GREATER MCLEAN REPUBLICAN WOMEN S CLUB REPUBLICAN WOMEN MAKING A DIFFERENCE Editor: Joan Dreux dreuxworks@aol.com May 2016 Edition GREATER MCLEAN REPUBLICAN WOMEN S CLUB INVITES YOU TO ATTEND A BOOK SIGNING AND LUNCHEON WITH AUTHOR & POLITICAL STRATEGIST* MICHAEL P. BALZANO ON THURSDAY, MAY 19 TH AT 11:30 A.M. AT THE RIVER BEND COUNTRY CLUB WALKER ROAD, GREAT FALLS, VA PLEASE RSVP TO GMRWC REGISTRAR, MARTY SMITH, AT 1mpsmith@cox.net BY MONDAY, MAY 16 AT 7 P.M. LET MARTY KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE CHICKEN OR SALMON. MAIL YOUR CHECK FOR $35 PER PERSON TO GMRWC, P.O. BOX 417, MCLEAN, VA 22101. *Michael Balzano will be signing his new book, BUILDING A NEW MAJORITY. 1
A MESSAGE FROM GMRWC PRESIDENT, JOAN DREUX** Virginia s many Republican conventions are almost done. The last is the weekend of April 29th in Harrisonburg, VA - the RPV State Convention. Our State Party Chairmanship will be decided there. Our state convention delegates will also decide on the final number of our Virginia delegates to attend the National Republican Convention in Cleveland in July and the state s representatives elected to represent Virginia Republicans on the board of the RNC. GMRWC will be putting together activities to support the re-election of our 10 th District Congresswomen, Barbara Comstock. Be on the lookout for email notices for these activities. We all need to do our part to assure her re-election to Congress in November. Republican Party Unity and activism is the creed of our Party Leadership in 2016. Please keep in mind that staying home on Election Day assures the Democrats will win and keep the White House for another 4 to 8 years. Further, the Democrats will also take back the Senate as well as the White House if we all are divisive and stay away from the polls. We need to take a deep breath, stay focused and win in November so we can secure our Nation for our future, for our children and their children. We need to win so we get our Nation back to where it was intended to be by our forefathers; to secure the future of the U.S. Supreme Court, and to rebuild our armed forces and national security. We may not all agree on our candidates, on our candidate selection process or on the outcome of the Republican Party s July Convention. But, when all is said and done, we must support our Party, support our candidate and go to the polls to get our Republican candidate elected in November. GMRWC S MCLEAN DAY TABLE NEED GMRWC VOLUNTEERS McLean Day is Saturday, May 21st, from 11a.m. until 5 p.m. GMRWC has reserved a table and GMRWC Chair, Marcia Close, is looking for members to volunteer for the three shifts which are: 11 1; 1 3; and 3 5. Please Call or email Marcia to sign up for a shift (703-992-9294 or closegf@aol.com). Thank you. 2
GMRWC 2016 MEMBERSHIP Our Club s new membership directory for 2016-2017 is out and is being distributed to GMRWC Members. Every paid-up member is to receive one, but we are trying to save on mailing costs. The Board will be meeting at the McLean Government Center on Thursday, May 5 th. If you could stop by for your copy, that would be helpful. Also, they will be available at the luncheon on May 19th. Also, please note the following corrections to the new directory: Inez Forest and Paula Dahut - change street name to Royal Palace Square; Olivia Jenney - add Lawrenceville, NJ 98540 to address; and Caroline Lane - change Melrose Place to Melrose Road. Thank you all for your kind consideration. Any questions, please contact Membership Vice President, Elsa Willis at dwillis128@aol.com. GMRWC GREER SCHOLARS TO BE ANNOUNCED AT MAY LUNCHEON GMRWC s Greer Scholarship winner(s) will be recognized and presented with their awards at GMRWC May 19 th luncheon at the River Bend Country Club in Great Falls. All applications must have been filed with Louise Epstein by Friday, April 15 th. POLITICS 2016 A MESSAGE FROM GERRIE SMITH** The 10Th Congressional District of Virginia Convention has been completed, where Delegates were selected to represent us at the Republican National Convention to be held in Ohio. The 10th Congressional District (CD) Committee members were also selected, as well as the Chairman of the