MSLRW April 2012 Newsletter - Click Below
April_2012_MSLRW_Newsletter.pdf
RESOLUTION
MARYLAND FEDERATION OF REPUBLICAN WOMEN
SPRING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Easton, Maryland
April 13 – 14, 2012
Whereas; the Democrat Party, and in particular President Obama have defined the Republican Party at “war with women”;
Whereas; a named Democrat strategist attacked Ann Romney and in turn any Mom who chooses to stay home and raise her children as being out of touch with economic issues,
Whereas; the Obama White House has asserted that Republicans are waging war on women,
Whereas; the Democrats have used a false issue such as contraception, generated by a false hearing with a Georgetown Activist, to create this so called war on women,
Whereas; Republican women are the most qualified to define Republican issues as they apply to women in our party,
Whereas; women have always played a leading and important role in the Republican Party since the days of Belva Lockwood, Susan B. Anthony, Jeanette Rankin and Margaret Chase-Smith,
Therefore, "Be it resolved that the Maryland Federation of Republican Women take great issue with the Obama White House's assertion that Republicans are waging war on women. To the contrary, the Maryland Federation of Republican Women asserts that our party is the party of women. We believe that women have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as determined by the Constitution of the United States. Included in these are: a right to choose their own faith and to support the principles of that faith; the right to receive equal pay for equal work if they choose to work but, equally, the right to stay home and raise their children if that is their preference and to be honored for that choice; the right to choose their own healthcare program and their own healthcare provider; the right to live where they choose; the right to be treated equally to men when they apply for credit including mortgages for home buying, or loans for business purposes; the right to equal authority within the political party of their choice and the right to run for office without being demeaned because they are women; the right to grow old with dignity and the right to administer their estates without fear that their savings will be devoured by the government."
We will not allow others to define us as Republicans or women.
MID-SHORE LEAGUE OF REPUBLICAN WOMEN MEET TO HEAR VIEWS OF SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES
On Wednesday, April 11, the Mid-Shore League of Republican
Women will welcome Greg Criniti, candidate for Talbot County School Board, to
explain the concerns and plans that motivate him to run for the
Board. Following his presentation, there will be a discussion of primary
election results and plans for supporting our candidates in the general
election. Two other school board candidates who have been invited are
unable to attend the meeting, but we hope to have printed information from them
at the meeting.
All are urged to attend as we begin the work necessary to win the
general election of Republican candidates. The MSLRW welcomes new
members. Please attend the meeting if you are interested in joining our
efforts in a very important election year. The social gathering begins at
6:30 p.m. and the meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Comfort Inn on Route 50 in
Easton. For additional information, please call Trudy Hamilton at 410 822
5322.
Contact: Carolyn Ewing, PR, 410 820 6062
MSLRW General Meeting March 14, 2012
I. Call to Order – President Trudy Hamilton called the meeting to order at 7:08pm. She asked for a moment of silence to remember our military and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Trudy then introduced our first speaker,
Harford County Executive, David Craig.
Mr. Craig was invited to address the issues that will most affect us. He believes in the traditional marriage between a man and a woman and is opposed to abortion. Mr. Craig said, “What he’s (Governor O’Malley) doing to our budget is ugly.” He said, of course there’s the Governor’s gas tax, but also the BRFA.
The proposed budget bill reduces deductions, takes away exemptions, reduces covered health care, doubles fees, increases sales tax by 20%, it shifts the cost of teacher’s pensions to the counties which undoubtedly will be reflected in increased property taxes – he said all of this will happen, maybe not all at once, but it will. Mr. Craig has worked with both Rich and Addie. A Q&A question concerned HB1412; he said the State can circumvent county laws. He said Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties favor MOE because they are recipients – Republican counties are donors.
Trudy then introduced Robert Broadus, Candidate for U.S. Senate. Mr. Broadus has run for congress twice before. He said there’ll be nine people on the ballot and he is running again because he wants to educate people about the Republican party. Main concerns of his are: repealing Obama care, ending the IRS, the Dream Act and protecting marriage (signs we see for “Protect Marriage MD” are his signs) (He said it’s
become a national issue rather than a local one.), ending illegal immigration; and he said the 2012 election will be the last election that will matter. Mr. Broadus answered many questions in the Q&A session. He said the liberals are masters at turning every issue around against us; such as Hispanics are told we want them sent back; Blacks consider whites the corporate rich guys; being gay is a right, etc. He said we must stand by our convictions and keep repeating what is right and what we stand for.
