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Dear Members:

I want to commend the clubs for their creativity and ingenuity in planning some wonderful events.

 I just returned from an event that the Seminole RWC  put on, Candidate Speed Dating!  It was lot's of fun and we all had a chance to grill the candidates as they moved from table to table.  I understand that the organization of this event was done by club Secretary Michelle Smith and President Raychel Garcia. Great job ladies.

Congratulations to North Dade RWC, the Installation Ceremony was officiated by Michelle Merrell from Broward RWC, doing the installation of new President Maricel Cobitz and her board.

Welcome to Carolyn Cook, the new President of Orlando RWC. Carolyn will be having her first meeting in August and she's already charging up the club to have a large membership. 

The FFRW is blessed to have so many talented and energetic women involved in our organization.  This is where I remind you that we will be having our Biennial convention the weekend of October 27-29 on Cocoa Beach.  The nominating committee is hard at work on the Executive Committee slate, but we will be electing 3 members at large from the floor as well as District Reps.  Please watch your emails as we start sending information out on how to go about running for these positions. 

In addition to the elections, we will have classes for Club President's and Treasurers as well as classes for fundraising, building and retaining your membership and a question and answer period for you to participate in.

Have you noticed that the last few NFRW newsletters have had a Florida club picture on the front page? If you have a special event, or want to take a picture with your club members wearing red sunglasses #wearshades - send me the picture and  I will submit it for publication.


Lakeland RWC with Fox News Eric Bolling at book signing

We are looking forward to going to Philadelphia September 17-20 for the NFRW convention.  Each club President is automatically a delegate. If you would like to attend, please let me know.  This is open to all members to attend.  Let's make the Florida delegation a large group!  Go to NFRW.org
to get more information on attending the Biennial convention.

Florida continues to gain Republican voters.  My county, Polk - recently flipped from a blue county (more Democrat voters than Republican)to red, for the first time!  We have always voted "red" and now the numbers back up our voting record.  Many other counties have flipped as well.  Are you helping with voter registration in your county?
 
Dena Stebbins DeCamp
President    
 
Keeping The Spirit of 45
Contributed by Lois Bolin, RWSFF Club


Connecting the Dots
Lois A. Bolin, Ph.D.,V. P. Republican Women SWFL Federated
Founder Naples Spirit of 45 & SWFL Veterans Alliance Inc.
Florida Spirit of '45 Concurrent Resolution
Victory Florida Resolution Write (2015)
 
  • We hold these truths to be self-evident... (July 4, 1776)
 
Last month we celebrated America's Independence Day. The Declaration of Independence, written a century and a half after the colony of Virginia was first established in 1607, gave several generations of Colonist a taste of freedom - freedom that was threatened with new British laws and taxes. Yet, the "sacred fire of liberty", seared into their souls, launched an advanced theoretical case for a revolution, the idea of national sovereignty, and a declaration of independence for the 13 British colonies.
 
  • We the People of the United States...(September 17, 1787)
 
The U.S. Constitution, the oldest written constitution in operation in the world, was adopted on September 25, 1789, and by1790, the original 13 colonies were called the United States.
  • Sometimes we fail to hear or heed these voices of freedom... (FDR -January 1941)
Franklin D Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms Speech" outlined the essential human freedoms: fre edom of speech and expression; freedom to worship God in our own way; freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
Four and half years later, on August 14, 1945, when Truman announced that WWII was over, Americans rejoiced knowing those freedoms were in tact. Americans also knew that the bedrock values that formed the basis of this American Experiment had been preserved.
Two hundred and forty-one years after the Declaration of Independence and two hundred and thirty years after the Constitution was ratified, Naples, Florida will again honor our sentinels of liberty with our weekend tribute called the Greatest Generation & Beyond Breakfast and Taps Across America.
  • Victory Florida/Spirit of '45
On August 12th, at the Naples Hilton some 350 veterans, sponsors and volunteers come together to acknowledge a generation who survived the great depression, defeated the greatest tyranny the world has ever known then rebuilt a shattered world at home and in the lands of their former enemies. They will be greeted by the Marine's Iwo Jima statue as Patriot Guard Riders stand at attention as our guests are enter the Naples Hilton. After check-in by RWSFF, local Boy Scouts, who will also serve them breakfast, escort them to their seats.
 