District. Chairman Jo Thoburn was unanimously re-elected for another four year term, having no opposition. The members of the State Central Committee, who will also serve four year terms, are: Eve B. Gleason (re-elected); Mark Sell, former Chairman of Loudoun County Republican Committee; and Puneet Ahluwalia. Jim Huber ran unopposed as our Presidential Elector. The Delegates selected to attend the RNC Convention are State Sen. Dick Black, Mick Stanton, and Beau Correll. The three alternates selected are Blaine Dunn, Eugene Delgaudio, and Howie Lind. Jill Cook was next runner-up. The 10th District Convention proceeded more smoothly than have some in recent years, due to the leadership of Chairman Thoburn. Kudos to the winners! On Saturday, April 9th, the Credentials Committee met to rule on hearing challenges to the status of several Delegates. As per the Republican Party of Virginia Party Plan, the Committee met to hear appeals and then met in private to deliberate. Challenges included those of a clerical error nature as well as more substantive issues. Parties who were denied appeal were 3
allowed to pursue their respective complaints to the RPV Credentials Committee, chaired by Eric Herr. Although the 10th CD Convention is complete, the other two congressional districts that comprise the Fairfax County delegation are the 8th and the 11th. The 8th CD will conduct selection of Chairman and Delegates on Saturday, May 7, 2016, at Kenmore Middle School, 200 S. Carlin Springs Rd., Arlington, VA 22204. Registration begins at 8:00 AM, and the Convention will be called to order at 10:00 AM. The 11th CD Convention will be held on Saturday, May 14, 2016, at Centerville High School, 6001 Union Mill Road, Clifton, VA. 20124. Registration opens at 8:00 AM, and the Convention will be called to order at 10:00 AM. On April 29-30, 2016, the RPV will conduct its Convention at the James Madison University Convention Center, 895 University Boulevard, Harrisonburg, VA. 22807. Those who have previously registered to attend the Convention should note that the Convention will be called to order at 2:30 on Friday, April 29th, and on Saturday, April 30th at 12 Noon. At this Convention the Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia will be selected. Delegates will also choose the National Committee members from Virginia to the Republican National Committee. GMRWC S APRIL 21ST NEW MEMBER WINE & CHEESE - A GREAT SUCCESS!!! GMRWC HOSTED EXECUTIVE BOARD OF VFRW ALONG WITH FEDERAL, STATE & LOCAL OFFICIALS AND GMRWC PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS IN THE HOME OF GMRWC PRESIDENT, JOAN DREUX 4
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APRIL 22-24 VFRW ANNUAL CONVENTION HELD IN MCLEAN GMRWC VFRW Convention Delegates President Linda Bartlett Ed Gillespie Supervisor John Cook GMRWC Hosts & Caters VFRW VIP Reception Joan Dreux introduces Congresswomen Comstock at VFRW Dinner GMRWC was honored to receive one of a few VFRW BLUE RIBBON AWARDS given out for our club s achievements in 2015! Congratulations GMRWC!! Kudos must go out to President Linda Bartlett for a great Convention, and GMRWC expresses its thanks to Linda for her many years of service to the VFRW and for her past two years as its 6
President. Thank you is extended too to GMRWC past-president and long-time member, Betsy McIntire, for her service as the VFRW 10 th District Representative and as GMRWC Board liaison to the VFRW. Finally, GMRWC sends its congratulations to VFRW s newly elected President, Ellen Nau. Best of luck to President Nau and her newly elected Board. SAVE THE DATES FOR GMRWC & OTHER EVENTS IN 2016 *2016 GMRWC Board Meetings will be held at 10 a.m. in the Community Room at Balls Hill Government Center in McLean with the exception of November 2016 (TBD) due to the use of the room by the Board of Elections. Board meeting dates are May 5, June 2, September 8, October 6, November 3, and December 1. *May 19, 2016 11:30 A.M. at the River Bend Country Club. Our May speaker will be the Michael (Mike) P. Balzano, the spouse of long-time member, Denise Balzano, and author of his new book, BUILDING A NEW MAJORITY. Mike will also do a book signing before