|
AFRW E-News
May 2007
President's Message
Thanks to all who took the time to attend our AFRW biennial convention in Wasilla last weekend. We passed 8 resolutions, revised our bylaws, determined legislative priorities, heard from excellent speakers and enjoyed a full weekend of networking and socializing. As soon as all of the resolutions are formalized, we will make them available to each club president for distribution.
Since the 2008 Presidential primary season has begun, we also took the opportunity at our convention to ask our delegates and alternates from around the state to weigh in. We did this by taking a straw poll at lunch on Saturday.
Results of Presidential Straw Poll: We asked two questions: 1) Of the leading Republican presidential contenders, who would do the best job for America? Be idealistic! 2) Of the leading Republican presidential contenders, who would be most likely to beat the Democrat nominee? Be practical! FRED THOMPSON came out on top for the first question and the top vote-getter for the second question was RUDY GIULIANI. Time will tell…
This convention could not have happened without the financial assistance of Congressman Don Young and Senator Ted Stevens. Next time you see them, please say THANK YOU! We also owe a debt of gratitude to Sen. Lyda Green who opened up her beautiful home for our post-convention reception and finally, to the women of the Mat Su RWC for their attention to detail and incredible hard work.
Paulette Simpson
Convention Resolutions
No. 2007-01 A Resolution Supporting Passage of HB 145
RESOLVED, The Alaska Federation of Republican Women supports reintroduction and passage of legislation such as SB 196, which might include lifelong probation and/or indefinite sentences requiring review board scrutiny prior to release from prison; and
RESOLVED, The Alaska Federation of Republican Women supports the passage of HB 145 and that copies of this resolution be sent to the Alaska Congressional Delegation, Alaska State Legislature and Governor Sarah Palin.
(Note: SB 196 proposed lifelong probation for sex offenders and kidnappers and electronic bracelet monitoring. HB 145 raises the age of consent for sexual contact and addresses online enticement.)
No. 2007-02 A Resolution Supporting Passage of Senate Bill 33
RESOLVED, The Alaska Federation of Republican Women supports passage of SB 33 and that copies of this resolution be sent to the Alaska Congressional Delegation, Alaska State Legislature and Governor Sarah Palin.
(Note: SB 33 mandates DNA testing of felony offenders.)
No. 2007-03 A Resolution Commending Alaska State Senator Con Bunde
RESOLVED, The Alaska Federation of Republican Women commends Senator Con Bunde for his work to reduce sexual and violent crimes against the children of Alaska and appropriately punish perpetrators of such crimes.
No. 2007-04 A Resolution Opposing US Fish and Wildlife's Proposal to List Polar Bears as a Threatened Species on the Endangered Species List
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Alaska Federation of Republican Women strongly encourages all other states to oppose the proposed decision of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to list polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and that copies of this resolution be sent to the Alaska Congressional Delegation, the Alaska State Legislature and Governor Sarah Palin.
No. 2007-05 A Resolution Opposing Land Withdrawal, Tangle Lakes/Denali Highway Area
RESOLVED, that the Alaska Federation of Republican Women opposes establishment of further game refuges in the Tangle Lakes-Denali Highway area of Alaska, and respectfully requests the Alaska Board of Game to reject the request to set aside these lands for game refuges and
FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution are forwarded to the Alaska Board of Game, the Department of Fish and Game, Alaska Congressional Delegation, Alaska State Legislature and Governor Sarah Palin.
No. 2007-06 A Resolution Opposing 7.7 million acre State Game Refuge
RESOLVED, the Alaska Federation of Republican Women opposes passage of House Bill 134 and Senate Bill 67 and that copies of this resolution be sent to the Alaska Congressional Delegation, Alaska State Legislature and Governor Sarah Palin.
No. 2007-07 A Resolution Supporting the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act
RESOLVED, the Alaska Federation of Republican Women promotes the expedited development of Alaska's natural gas pipeline and supports the deliberation and passage of the AGIA in the 1st session of the 25th Legislature and that copies of this resolution be sent to Alaska's Congressional Delegation, Alaska State Legislature and Governor Sarah Palin.
No. 2007-08 A Resolution Supporting the Permitting Process of the Pebble Mine Project
RESOLVED, that the Alaska Federation of Republican Women supports the permitting process for the Pebble Mine Project and the right of Northern Dynasty Mines, Inc. to continue to explore the project, develop a mine plan, and submit the necessary permit applications and that copies of this resolution be sent to the Alaska Congressional Delegation, the Alaska State Legislature and Governor Sarah Palin.
