THE TRUMPETER - April 2023

RWOP Newsletter Editor: Joan Lesko, RWOP VP Communications, [email protected]

April Showers Bring May Flowers! We have been blessed to have an abundance of moisture this winter and to see the local lakes and creeks running full! Hopefully, this will help the fire danger in our area this summer, but meteorologists tell us that we are in a drought situation because we are still under the percentage of underground water levels. It is sure nice looking out in the fields and seeing green grass instead of brown, dry grass! Even though the abundance of rainfall and snow also brings flooding, it is still important for our area to receive moisture!

Many of you know that recently, Arizona Save our Schools (SOS), Prescott Education Association (PEA), and the local chapter of Prescott Indivisible, a left-leaning social justice and public education advocacy organization, held a rally at Mile High Middle School in support of SOS. SOS actively campaigns against the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) which supports public funding to expand educational opportunities for eligible students outside of the public school system. This program allows parents the opportunity to pay for private school tuition, education therapies, tutoring, and more. ESAs also allow parents to decide and seek other forms of education that best fit the needs of their children and support their beliefs. RWOP has been actively involved in supporting the ESA program, believing that parents know what type of education is best for their children's needs.

Jill Martin, RWOP's 5th VP of Education, will be hosting the Quad City School Choice Event, scheduled for June 17th at Yavapai College, details to follow. This event will feature alternative education resources and ESA applications for those who attend. There will also be expert speakers on ESA that will be available to answer parents' questions on the program and provide help with the ESA application. Because we see the increase of public schools concentrating on social-emotional learning, critical race theory and other woke agendas instead of concentrating on academics, over 50,000, and growing, parents in Arizona have applied for ESA funds to give their children options other than public school education. Please watch our constant contact for information on this very important forum! Tom Horne, Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction, will also be speaking at our luncheon. He will be giving us an update on the policies Katie Hoffman, the former Superintendent of Public Instruction, immediately ended and the new policies he put in place to protect Arizona's school children from the previous woke agenda.

Recently, the Prescott City Council held a study session updating the Camping on Public Property Ordinance in the City of Prescott. At the study session, it was decided that the Council would like more public input before making final decisions on the revised wording. Now is the time for each one of us, by the power of the pen (or in this case e-mail) to contact our mayor and current members of our Council to voice your opinion that the ordinance be re-written to have a strong language to prevent public camping on public property and spaces. We have all seen the coverage on news stations that show what happens when individuals decide they can put up "tent cities" and other forms of temporary housing in public parks, on street corners, along sidewalks, in front of businesses, and outside home subdivisions. We also have seen the images of businesses boarded up with homeless encampments lining the streets where thriving businesses were once open for business. The health ramifications that plague these encampments, with no sanitary bathroom facilities along with drug paraphernalia and trash throughout the encampments, are important reasons why any new ordinance passed by our City Council must have strong wording to prevent loopholes to permit these encampments. Prescott residents are a very giving community. I hope that citizens will donate to the organizations that have the resources to help the less fortunate with finding food, lodging, and clothing when needed. Many of these organizations also provide educational services to help the needy find employment. I give to the Salvation Army which helps feed and house the less fortunate. The yellow parking meters located throughout the downtown area, collect a large number of funds that are donated to these organizations to help the needy. Please click here to obtain the Mayor and City Council's e-mails to write and express your concern to have a strongly worded No Camping Ordinance passed.

Our next Arizona Federation of Republican Women (AzFRW) Summer Meeting will be held in Prescott at the Prescott Resort, on May 18, 19, and 20th. RWOP, along with the other Republican women's clubs in our area, will be hosting this event. If you have never attended an AzFRW meeting, or even if you have attended one, this is your perfect opportunity to take part and see how valuable and uplifting these meetings are. It is a great time with like-minded Republicans and a chance to hear great, motivating speakers that support our values! Registration is now open. Click here to register. Since RWOP is the largest Federated Republican Women's Club in Arizona and our Nation, let's have a great presence at this meeting and extend our hospitality to our visiting "sister Republicans" from around our State!!