and after our luncheon. In addition to our speaker, GMRWC s Greer Scholarship winner(s) will be recognized and presented with their awards at this luncheon. *June, July & August 2016 - No official meetings of the GMRWC are held over the summer months. *Thursday, September 22, 2016 Luncheon roundtable discussion on November 2016 Elections lead by Republican leaders from the RVP and other local Republican groups. Location TBD. Will begin at 11:30 A.M. *Thursday, October 20, 2016 Speaker will be a representative from NEXTGEN GOP and will start at 11:30 A.M. Location is TBD. *Tuesday, November 8 National Presidential Election Day Get out the vote and Vote! *Thursday, November 17, 2016 - TBD *Thursday, December 15, 2016 GMRWC s Annual Fundraiser will be held at the River Bend Country Club in Great Falls, Virginia. New GMRWC 2017 Board will be sworn in and speaker TBD. OTHER VIRGINIA REPUBLICAN PARTY INFORMATION OF INTEREST -Check out Fairfax County Republican Committee s event alerts at Web page of the FCRC at www.fairfaxgop.org. Matt Ames was re-elected Chairman of the FCRC at the FCRC Convention on Saturday, March 12 th. Congratulations to Matt and GMRWC wishes him all of the best for a successful election year. -RPV events and activities- (804) 780-0111 & www.virginia.gop April 29 th Commonwealth Gala in Harrisonburg, VA April 30 th State Convention in Harrisonburg, VA 7
July 18 21 - RNC Convention in Cleveland, OH GMRWC EVENT REGISTRATION POLICY ADOPTED IN 2015 PLEASE TAKE NOTE GMRWC Event Reservation, Event Payment and Event Cancellation Policy: GMRWC event headcounts for Club events and its venues are to be based on the number of reservations received by the Club Registrar at the close of business (6 p.m.) on the officially published RSVP deadline date for making a reservation for the event. Our event reservation deadline should be at least 3 business days before an event. Any member or guest who cancels a reservation past the Club s officially published RSVP deadline date is financially responsible to the Club for paying the published fee for the event since the Club is generally required to make full payment for the headcount commitment we make to our venues for headcounts given post the published RSVP date deadline. No refunds will be given to a member or guest when a member cancels post the Club s published event RSVP date deadline. The only exception will be if the Executive Board has determined the member or guest failure to attend the event was the fault of our Club. In the rare event that this occurs, the Executive Board will ask the Treasurer to reimburse the member or guest for this event. When a member or guest reserves and makes payment for a GMRWC event and then gives a cancellation notice to the Club Registrar prior to the Club s officially published RSVP date deadline for the event, the member or guest will receive a full refund for the event from the Club Treasurer by the end of the month in which the event takes place. *GMRWC EXECUTIVE BOARD 2015 For more information go to WWW.GMRWC.ORG JOAN DREUX - PRESIDENT DREUXWORKS@AOL.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION on membership in GMRWC 1st VP: Diane Hall DMHALL47@cox.net CONTACT ANNE AT gruneranne@gmail.com 2nd VP: Elsa Willis dwillis128@aol.com Recording Secretary: Connie Poe cevaught@gmail.com Corresponding Secretary: Nancy Manning nfmanning@comcast.net Treasurer: Emma Lynch emmalynchgmrwc@yahoo.com Assistant Treasurer: Patricia Stein pat.stein@hotmail.com *The GMRWC supports Republican Party principles and can be traced back to 1944, having its roots in the Fairfax County Republican Women's Club. GMRWC was chartered in 1968, and two years later joined the Virginia Federation of Republican Women. GMRWC members are dedicated to: 1) promoting an informed public through political education and activity; 2) increasing the effectiveness of women in the cause of good government; 3) electing Republican candidates; and 4) promoting freedom, equality and justice, the principles upon which the United States of America was founded. ** The views expressed in these pieces are not necessarily those of the editor or the Greater McLean Republican Women s Club. 8