AzFRW Regional II Director
News
Regional Director:
Anne Stephenson
tucsondogs@yahoo.com
________________________________________________
Region 2 Clubs
Grande Valley Republican Women
Oro Valley Republican Women
Pima County Republican Women Club
Republican Women of Pinal County
Tucson Republican Women
It has been an honor to be elected to fill the
vacancy of Director for Region II.
One of my first duties was to co-ordinate the hosting of the
“thirdly” AzFRW meeting held in Tucson in February of 2011.
Region II and III clubs and their
presidents worked diligently together with members from eight different
clubs having the opportunity to become better acquainted while producing
a high attendance and successful event.
Club presidents have written their own reports for
this directory therefore rather than being redundant, I will tell you
more about why I am so honored and proud to know and work beside all of
the Republican Women’s Clubs in Region II.
AzFRW is 2300 members strong across the State of Arizona, and is a
member of the NFRW (National Federation of Republican Women), originally
created as a "branch" of the Republican National Committee. As
Republican women, we are proudly dedicated to promoting the Republican
philosophy and working for Republican goals. There are five
Republican Women's Clubs in Region II and they play a major role in, at,
and for Republicanism in Pima County. We have many who are
precinct committeemen, and are the workers who are always there to
support the Republican Party, the candidates, GOTV, register
Republicans, and to say, we are the "life of the party". Our members are
the "real thing" and of great value.
The AzFRW Region II Clubs and their Presidents:
Grande Valley Republican Women (Casa Grande), Peggy Hurd
Oro Valley Republican Women, Sherese Steffens
Pima County Republican Women, Marilyn Zurell
Pinal County Republican Women, JoAnn Evans
Tucson Republican Women, Linda White
When we donate monies to our local “Trunk and Tusk” in our president’s
name, it is helping to pay the rent, buy supplies and keep the doors
open. Our members are the
volunteers who are always called and depended upon. What is our
reward? Our reward is
knowing we are making a difference by promoting the Republican Party and
its platform. We are strong
and continue to make the difference needed by working together...
putting America back on the "right" road to recovery in 2012 with a
Republican President.
GVRW -
Grande Valley Republican Women - Casa Grande -
Peggy Hurd, President
Generosity
and love abound in the hearts of the Grande Valley Republican Women.
Three large bags, filled with toys, games, and sporting goods were
gathered for children at Christmas.
Grande Valley holds their meetings at 9:00 A.M. on the
first Friday of each month, at Mimi’s Café in Casa Grande. In November,
The Honorable Jon Kyl was the featured speaker. Senator Kyl provided an
update on current issues and offered his insight on election results.
Sheriff Paul Babeu was also a guest speaker, giving an update on both
Pinal County Sheriff’s Department and border issues.
In December, the newly elected board was installed by
Region II Director, Anne Stephenson. Officers; President –
Peggy Hurd, 1st Vice President – Ruth Morrisey, 2nd Vice
President – Shelby Gumpp, Secretary - Barbara Vaade and Treasurer
– Ruth Walter. Anne spoke about AzFRW and NFRW, and how a club earns
points for awards at both the state and the national level. Arizona GOP
National Committeewoman, Sharon Geise, was present and gave the
invocation.
This year we will focus on member education and up first
was Sharon Giese, Past AzFRW President and RNC Arizona Committeewoman,
who spoke to our members in January. The focus of her talk was how the
Party, the state organization and the Federation all work together. It
was most informative – especially to our newer members. In February, we
focused on another educational topic – literacy! Our speakers were from
the Casa Grande Library and they provided us information regarding
literacy in Arizona and opportunities for us to improve reading
abilities in the schools and with adults. We recognized our members who
work with students – young and old! We have nine new members and are off
to a strong start in 2011!
ORWC
-
Oro Valley Republican Women's Club - Oro Valley - Sherese
Steffens, President
Last year was a great year for our club! We tripled our
membership and had many members participating in the campaigns of our
Republican Candidates in the 2010 elections! We walked neighborhoods,
volunteered at campaign offices, attended Tea Party rally’s, and worked
many hours at phone banks.
Region 2 director Ann Stephenson performed our 2011
officer initiation and spoke about the upcoming Winter AzFRW meeting in
Tucson.
Our January luncheon meeting featured Chris DeSimone,
Radio Talk Show host of “The Wake up Tucson” morning show, who spoke
about the political condition of Pima County. What an eye opener that
was! In February our guest speaker will answer questions about the
effects of Obama Health Care and Cap & Trade on both the financial
condition of our country & our personal lives. Former Senator Jonathan
Paton will help us better understand the Arizona Constitution at our
March 11th meeting and in April we have Civil Rights activist and
Author, Ward Connerly, speaking at our monthly luncheon on April 8th.
Our goal this year is to keep our 2010 Momentum Going and
Growing in 2011 & 2012! We are on the way to taking back our Country
and we can’t stop now! “Our goal this year is to keep our 2010 Momentum
Going and Growing in 2011 & 2012! We are on the way to taking back our
Country and we can’t stop now!”
PCRWC -
Pima County Republican Women's Club - Tucson -
Marilyn Zerull, President
November elections across the state were very positive
for Republicans. In Pima County our candidates for Congress, Ruth
McClung (a PCRWC member) and Jesse Kelly both came very close to
unseating two veteran Democrats. As for the State House and Senate,
Pima County came through with Republican victories which increased our
majority in both houses. We have had some very good programs at our
General Membership meetings.
