the Flag Page 6

7 Recommended Reading Constitution Committee Lynn Muzzy "Danger Close" by Amber Smith is the story of a young woman's journey from civilian to helicopter pilot to air commander of an OH-58 Kiowa Army unit in the first years of the war on terror. Smith, a licensed small plane pilot before she was 18, comes from a family of aviators: her grandfather was a test pilot, her mom an instructor pilot and her father a Pan Am captain. Her two sisters would eventually follow her into service as military pilots. Since only the Army allows non-commissioned officers with no college degree to become pilots, Amber applied to enter the Army's rigorous "high school to flight school" program that graduates helicopter pilots with the rank of Warrant Officer, above enlisted grades but below commissioned officers. Smith was selected to fly the Kiowa, a small two place armed reconnaissance helicopter used to inspect convoy routes for IEDs and search for ambushes with the aid of a mast-mounted multisensor sighting system and night vision goggles. The low and slow capabilities of helicopters that make them excellent observation platforms and gunships also make them difficult and dangerous to fly. Helicopters are inherently unstable and physically demanding in the best of circumstances. The pilot can't release the controls for even a moment. The Kiowa is particularly sluggish; air speed and altitude changes are slow, which makes them vulnerable to ground fire. They wallow in the thin air of mountain flying. Covering ground troops in passes means an enemy on a high bluff can actually shoot down on them. Night vision goggles are indispensible for combat in the dark but make visual estimates of altitude deceptive; pilots wearing NVGs who failed to watch their radar altimeters have flown into the ground. The workload for the Kiowa pilot and co-pilot protecting troops in a firefight includes monitoring 5 radio frequencies and positively fixing friendly and enemy positions prior to firing their on-board 50 caliber machine gun and rocket launchers, all while executing extreme maneuvering. The onboard weapons are attached to the airframe, so "aiming" means turning and tilting the entire ship to point directly at the enemy. Considerably more difficult than aiming a rifle, it must be done in seconds. "Danger Close" refers to those instances when pilots must shoot very near friendly forces. This well-written book includes a true to life account of the pilots' primitive living conditions in the war zone, describing the restrictive rules of engagement that often prevented them from shooting at the enemy, and the extreme cold of night and mountain flying - they flew without doors to facilitate escape in the event of a fiery crash. Unlike the better known and much larger Blackhawk utility and Apache attack helicopters, Amber Smith's book tells the relatively unknown story of the small but indispensable Kiowas and the people who flew them. Be sure to let your Constitution Committee know what books you have enjoyed. We will let our members have the benefit of your recommendations. Page 7

8 This Space For Rent $45 for a year Sierra Nevada Republican Women is a unit of the Nevada Federation of Republican Women. We are a Political Action Committee, working at the grass roots level to get out the vote for Republican candidates. We also devote our attention to educating voters on the matters that concern Douglas County, Nevada and our nation. Page 8

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10 SNRW COMMITTEE CHAIR/MEMBERS Achievement Award: Mary Porter, Board Advertising: Nancy Jarvis Advisory: Past Presidents Americanism: Sharon O'Berg Audit: Jan Vanderbur, Jacie Peters, Pat Smith, Budget & Finance: Jacie Peters, Executive Board Bylaws: Donna Schehl, Nancy Jarvis Caring for America: Sally Wiley Chaplain: Marie Schnock, Jan Muzzy Constitution/Education: Mary Porter, Marie Schnock, Lynn Muzzy, Barry Penzel, Sally Wiley Entrepreneur Award: Jan Muzzy Historian: Jacie Peters Hot Line: Nancy Jarvis Legislative Committee: Mary Porter Literacy: Jan Vanderbur Membership: Bonnie Robinson Newsletter: Nancy Jarvis Nominating Donna Schehl Parliamentarian: Kathryn Zogorski Photographer: Donna Schehl Program: Barbara McRoberts Publicity/PR: Nancy Jarvis Protocol: Jan Muzzy Roster: Bonnie Robinson Special Events: Board Sunshine: Rita Hill VA/Military: Sally Wiley Ways & Means: Board Website: Rita Hill Youth: Mary Porter Note: President is Ex Officio (voting) member of all committees (but not counted in a quorum) - except Nominating Sierra Nevada Republican Women Website: Facebook: Sierra Nevada Republican Women National Federation of Republican Women 124 N. Alfred Street Alexandria, VA mail@nfrw.org State of Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval State Capitol Building 101 N. Carson Street Carson City, NV Lt. Governor Mark Hutchison State Capitol Building 101 N. Carson Street, Suite 2 Carson City, NV Ltgov@ltgov.nv.gov Senator James A. Settelmeyer District Highway 395 Minden, NV James.Settelmeyer@sen.state.nv.us Secretary: Maureen Brower Maureen.Brower@sen.state.nv.us Assemblyman Jim Wheeler District 39 P. O. Box 2135 Minden, NV Jim.Wheeler@asm.state.nv.us Secretary: Marilyn McElhany Marilyn.McElhany@asm.state.nv.us Nevada Legislature website DISCLOSURE NOTICE SNRW newsletter is paid for by SNRW and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee Page 10

11 Nevada U.S. Senator Dean Heller 4 Russell Courtyard Washington, DC FAX Heller.senate.gov/contact form.crm Meron Bayu, Deputy Scheduler Nevada U.S. Congressional District 2 Congressman Mark Amodei 222 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC Reno Office 400 S. Virginia St., Suite 502 Reno, NV Douglas County Manager Larry Werner 1594 Esmeralda Ave. Minden, NV Mailing Address: P.O. Box 218 Minden, NV Ph: Fax: Board of Commissioners meet 1st Thursday of month in Minden 1:00 Douglas County Historic Courthouse 3rd Thursday of month at Lake Tahoe 1:30 p.m. Tahoe Transportation Center Nancy McDermid nmcdermid@co.douglas.nv.us Dave Nelson Barry Penzel Chairman barrynvpct@yahoo.com Steve Thaler sthaler@co.douglas.nv.us Larry Walsh 2016 SNRW Board Barbara McRoberts, President 775/ ; bmcroberts@charter.net Mary Porter, 1st VP Program 775/ ; maryatmaa@yahoo.com Bonnie Robinson, 2nd VP Membership 775/775/ ; bonbini@sbcglobal.net Jacie Peters, Treasurer 775/ ; jaciepeters@gmail.com Birgit Okamoto, Recording Secretary 775/ , brokamoto@charter.net Sondra Condron, Corresponding Secretary 775/ ; scondron@charter.net Pat Smith, President 775/ ; nvsmith1385@aol.com Page 11