Finally, our newly elected Congressman Eli Crane with being our featured speaker for our April luncheon. Congressman Crane has agreed to autograph items for us to conduct a live auction at our luncheon to start raising funds for RWOP's next year's (2024) scholarship fund. Professional Auctioneer Rob Jundt, from Wickenburg, will be conducting the auction. So please, bring your checkbooks, credit cards, and cash to bid on the autographed items. It will be a fun time while supporting our scholarship fund!!

Congressman Eli Crane and his wife Jen

At the luncheon, please visit our jewelry table out in the mall area.

Upon request, we will have some military and patriotic jewelry. We still have Trump items for sale!

Once again, I want to thank you for being a member of RWOP and supporting our club. Our membership continues to grow, and I am grateful for every one of you! The work our club does locally and around the State is well respected. Even though we are a political club, we have shown that we also support our community. None of this would be possible without your continued monetary and membership support.

I look forward to seeing all of you at our April luncheon!

Regards,

Sherrie Hanna

2023 RWOP President

THIS LUNCHEON IS SOLD OUT!

Click Here to be put on the Wait List!​

**PLEASE DO NOT MOVE THE NAME CARDS PLACED ON THE LUNCHEON TABLES**

Please note this luncheon will be held on

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2023!

LUNCHEON MENU

(Choice of one entree)

Ham with Pineapple Cinnamon Demi-Glace, Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes & Haricot Verts

OR

Chicken Waldorf Salad or Vegetable Cobb Salad ​



Dessert: Easter Petit Fours with ​Peeps, Jelly Beans, & Coconut Grass

NO SUBSTITUTIONS ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT

$35 per person

Reserve your spot online: HERE

Reservations are on a first-come-first-served basis!

A reservation made is a reservation paid...thank you!

To help speed up our check-in process:

• Prepaying for the luncheon is encouraged - online or by check mailed prior to luncheon
• Arrive early and allow time for parking
• No large bills accepted
• Have your payment ready – CASH or CHECK (made payable to RWOP for $35 - already filled out

Tuesday, April 4th RWOP Luncheon

Featured Speaker:

Congressman Eli Crane

GUEST SPEAKERS:

Cloudy Days

If anyone knows of a RWOP member or family member that is ill, passed away or just needs a note of encouragement please contact me with their address so a personal card can be mailed.  

Marla Bassler, 480-330-8150 or drop her an email at [email protected]

Are You Already Volunteering in a School?

Are You Already Volunteering in Our Community to Help Young People and Their Families?

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”

–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Are you participating with schools; educational training and/or planning; school fundraisers; museums; religious teachings; Big Brothers, Big Sisters; Boy Scouts; Girl Scouts; CASA of Yavapai County; MatForce; Mock Trials; YMCA; and/or Youth Sports, such as the Wheelhouse and AZ Fellowship of Christian Athletes? If so, please contact Debra McVey to join us as one of our RWOP School Volunteers who contributes towards benefiting our youth and their families.

If you would like to become a school volunteer, RWOP partners with Trinity Christian School and Prescott Unified School District. You will experience intrinsic pride as you use your time and talents assisting preschool through high school students. When the past school year ended May 2021, RWOP members had contributed 6,895 hours to students, teachers, and parents!!

If you are an RWOP member with any questions or you are ready to become involved with either Trinity Christian School or PUSD, please don’t hesitate to contact:

Debra McVey, [email protected], or (928) 778-0000.

Assisting young students to succeed allows our members to exhibit living proof of our Republican principles. Our RWOP School Volunteers demonstrate the difference we make to support our children and strengthen our schools as we build a stronger, more vibrant community for all of us!



With appreciation,

Debra McVey

RWOP School Volunteer Chair

[email protected]

(928) 778-0000

Caring for America - Nancy Grigas

The club provides safe and affordable childcare and their goal is to be the best thing to do after school for all children in our community. They offer many innovative programs including STEM and other academics, as well as sports of all kinds (basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis) for ages 6-17. Although their primary membership is ages 6-10, there are exciting programs for older students to gain real world experience.

A collaborative program with Prescott High School Multimedia has produced tremendous results for dozens of teens. Here are just a couple comments from recent recipients.