Nov.
Sharon Giese, our Arizona National Committee Woman,
was our featured speaker. She spoke of the election results, the
political grounds we gained, and what we need to do in 2012 to take back
the Presidency and the Senate, as well as achieving even greater
influence here in Arizona.
Dec.
In December we held our annual Silver Tea and
Membership Drive. "New Beginnings" was chosen as our principle charity
for 2011, and the director was invited to speak to us about the success
of their program. This is an organization that assists women and their
children who are victims of domestic abuse. Also the Ruth Gaddis
Jeffries Award was presented to Barbara Hein, a long-time member of
PCRWC, for her outstanding contribution as a loyal Republican. She has
been a precinct committeeman for many years, chairman of LD26, and
received the Davis-Monthan award for voter registration.
Jan.
Rob O'Dell, a reporter for the Arizona Star, was our
guest speaker at our monthly luncheon. He specializes in public records
investigations and spent many hours compiling data on various Tucson
city projects and revealed failed ventures as well as future
plans.
Feb.
Ken Bennett, our Secretary of State, spoke at our
General Membership meeting. His visual presentation of the size and
scope of our state budget and expenditures was very informative and
quite surprising. He made it very clear how we got into this fiscal
mess we find ourselves.
We are currently having "New Member Orientations" on
a quarterly basis. A welcome packet with lots of club information is
given to each lady. This gives them a chance to meet our board members,
and we in turn get to know them, their interests, and talents. We have
some great speakers lined up for the next few months at our monthly
meetings. And we're also planning some day trips for our members that
I'm sure will prove both fun and educational.
On a personal note, I'd like to thank my executive
board for the help and guidance they have given me. They are tireless
workers and truly make my job easier.
RWPC -
Republican Women of Pinal County - JoAnn Evans, President
As of
February 2011 we have eighteen members and four associate members.
We opened 2011 with speakers from the Pima County Young
Republicans and the University of Arizona Young Republicans for our
January meeting. Also speaking was Tiffany Bradley who works with
the Claire Booth Luce Society. In place of our February meeting we
will attend the AzFRW Winter meeting held here in Tucson.
Our March meeting will feature Vince Leach, a member of
the Pinal County Committee for Excellence in Government. He will
describe their efforts to monitor the Pinal County budget.
Our special project for this year is to collect coupons
to be sent to military families in Germany.
Our primary goals for 2011 are recruiting new members
for our club, and to learn more about government in Pinal County.
TRW -
Tucson Republican Women - Linda White, President
September
2010
TRW is one of five Tucson area clubs to sponsor the GOP Unity Rally,
Sept. 10, 2010 featuring special guest speaker RNC Chairman Michael
Steele. Over 700 attend the event.
We
welcome Lori Lustig to speak to the 2010 Ballot Propositions.
TRW launches a new interactive website.
Congratulations to our TRW Members Gabby Mercer and Margaret Burkholder
for being accepted into the 2011 Class for the Dodie Londen School of
Excellence.
October
2010
TRW
participates in the Tucson Tea Party's Event at Hi Corbett Field. TRW's
banner is prominently displayed in center field and received local media
coverage. As a result of our booth and high traffic, TRW signs up 20 new
members and several new Republican voters. Governor Brewer's banner is
proudly displayed in the TRW booth.
TRW welcomes Governor Jan Brewer to our October luncheon as
we host 250 guests. The Governor is presented with a framed poster
"Tucson Republican Women Support Goveror Jan Brewer" (which is hung in
her office). We sign up another 26 new Members for an unprecendented 46
new members in one month. We raise significant funds for selling
patriotic mementos. Many of our loyal and new members volunteer for
phone banking and spend hours to help get out the vote to see our
candidates to victory.
TRW is awarded the AzFRZ CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT for exceeding 2009
Membership Numbers (for 4th qtr 2010)
November
2010
TRW
celebrates the Republican victories achieved in the 2010 election. Our
own JoAnn Sabbagh (Chair, By-Laws Committee) is the guest speaker at our
November Luncheon. An accomplished tax accountant, JoAnn speaks to the
tax implications of Obamacare. TRW prepares for the holidays by
promoting two of our favorite causes: collecting toiletries/sundries for
THE HAVEN and assisting with a"sew-athon" for HEADS-AT-EASE.
All our officers are re-elected for another term and, once again, look
forward to working together in 2011.
December
2010
TRW
holds its first "Meet and Greet" geared to new Members unable to attend
luncheons. We have a grand turnout meeting at Mr. An's. And, in true TRW
fashion, our 2010 Christmas/Chanukah Party brings Members and their
spouses out to celebrate the season. Our advertising page in the TRW
"Liberty Log" grows, Facebook fans triple, TRW website features "You
Tubes" of the TRW year in photos.
January
2011
Tucson Republican Women celebrate the New Year in great fashion: At our
January Luncheon all our Officers are our Guest Speakers and speak about
their duties and responsibilities: food for thought for those members
considering an officership for 2012; Member Gabriela Saucedo-Mercer
receives the AZGOP Award for Outstanding PC Rookie of the Year;
President Linda White is re-elected Secretary of the AZGOP, receiving
the most votes of any candidate running for office at the Statutory
Meeting. We begin our 2011 Membership with 119 Members.
February
2011
TRW looks forward to
participating in the 2011 AzFRW Winter Meeting in Tucson.