Along the way they will find a map of Florida's WWII Heritage Trail (Victory Florida), the Supervisor of Election's Vote in Honor of a Veteran booth, take home personal photo booth, and living history actors bringing back gentle sentimental memories.
 
After the program, they are off to retrieve their Victory Garden bag in anticipation of the following day's event, Taps Across America - the "Official" Keep the Spirit of 45 Alive Day, as proclaimed by the 111th Congress in 2010 and our Florida Legislature in 2013.   On the 2nd Sunday in August, Taps begins at the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. as the sunsets across our great country, ceremonies are held in various cities. It's final tribute ends at the Punch Bowl in Honolulu, HI.
 
Naples pays tribute to our Greatest Generation as well as those Patriots who stood (and stand) on the shoulder of these giants and accepted the gauntlet to sustain the bedrock values that formed the basis of our American Experiment.
 
How wonderful would it be to have all of the FFRW Chapters adopt this new tradition to Keep the Spirit of 45 Alive. Connecting the dots throughout our 67 counties is important for the "preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government, is entrusted..." into all of our hands.
 
On the 40th Anniversary of Ronald Reagan's D-Day speech, he said, "In this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgeway listened: 'I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.'
 
Strengthened by their courage and heartened by their valor and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died."
 
Let us continue to exhort, persuade and move history to Keep the Spirit of '45 Alive!


Lois has been doing this event for 8 years and got the RWSFF Club involved with check-in and floral arrangements about 3 years ago. This day is also honored at the Club's August meeting. Keeping the Spirit of 45 alive, and keeping the history accurate at home and in our schools. 




________________________________________________________________
    
FFRW Calendar
The FFRW Calendar will become a regular feature of the monthly newsletter. Use it as a guide when planning your Club's activities. 2017 will be a busy year in terms of conferences, conventions and dates to keep in mind for various Achievement Awards submissions. If there are events of interest that you are aware of, or key dates, please send me an email, so we can include it below.  
   
August 5, 2017 - Lake County REC Lincoln Day Dinner with
D'nesh D'Souza

 August 22, 2017 - Seminole County REC Lincoln Day Dinner with  
Senator Marco Rubio

September 14-17 - NFRW 39th Biennial convention - Philadelphia, PA

October 27-29 - FFRW Biennial Convention - Cocoa Beach, FL

News from your Florida Federation of Republican Women
 

Report from the FFRW Governmental Affairs and 2017 Legislation Committee  
  Submitted by Jean Gonzalez Wingo, 2nd VP for Governmental Affairs, and Charlotte Flynt, Legislative Chairman  

2017 marked the beginning of the FFRW becoming much more involved in Governmental Affairs and Legislation. Networking with the James Madison Institute, Tax Watch, the Center Right Coalition, Smart Justice and becoming much more active in legislative issues and the leadership in Tallahassee allowed our influence to be felt and our voice to be heard!
Next year we hope many of our women will visit the capitol any week during Session in their red jackets and represent the FFRW as we increase our prominence and visibility. Just contact Jean Wingo at the email below to visit during January and February for the 2018 Session.

The FFRW successfully advocated for the following bills and appropriations.
  1. SUPPORT FOR VETERANS
Homes for Heroes Appropriations - Sen. Porter, HB 2571 Santiago
$1,000,000 onetime grant to retrofit homes for disabled veterans. Homes for Heroes received the highest 4 star rating charity and for 5 years, 93% donated has gone directly to the mission..
 