“The multimedia program offers incredible opportunities… real life skills, how to operate equipment and work in a professional environment.”

“The multimedia program has given me workplace skills that I will forever carry with me.”

Approximately 100 students take advantage of the activities and programs offered at the club, but they are always looking for more. CEO Alex Heineman wants Prescott to know they are OPEN for business and there is room for more students. Please let your friends know about the wonderful programs available through the Boys & Girls Club.



Stop by the Caring for America booth at the April luncheon and learn how you can volunteer or make a donation. For more information, call 928-776-8686.

As of the printing of this newsletter for the 2023 membership year we have:

Total Members: 880 vs 781 last year at this time

Active Members: 695

Associates: 183

Student: 2

The 2023 Directories will be available for pick up at the April 4^th meeting and at the monthly meetings following April. 

New members, please pick up your new member packet at the membership table.

If you have ordered a name badge, please come pick it up at the badge table. You may also order a new name badge if you need one.

New Active Members:

Linda Anastanio

Deborah Beacon

Mary E. Bennett

Wendy Carmichael

Jolene Earl

Stephanie Fontanilla

Marsha Dianne Long

Jamie Oltersdorf

Julie Schreiner

Alice Sheldon

Madeline Taylor

Shirley Ann Villaire

Grace S. Woodyard

New Associate Members:

Mark Chrysle

Donald Moody

Kimberly Anne Platt

Please keep encouraging your friends and family to join RWOP as we are the largest Federated Club in Arizona and the Nation!

**PLEASE READ!*

Important Information regarding our online payment system

We have changed our online credit card processing from PayPal to Square. We encourage you to try this new system. This will impact the Membership Renewal and the Luncheon Reservation processes.

Please click on the links to the Instructions for RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP or RESERVING YOUR LUNCHEON to familiarize yourself with the new process. (Please note that you can also reserve our luncheon online and still pay at the door.)



If you need assistance, please email [email protected].

Select HERE for the 2023 RWOP Luncheon Schedule!!

Do you know Arizona Families

wanting better School Options?

Text “CHOICE” to 73218

There are many Educational Tours and events being planned over the next few months.  

Here are a few events in the works:

Wheelhouse Tour - April (TBD)

School Choice Forum - June 17th

RWOP 101 - June 20th

Candidate Forum - (TBD)

Courthouse Tour - July (TBD)

Email Jill Martin at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Did You Know…that even in Arizona, our public universities have been taken over by the Left?  You probably did if you have a child or grandchild who has attended one of our state universities in recent years. This has occurred despite the state having Republican governors for most of the last thirty years, who appoint the members of the State Board of Regents. 

I became more aware of this because my beloved niece graduated from Northern Arizona University (NAU) recently. Her excited family attended the commencement ceremony held at the Flagstaff campus on December 16th, 2022. 

I haven’t attended a college graduation in about 20 years. My, how they’ve changed. Some examples: there was no Pledge of Allegiance to our flag.  The NAU Elevation, a vocal ensemble, sang the national anthem, at least. There was a small printed program, but it directed the reader to a full list of honors and graduates online. Before the ceremony began, huge screens in the Skydome stadium flashed a social media-driven revolving slide show of student-submitted graduate photos.

The program listed no less than twenty “senior leadership staff”---at this one university! Listed third was a position titled “Vice President of Native American Initiatives.” Wonder what this position does that is different from the “Vice President for University Strategy,” the “Senior Vice President for Engagement and Public Affairs,” the “Vice President for Economic Mobility and Social Impact” or the more common “Vice President of Student Affairs”? I was left with a strong impression that this university, at least, has way too many highly compensated administrative employees.

There was no invocation. Instead, the university president read Opening Remarks that included obligatory paeans to diversity and a “Land Acknowledgment,” which is essentially a statement recognizing the indigenous people who once occupied the area or event space. They seem to be an academic fad in recent years.  Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem recognizing the contributions of those who came before us. Singling out this one group, however, seems unbalanced. How about also acknowledging the early settlers and explorers, or those who had the foresight to establish the school in 1899, when Arizona was still a territory?

