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AFRW E-News
June 2007
President's Message
Flag Day - June 14
At a flag raising before Independence Hall in Philadelphia in February 1861, Abraham Lincoln reminded his fellow Americans that it was only by "cultivating the spirit that animated our fathers - cherishing that fraternal feeling which has so long characterized us as a nation - that the country had any hope of remaining a union." Lincoln defined this spirit as the sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence - the idea that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Calvin Coolidge spoke of our flag saying, "When we look at our flag and behold it emblazoned with all our rights, we must remember that it is equally a symbol of our duties - to respect the rights of others, to behave as good citizens under the Constitution and to honor and protect our country in time of need. Every glory that we associate with our Flag is the result of duty done."
On Memorial Day, we showed gratitude to those who sacrificed their lives defending our freedom. On June 14, we will honor our Flag and finally, on July 4th, we will join millions of fellow Americans participating in our annual celebration of freedom. Enjoy the freedoms of the summer season and do your part to help preserve our country's rich and glorious heritage.
2008 AFRW Fundraising Cruise
In the fall of 2001 and 2002, AFRW sponsored wine country cruises as fundraisers. AFRW members (along with spouses or friends) from Ketchikan, Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks participated. It was both fun and lucrative for AFRW so we are doing it again in 2008.
This time, the cruise destination is the PANAMA CANAL! We'll sail from Miami on Saturday, January 19, 2008 and arrive in Acapulco, Mexico on Saturday, February 2. The ports of call are: Port Antonio, Jamaica, Santa Marta, Colombia, Cartagena, Colombia, Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, Panama Canal (Cruising), Fuerte Amador, Panama, Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica, San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, Huatulco, Mexico and finally, Acapulco. We'll sail on the newly-refurbished 710-passenger ship Azamara QUEST which is owned by Celebrity Cruises. Depending on your stateroom, per person prices start at $2,100. Prices do NOT include airfare or shore excursions.
Already, four couples from Juneau have booked. Rooms with private balconies go quickly so if this is something you have always wanted to do, consider coming along and signing up soon.
The way fundraising cruises work, participants pay the standard brochure price - then, depending on how many stateroom we fill, asmall percentage (usually around 5%) is rebated back to the organization.
You can check out the ship and the itinerary by visiting the website below. But if you want to join us for the cruise, please contact me so I can book you through our group coordinator. http://www.celebritycruises.com/plancruise/ships/ship.do?shipCode=QS
You can e-mail me at paulettem@gci.net
Around Alaska
Anchorage Republican Women - Cathy Giessel, President
Anchorage Republican Women's Club had an excellent speaker at the May meeting. Alan Vanderploeg, Special Agent with the FBI in Anchorage, spoke on Identity Theft. It was a riveting presentation, with actual case presentation from his experiences in Anchorage and all over Alaska. Alan told us about talking with high school students in small communities, who believe that their identity in on-line chat rooms is secure. He gave the example of one young woman who believed that she was anonymous because she only used her first name. Using just her first name and the name of her community, Alan had all her identifying information in less than 10 minutes, using publicly available search tools on his computer. I would highly recommend other Clubs inviting Alan to speak to their members! He also does presentations on internet sexual predators.
The June 14 meeting of Anchorage Republican Women's Club will feature our own member, Representative Anna Fairclough. We are looking forward to hearing about her experiences as a freshman legislator, and an update on sexual assault issues in our city and state.
Connie Laws, chair of Anchorage RWC Community Service, gave a check for $379 to an appreciative Pete Mulcahy, the director of the Armed Services YMCA. the funds will be used to support the facility services.
Capital City Republican Women - Connie McKenzie, President
CCRW held several fundraisers in May. We did a second clothing resale where ladies picked up great bargains on gently used clothing. We also held our annual garage sale. We held a membership meeting at member Laraine Derr's new cooking school. We've been working on several projects for Support the Troops - raising funds to buy the troops from Southeast phone cards before Mother's Day and we also raised enough extra to get phone cards for the next group being deployed this summer. In addition we have purchased items to help the troops decorate their camps for the 4th of July.
First City Republican Women - Sandra Meske, President
With generosity and warm hearts the FCRW came together in April to put soldier boxes together. This was the 7th time these ladies have given so willing to this project. It was at this meeting that President Sandra presented an award to the group. The FCRW received a "Certificate of Appreciation" from William Perry, SSgt, USAF for their outstanding support of Detachment 1,332 ELRS (AEF 3/4) has made its contributions to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom possible. Your patriotism and sacrifices at home are duly recognized and appreciated. As president it was quite the honor to present this award to our ladies.
Our annual membership drive was held on Saturday, May 19th with Lt.Governor Sean Parnell as our guest speaker. Twenty eights guests were entertained by the Lt. Governors speech on "Women in Leadership-What's the Difference?" The Lt. Governor offered that "Women in leadership positions move with others in mind," and are "not threatened by sharing responsibilities." While in Ketchikan the Lt. Governor toured the Pioneer Home, the Ship and Dry Dock, the Alaska Marine Highway and the Veneer Plant. Our next meeting will be in June with invited guests Senator Bert Stedman and Representative Kyle Johansen.
Sitka Republican Women - Karoline Beckeris, President
Sitka Republican Club President Karoline Bekeris with her son Misha and club member Bonnie Stedman stand with Sea Mart Quality Foods President Roger Hames. Sea Mart threw a Hot Dog and Chili Fundraiser May 12th which raised $348 for the Southern Southeast Literacy Chapter of First Book. First Book is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to give disadvantaged youth the opportunity to read and own their first new books. The funds are to be distributed within the Sitka area. Sitka Republican Women helped during the fundraiser. Sea Mart covered all the expenses.
Key Web Sites
Alaska Federation of Republican Women
http://www.akfrw.org
National Federation of Republican Women
http://www.nfrw.org/a>
Alaska Republican Party
http://www.alaskarepublicans.com/a>
Statewide Contacts
Alaska Federation of Republican Women
Paulette Simpson, President
(907) 770-6797 or (907) 364-3179
Email: paulettem@gci.net
Anchorage Republican Women
Cathy Giessel, President
(907) 345 5470
Email: cgiessel@mac.com
Capital City Republican Women (Juneau)
Connie McKenzie, President
(907) 790-3321
Email: connie-mitch@gci.net
Fairbanks Republican Women
Marguerita Gilbertson, President
(907) 456-1912
Email: mgilbertson@acsalaska.net
First City Republican Women (Ketchikan)
Sandra Meske, President
(907) 225-1060
Email: Sandrajm@kpunet.net
Kenai Peninsula Republican Women
Carol Brenckle, President
(907) 398-8228
Email: carol.brenckle@alaska.net
Mat-Su Republican Women
Alice Massie, President
(907) 376-5667
Email: abm_51@yahoo.com
Midnight Sun Republican Women
Cathie Straub, President
(907) 272-6622
Email: cathie@financialresourcesinc.com
Sitka Republican Women
Karoline Bekeris, President
(907) 747-5804
Email: kbekeris@hotmail.com
Paid for by Alaska Federation of Republican Women, 2504 Fairbanks St., Anchorage, AK 99503
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