Trudy started our business meeting by welcoming guests –
Helen Higgins and Shearer Bailey (new members) and Carolyn’s guest, her
daughter, Ann Ewing.
II. Board Member Reports -- Minutes – Lura Damron previously had last month’s minutes posted on our website. A motion was made by Connie Sheer to accept them as written, Denise Lovelady seconded the motion. Correspondence – no report. Treasurer’s Report – no report.
III. President’s Report – Website – Carolyn said the web site is now working. It needs a few new officer pictures and a little tweaking. Send Carolyn website information. MFRW Red Scarf Day (2/21/12) – Trudy, Fran Bergere, Lura Damron and Denise Lovelady attended. Voter Registration training (2/25) – six members attended. Volunteer Hours – remember to send Julie Imirie your monthly hours. Election Judges – six more are needed. Last Day To Register To Vote – March 13. Early Voting Begins –
March 24.
IV. Committee Reports – Fund Raising – Chairman Connie Sheer had a beautiful basket of fresh spring flowers to raffle – Carolyn was the lucky winner. Public Relations – Carolyn encouraged all to submit names for Republican “Mother of the Year” Award. She needs applications by the end of April. We want to honor a Talbot County mother who supports the values we believe in. Also, she reminded us to submit
our ideas for our club logo (by May 9th). A winner will be announced at the June picnic. Membership Committee – Chairman Fran Bergere said she has had volunteers offer to help with the Membership Tea on March 28th at the Londonderry Manor House. We will be entertained with a piano player and Chan Cosans will perform a short skit. There will be gourmet and pampered baskets raffled. A basket will be set out to
collect suggested member donations of $10 – guests are free. Legislative – Chairman Barbara Denton said the most urgent issue we are facing is the HB1412 bill. We “need” to email or call the Ways and Means members to let them know our opposition. We can’t afford to let our legislators direct us to put all our money to education. Our tax caps will be raised and they CAN do it. Hospitality – Our thanks to Connie Sheer for providing our snacks and refreshments for the evening.
V. Upcoming Dates/Announcements
Membership Tea Event – March 28th, Londonderry
Manor House. Bring a friend and get acquainted with the club, our members and
goals. More details to follow.
MSLRW General Meeting – April 11th, 6:30pm, Comfort Inn, candidates running
for School Board positions will speak.
MFRW Spring Board of Directors Meeting – April 13th and 14th,
Tidewater Inn. We are the Host Region;
and we will need to help with the luncheon, fashion show, etc. Plan to attend and help.
MSLRW General Meeting – May 9th, 6:30pm, Comfort Inn, Republican
Mother of the Year Award. Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio will talk about Plan Maryland and other relevant, important issues that have come up.
MSLRW Annual Picnic – Friday, June 8th, Sunny Farrell’s house – 417 S. Harrison St. Nancy Becker is our Coordinator helping Sunny. Please email or call Nancy to let her know how you can help.
VI. Unfinished Business – nothing discussed.
VII. New Business – Denise Lovelady reminded members that even though there will not be regular
meetings in July and August, there will be things to do. The Central Committee will have a booth at
the Easton 4th of July celebration and in late July we will have a booth to man at the County Fair. We will also soon be collecting signatures for the same sex marriage petition. Please offer to help.
VIII. Adjournment - All business concluded the meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Lura Damron, Recording Secretary
MSLRW - General Meeting - February 8, 2012
I. Call to Order – President Trudy Hamilton called the meeting to order at 7pm followed by a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance. Following that Trudy introduced our speaker, Councilwoman Laura Price.Laura gave a brief rundown of her background and then delved into the work of the Council and her passion, “numbers” and “the budget”. She provided everyone with a spreadsheet of the budget (2005 – 2012, in process) which listed the top ten department expenditures in the County. The County Council’s responsibility to fund these departments’ needs in the last four years has been an increasing challenge as they face decreasing revenues every year, the Board of Education budget rises and the pressure of more and more unfunded proposals pours out of Annapolis for the County to cover. Fifty-five percent of the budget goes to the Education Department. The ED has 560 employees of which half are teachers, and we pay 98% of their health care benefits. There are 240 County employees. The maintenance of effort level was not funded this year by the Council. The wealth formula for the County doesn’t have the income to support property values. Laura answered several questions and also provided everyone with a handout for our information/education entitled “Summary of Planmaryland Final Draft”.