No. 2007-09 A Resolution of Thanks to the Mat-Su Republican Women
RESOLVED, that delegates to the 2007 Alaska Federation of Republican Women convention express their sincere thanks to the Mat-Su Republican Women for their hospitality.
Elected Officers
President - Paulette Simpson, Juneau
VP 1^st Judicial District - Lureen Stedman, Sitka
VP 2^nd Judicial District - VACANT
VP 3^rd Judicial District - Judith Carmony, Wasilla
VP 4^th Judicial District - Chris Duke, Fairbanks
Secretary - Angelina Burney, Anchorage
Assistant Secretary - Linda Manns, Fairbanks
Treasurer - Myrna Maynard, Anchorage
Assistant Secretary - Robin Phillips, Anchorage
Around Alaska
Anchorage Republican Women - Cathy Giessel, President
The Anchorage Club heard from Marty Rutherford, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, as our speaker for the April meeting. Lavone Taber has been working hard to keep members informed on Legislative issues. Connie Laws is preparing to revitalize our Communtiy Service efforts, focusing on support for our deployed military troops.
Anchorage Republican Women's Club contributed to the April Municipality of Anchorage election through support of conservative Assembly candidates and contribution to financing of the slate card. Sherri Jackson, one of our members, came very close to being elected to the Assembly and we expect she will run again for the next open seat. Another club member, Ryan Stencel, strategically analyzed polling data and elected to drop out of the race, to support the other conservative candidate, Jennifer Johnston; because of Ryan's actions, Jennifer was elected to an Assembly seat which was formerly held by a very liberal individual. The Club is very proud of both Sherri and Ryan.
Our April meeting featured Ed Fogels, Director of Project Management and Permitting, Department of Natural Resources. Mr. Fogels presented a very informative summary of the permits required for mining in our state, as well as the status of existing mining projects. Members indicated that they learned a lot about thist stringent process that they were not previously aware of.
Anchorage Republican Women's Club sent 7 delegates to the Alaska Federation of Republican Women Convention in April. It was an excellent convention, with a lot of information and inspiration! We look forward to initiating new programs related to military support and literacy.
Capital City Republican Women - Connie McKenzie, President
Thank you to the Mat-su women for putting on a great convention. Recapping what CCRW has been up to - in March we welcomed Senator Ted Stevens as our guest of honor at the monthly membership meeting. We have also been collecting funds to purchase phone cards to Support our Troops. Cards were just mailed individually to all serving from Southeast and should arrive in time for Mother's Day. Our April membership meeting featured Rep. Ralph Samuels giving his briefing on the gas line. April 28th is another "Upscale
Resale" clothing event fundraiser. Our May meeting will be a social event with member Laraine Derr providing our membership with cooking tips at her new Chez Alaska Cooking School.
Mat-Su Republican Women - Alice Massey, President
The Mat-Su Club would like to thank all those who participated in the 2007 AFRW Biennial Convention. The weekend was exciting, informative, and the weather was beautiful. Myrna reports that we had 66 delegates and alternates. Our Club really enjoyed hosting this event and hope that those who attended had a positive experience. Hats off to Paulette for delivering an excellent agenda and program.
Midnight Sun Republican Women - Cathie Straub, President
After an extremely successful Membership Reception at the new Suite 100 Restaurant in South Anchorage, the Midnight Sun Republican Woman's Club proceeded to hold our regular April business meeting at Koots with many new potential members in attendance. We raved about the great food and fun at the reception and again thanked Membership Committee Chair, Hope Nelson, and her committee for all their hard work. The business meeting focused on the fresh start this group can make with the official retirement of Foodfest and all the fundraising ideas that Holly Kelty, Fundraising Chair, will be presenting at the June meeting. Convention reports by members in attendance made us all wish we had been there. The By-Laws committee came back with more ideas on revisions to our by-laws after Convention, which we hope to complete by June. Our regular May meeting of the Club on May 29th will be entirely focused on helping to celebrate Senator Lisa Murkowski's birthday. The birthday party is being organized by Hope Nelson, so please contact her with offers to help.
Sitka Republican Women - Karoline Beckeris, President
The Sitka Republican Women met in April to discuss membership and the convention. We are hoping to adopt part of our highway as a service project. Our plans to have a Lincoln Day dinner are still on hold, because we have not found a speaker. Lureen Stedman was our delegate to the state convention.
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
|
|
|