My brush with our public post-secondary education system demonstrated to me that we have a long way to go to reclaim our state’s academic institutions. The good news is that nationally, parents and students are tired of over-priced institutions that produce graduates who often can’t function in the real world of work, and a reformistic backlash is gathering momentum.

PETITION RULES CITY OF PRESCOTT ELECTION 2023

Candidates must qualify to be placed on a ballot by collecting signatures.

Only republican party members or independents living within the City of Prescott city limits may sign petitions for candidates who seek the open council seats.

By signing a petition you enable a candidate to collect the number of signatures needed to qualify to have their name placed on a ballot.

(You are not obligated to then vote for that candidate).

Openings: One Mayor, Four Council seats.

Governor Hobbs still has NOT signed a single bill for this session.  That is 16 vetoes to date.

Hobbs HAS signed an executive order — titled the “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair” Act, or “CROWN” Act — on March 17th. The California-originating model legislation prohibits public schools and state employers or contractors from discriminating against employees’ hair texture and protective styles, such as braids, locs, twists, knots, and headwraps.

Did you know Democrats use RTS much more than Republicans. Their comments on Republican Bills are not nice. It is so important that we support our Legislators by giving them our opinions.

If you are not signed up for RTS you can at the following sites.

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

If you need help or have questions, please call or email me.

Cathy Messinger

480-370-9897

[email protected]

Honor Flight: RWOP presented a check to Linda Friddle of Honor Flight for $11,886 at the March luncheon! Members generously donated $1,886 in the red envelopes. We had 2 anonymous members donate $5,000 each! What an incredible gift to give veterans from World War II, Korean and Viet Nam wars who are fortunate enough to be selected for a free trip to Washington D.C. to visit the War Memorials. There are two veterans from Prescott going in April: Arthur Walter and Walter Barker!

Preview on Charlie Kirk for the May 17 RWOP Event 

Several RWOP members were able to attend a Charlie Kirk and Dennis Prager event in Phoenix on March 15. It was an incredibly inspirational event! Charlie Kirk of Turning Point spoke of his work on college campuses to encourage college-age adults to stand up for their beliefs despite the pressures they get. By working with college students, he believes they will teach their children to love God and America and hopefully our freedoms will endure. 



Dennis Prager, who is on the radio, has written several books about The Rational Bible, and has podcasts on You Tube that are geared toward youth called Fireside Chats, was enlightening. His wisdom, knowledge and conservative values were evident with his practical approach to the issues going on today. Mr. Prager speaks 6 languages and learned Russian so he could read their propaganda. He stated that the Secular left uses Russian tactics of confusion and chaos to hide their real agenda. He pointed out that he sleeps better when he gets a lot of hate for what he stands for because it lets him know he’s been heard. Mr. Prager said we need to reach Secular folks to get them back to “Truth, Justice and the American Way,” but we also need to “preach to the choir” to keep them in the fight. They both say that Christians are the front line and must stand up against the diabolical issues today. 

RWOP is hosting Charlie Kirk on May 17, 2023 at Yavapai College Performing Arts Center! Tickets are on sale at www.ycpac.com

In June 2022, HB2008 passed in the AZ House along party lines, with unanimous opposition from Democrats and unanimous support from Republicans. Then, the AZ Senate Republicans passed it handily, and Governor Ducey signed it into law. What is HB2008? It’s a state law that requires juniors and seniors in high school be educated on what communism is, and its tyrannical hold on its people by dictators. Our LD-1 Representative Quang Nguyen was the sponsor of this bill, and he knows a thing or two about communists. He was born in Vietnam and came to the United States as a refugee. Democrats have pushed back against efforts to portray communism in a negative light. (No surprise there.) Many like State Representative Daniel Hernandez (D-Tucson), have argued that ideologies like white nationalism pose a bigger threat than communism. Then, our Representative Quang Nguyen took Mr. Hernandez to school.

Sponsor Business Card Ads are $100 for 12 months of inclusion in the monthly newsletters. Your ad will also be highlighted on RWOP website. If you are interested in highlighting your business, please contact Joan Lesko [email protected]

SELECT BUSINESS CARD BELOW TO GO DIRECTLY TO THEIR BUSINESS WEBSITE OR FACEBOOK PAGE