From the President's Desk
TFRW President Barbara Trautman

Dear TFRW Members,

Thank you to those who attended the March 6 TFRW State Board Meeting.  We elected new First Vice President Linda Kollmann, new Area 5B Vice President Norma Otto, and new Area 6 Vice President Terri Kilgour.  Congratulations to all!

We also elected the 2021 Nominating Committee whose duty it is to “submit one nominee for each office in a report to be sent out with the Call to Convention.” (TFRW Bylaws, Article VII, Section 2.)  Our TFRW Biennial Convention will be held on October 22-23 at the Franklin Marriott.  Nominating Committee members are:  Linda Clark, Chair, Faye Robinson, Whittney Good, Pat Allen, Jen Free, and Katana Hawks, Alternate.

At the March 6 Board Meeting, important Federation information was shared that might have been missed during last year.  We held a mini leadership training workshop with presentations about Membership, Bylaws, Meeting Minutes and Basic Parliamentary Procedures, Campaign, Legislation, MELP, and Protocol in Politics.  Thank you to all the presenters. These Presentation Handouts were emailed to all Club Presidents.  The NFRW Leaders Training Guide, TFRW Club Bylaws Template, and the TFRW Beyond the Vote Scholarship information can be found on the tnfrw.org website.

As we began preparing for this year, our Convention year, we first discussed the Area Conventions, where the new Area Vice Presidents are elected, usually in June.  The Area Vice Presidents will be contacting their clubs soon about a schedule for the Area Conventions. 

Next, we talked about the National Convention, in Orlando, FL, September 23-26. This is the time when thousands of Republican Women from Federated Clubs all over the U.S. come together for several days of fellowship, education, inspiration, and business to celebrate their achievements.  At the TFRW Board Meeting we concentrated on encouraging all clubs to complete the award forms to be submitted for recognition at the NFRW Convention. We reviewed the Achievement Awards criteria and presented some activities that would earn points for this award. The Achievement Awards Form, the Caring for America Awards Form, and the Campaign Volunteer Awards Form are on the tnfrw.org website.  Now is the time to start filling out these forms before the June 1 deadline.

Our TFRW Convention is set for October 22-23 at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs. Convention Chair Linda Kollmann and the Convention Committee are working to ensure that we have a successful convention.

Because of COVID and COVID restrictions, we have not held Ladies’ Day on the Hill for 2 years in a row. While reviewing the TFRW Muffett Brock Award activities to earn points for this award, we had a deficit in the Ladies’ Day on the Hill line item and a deficit in the ability to earn 50 points.  An appointed committee studied this subject and found a way to offset these 50 points.  They added an additional 50 points for a club to make a donation to the Iris Fund in both 2020 and 2021.  The overall points earned remain the same.  This change was approved by the Executive Committee.  This means that a club can earn 50 points for contributing to the Iris Fund in 2020 and 50 points for contributing to the Iris Fund in 2021.  It is not too late to contribute to both years now.  No amount was suggested.  The updated Muffett Brock form is on the tnfrw.org website (Muffett Brock Award).  There are many more documents, much information, and great photos of TFRW members on the tnfrw.org website as well.  Please check it out.

We look forward to seeing you at the next TFRW Board Meeting scheduled for May 22 at Brentwood Country Club.  More details to follow.

Barbara