     2.  NEWBORN AND ELDERLY HEALTH

Zika virus vaccine development at UF appropriation. HB 2169 Raburn - $1.500,000 as a onetime appropriation for infrastructure and Zika Research to develop a vaccine
 

      3.  SUPPORT BUSINESSES

Lowering the 6% business rent tax and excessively high Worker's Comp Insurance are the Chamber of Commerce priorities and affect our women's businesses. For the first time in 7 years the tax was reduced and will now be 5.8%. Future reductions are expected
       4.   HUMAN TRAFFICKING
SB 852 - Garcia (co-sponsors) Benaquisto; Flores; Campbell; HB 1383 Nunez
Human Trafficking is also the top priority of our National Federation of Republican Women. Florida is one of the top states for this crime. The bill requires the Department of Children and Families or a sheriff's office to conduct staffing on child victims of commercial sexual exploitation to determine the child's service and placement needs; defining the term "commercial sexual exploitation"; adding human trafficking to the list of crimes requiring pretrial detention of the defendant, etc.
We also supported 2 other human trafficking bills which passed
 
      5. The FFRW supported the bill allowing foster children to access state parks at no cost.
Two others issues we supported never got a 1st hearing due to Sen. Bracey, Democrat Chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, not allowing them on the agenda: Making it a hate crime to attack 1st responders and an Animal Abuse Registry.
  


  

A Message from Pastor Patti
  

Pastor Patty has taken a brief break, but as always:

How may I pray for you?  00beachgurl@gmail.com

Lovingly,  Pastor Patti
 

   
*******************************************
Thank you

Greta Weiss has been an active President of the Orlando Republican Women's Club, Federated and member of the Florida Federation of Republican of Women for many years. 

Greta's support and hard work for the FFRW over these many years has not gone unnoticed. 

Thank you Greta for your loyalty and hard work to the FFRW.  You set a high standard for us to follow, we appreciate all you have done for the FFRW and Republican's in the Orlando area. 
***************************************************************************
HOW TO DEBATE LIBERALS AND WIN!!

By Barb Zakszewski, FFRW Newsletter Editor

  If you find yourself in a discussion with a liberal, it is important to remember that most liberals are not at all interested in an actual informational discussion of an issue. They are interested only in gaining the upper hand in a debate and using that hand to beat you down. They do this by attempting to frame that debate in up to the minute buzzwords and phrases and using them to direct the debate into an unfavorable and unwinnable position for you. While claiming the high road by saying they are tolerant, if you dare disagree with them, you are intolerant, racist xenophobic and HATE justice.  
 
How to turn a debate that is denigrating into nonsense and accusations? Start reframing the debate. Do not accept the debate premise set out by the liberals or the debate moderator or both. Talking about same-sex marriage? A liberal will ask how same sex marriage hurts you (or anyone). Do not start defending the conservative position but perhaps instead toss it back to them, asking, why should marriage be defined at all. Or gun control. A liberal will ask you why you need a particular gun. Instead of stammering out an answer to a stupid question, simply hand them a copy of the Constitution. Tell you liberal friend you will be happy to debate policy, but any policy discussion MUST include the Constitution as a basis for that discussion. Turn it around that way, and watch as your liberal friend gets flustered and tongue tied as they are now forced to debate on YOUR terms, not theirs.

These same tactics can be used when discussing global warming, defense spending, healthcare, etc. Liberals resort to their tried and true tactics: attack, accuse, name call. Do NOT let them get away that. Reframe the debate in a conservative tone and insist on a discussion of the issues. Make them defend their position and watch them squirm..

And Remember: APPEASEMENT NEVER WORKS!!! 


FFRW NEWSLETTER IS LOOKING FOR CONTRIBUTORS, STORY IDEAS, AND WRITERS!!
Many thanks to the FFRW Clubs and Committees who have sent in photos and stories about events and meetings they are participating in. Does your Club have a unique idea for a fundraising event? Or for YOUR Caring for America Project? Please send in your story so we can put in this Newsletter. Your project may give other Clubs ideas for their own projects. Is your Club advocating for legislation in your area? Or working on a project? Again, Share it with us via the Newsletter. Feel Free to email me at any time, barbzack@mail.com. I will do what I can to accommodate all contributions to our Newsletter. If anyone is interested in joining the Newsletter staff as a contributor/writer, contact me immediately. It would be great if we could get one or two staff members from each of the FFRW Districts, for more complete coverage of Club activities and milestones. Interested in working on the FFRW Newsletter? Contact me at once!! If you would like to write a guest editorial, please contact me at once!!!
BE SURE TO SHARE YOUR CLUB SPECIAL EVENTS AND STORIES FOR THE
FUTURE NEWSLETTERS!!