Following the speaker’s address Trudy asked guests to introduce themselves. We welcomed Julie Imirie and Marsha Geoghan.
II. Board Member Reports -- Minutes – Lura Damron previously sent minutes electronically. A motion was made by Rita Still to accept them as written, Fran Bergere seconded the motion. Correspondence – Jennifer Gomez had a meeting conflict and couldn’t attend. She reported to Trudy no correspondence had been sent. Treasurer’s Report – Nancy Becker said the checking account balance is $2,088.53. This included a deposit and a payment of $885 to MFRW for dues. Public Relations – Carolyn Ewing said the Facebook connection is working with MSLRW.org. Carolyn needs three board member pictures and bios before the current year information can be updated – she asked for that information as soon as possible. She is also working on the Republican Mother of the Year award and asked for three volunteers to help with the nomination. Carolyn has all nomination paperwork and will be glad to answer any questions about the award. It’s out club’s way of recognizing women who support Republican principles and instill those values in their children. Carolyn talked about our need for a personal club logo -- we presently use the Maryland Federation logo. She suggested we could have a contest with a deadline of May 9 for design submittal. Include your friends and family in looking for ideas: think women, Eastern Shore, and our principles. The winning designer will be recognized on the finished products (membership cards, stationery, badges, etc.).
III. President’s Report – Trudy reported that six attended the MFRW Leadership Conference and that it was informative and a good networking experience.
IV. Committee Reports – Fund Raising – Chairman Connie Sheer reported earning $135 from the Christmas party Mason’s Gift Certificate raffle and $127 from last month’s 50/50 raffle. Fran talked about the Glamour Shot fund raising possibility – there was some interest. Fran did say a problem the Salon has is that they cannot advertise. Other ideas she suggested was political trivia which she had done in Florida that was fun or a card party. Finding a venue is an issue as the fire house (who is always very supportive) is under construction. Laura Price said we should consider the Ag Center, and she also suggested we consider contacting April Whitaker/Bliss Jewelry for fund raising options she has. Membership Committee – Chairman Fran Bergere pointed out that the envelopes she passed out tonight contained a list of the meetings planned for the rest of the year and a membership card that has two contacts and our website (along with a note of thanks). Those cards not handed out tonight will be mailed this week. We presently have 63 members. Fran said members can expect to hear more from her soon about the Membership Tea on March 28th at the Londonderry Manor House. Legislative – Chairman Barbara Denton reviews the synopsis of Legislative Updates posted by MFRW. Barbara will let us know those of which are very important and we can impact by contacting our representatives, our paper with Letters to the Editor, etc. Laura reiterated the importance of being involved both at the state and local level. For instance our County has three school board positions up for election. Jesse Gomez is running uncontested in his district, but Greg Criniti and Juanita Hopkins will NEED our help. Redistricting is done and available on the web. Hospitality – Julie Libby got a clarification that our contract with the Comfort Inn does not include coffee. We thanked her for all she does each month.
V. Upcoming Dates/Announcements
VI. Unfinished Business – We hope to set up pre-primary voter registration training.
VII. New Business – We need volunteers for Republican election judges. Also, we need to keep track of all our volunteer hours spent doing Republican Club work. Julie Imirie volunteered to keep track of our Club hours. Connie Sheer said she would continue her scrap book document activities for MSLRW. Julie Imirie said she is the Dan Bongino Talbot County Coordinator and she invited us to two meet and greet opportunities – Sunday, February 19, 2-4pm at The Old Brick Inn in St. Michaels and 5-7pm at the Talbot County Visitor Center in Easton (across the street from Mason’s Restaurant).
VIII. Adjournment - All business concluded the meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Lura Damron, Recording Secretary