FFRW LOOKING FOR MEMBERS TO FORM A NEW COMMITTEE 
By Barb Zakszewski, FFRW Florida Constitution Committee
As many may be aware, every 20 years, the State of Florida forms a commission to review it's Constitution, and make recommendations for Amendments. That Commission was formed earlier this year via appointment by various Florida political leaders and elected officials. There are 37 members of the Commission led by Businessman and former candidate for the US Senate Carlos Beruff.

The Florida Constitution is much more complex than our US Constitution, but easier to amend: either by joint resolution by 3/5 of both Florida Houses, via citizen initative, or by the Constitutional Revision Commission.

After several public meetings and hearings earlier this year, activity of the Commission has quieted down during the summer months. In fact, no meetings are scheduled until later in August through December. Meetings and hearings are held by the Commission throughout the State of Florida, which gives interested citizens the chance to attend and speak out. After public hearings and meetings, a final report of the Commission is due to the Florida Department of State on May 10, 2018.

The Commission has set up 2 websites for people to use. Revisefl.com is a general website that includes the schedule of meetings, ways for citizens to become involved in the process, and other resources for research and general information. Flcrc.gove is the official site of the Commission that shows official schedule and calendars, press releases, special events and links to all proposals for amendments to the Constitution.

Proposals have been made through a variety of citizens and advocacy groups; many have been discarded by the proposer, and some are definitely out there, but many of the proposals focus on: open or some variation of the current Florida primary election system, automatic voter registration, putting prayer back in public schools, allowing ex-cons to have their voting rights re-instated, Bills of rights for children, and defining marriage. All amendments making it through the revision process must be approved by 60% of the voters in the 2018 general election.

How can FFRW become involved in the process? We are looking to recruit members from across the State for work on a Committee whose initial focus will be on the Constitutional review Commission, and later change focus to become a response and/or study committee. We would like to chose 3 or 4 proposals for serious study, perhaps writing positions papers and letters to the Editor, and even an occasional press release. We can work with Club Presidents and/or District reps to encourage attendance at planned meetings of the Commission and maybe even offer public comment at those meetings.    
  
If you are interested in working on such a committee, please send me an email right away; barbzack@mail.com. The League of Women Voters have already sent response teams to various Commission meetings and are preparing statements; as Republican women, we must be willing to push Republican/Conservative alternatives to the liberal positions already out there. We have lots of work to be done... who's with me?
 

ONE LAST THING

Editorial by Barb Zakszewski, FFRW Newsletter Editor

We are in the thick of summer. The only hot thing should be the weather. But in towns, cities and counties across the State of Florida, budget workshops, hearings and votes are going in. Now is the perfect time to see what your City is spending your hard-earned tax dollars on. Budgets can be boring and tedius to review, but many cities' websites offer up snapshot budgets, if not all of it on line. For the more enterprising and wonkish among us, you can review your city's budget for smart as well as wasteful spending. Many cities will also be setting their millage rates, the amount of property taxes you will be paying to support all the city services and spending you city budgets for.

Many County-wide governments, including your County and your County's School Board are also preparing their budgets and property tax assessments. Hearings and workshops are probably going on right now. Check your county's website to find when and where budget hearings and workshops are going on.

While many of us work tirelessly on State and National politics, it is the local government entities and their spending that impact our wallets and to a certain degree, our lifestyles the most. We are Americans and we live in the State of Florida, but we chose the City we live in based on the services they offer, their parks and recreation, how safe they are and even the quality of the water. Who we elect as our Commissioners and Council people will determine the quality of life in our City.

So this summer, while there is a lull in the National and State political scene, do yourself a favor and see what YOUR City and County is up to. Attend the meetings and the workshops, review the proposed budgets. Don't like what you are seeing and hearing, SPEAK UP! It's YOUR town and your money.  
The Florida Federation of Republican Women does not endorse candidates prior to the primary election. It is our job to keep our members aware of information regarding candidates, you will periodically receive information about candidates in our newsletter. You should not take these announcements as an endorsement.

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