Republican Roundtable news for January 2010

Roundtable begins new year on January 12
The Bay County Republican Roundtable’s first meeting of 2010 will be held on Tuesday, January 12, at the St. Andrew Bay Yacht Club in Panama City.
A dinner buffet begins at 6:00 p.m. and costs $15 per person (non-alcoholic beverage, tax and tip included). Dinner reservations are necessary so that the Yacht Club can prepare for adequate food and staff. To make your dinner reservations, please contact Melissa Thompson at 527-7384 or Melissa@efileamerica.com
Schools Super to be Roundtable’s First Speaker of New Year
Bay District Schools Superintendent Bill Husfelt will be the special guest speaker at the Roundtable’s January 12 meeting. Bill is a longtime supporter of the Roundtable and will welcome questions following his presentation. Bill will begin speaking at about 7:10 p.m., following a brief business session.
Changing of the Roundtable Guard
The Roundtable’s bylaws call for the election of new officers at the January meeting. Officer elections will be the first order of business on January 12, and all nominations will come from the floor. All contested races will be decided by secret ballot.
2010 Roundtable Dues are Due !
The Roundtable’s annual dues of $30 per person became due as of January 1. If you joined the Roundtable after September 1, 2009, your $30 dues payment has been applied to 2010, and you owe no further payment for this year. If you are a renewing member, please plan to pay your annual dues at the January 12 meeting.
To pay your dues by mail, please make your check payable to BCRR and mail it to Melissa Thompson, the Roundtable’s treasurer, at this address: 136 Queens Circle, Panama City, FL 32405. Thanks, everyone, for your support!
Subscribe to the Roundtable’s e-newsletter
During recent weeks, Roundtable member Sven Thompson has worked diligently to set up a Web site for the Bay County Republican Roundtable that will be an awesome communication tool for BCRR members and for outreach.
As part of this new Web site set-up, you will receive an invitation to subscribe to the Roundtable’s e-newsletter. That invitation will come from ardentheart@bellsouth.net, which is Teresa Eaton’s email address.
Please follow the simple instructions in Teresa’s email to subscribe to the Roundtable newsletter. Eventually, after the new Web site is completely set up and operational, you will not receive the newsletter unless you have subscribed.
Republican Christmas Party Brings 2009 to Joyful Close
Over 100 Republicans attended the Bay County Republican Christmas Party at the Edgewater Beach Resort on December 11. Special guests were Bill and Dorothy Randall, who were honored for their many years of volunteer work for the Republican Party. Entertainment was provided free of charge by Roundtable member Jim Lawson, who is well-known in Bay Co. the area’s premiere DJ. Thank you, Jim!
The party’s guests included elected officials Frank McKeithen (Bay Co. Sheriff), Mark Andersen (Bay Co. Supervisor of Elections), Pat Sabiston (School Board), Walter Kelley (Lynn Haven Mayor), and Roger Schad (Lynn Haven Commissioner).
Candidates in attendance were Derrell Day and Dan Estes, who are running for the County Commission seat being vacated by Jerry Girvin, and John Reichard, candidate for the Panama City Beach City Council.
BCRR Presents Funding to Bay County JROTC We had the great pleasure of presenting $100 checks to each of the four Jr. ROTC units in Bay county at the packed December Bay County School Board meeting. The public and School Board were very impressed and there was an audible gasp in the room when we
told them the amount of the checks. We also thanked the Superintendent and the School Board for keeping this wonderful program in our schools. The Jr. ROTC units teach Citizenship, leadership, teamwork, and self-discipline, and values such as Patriotism, Service, and Honor. We thanked each unit for the work that they do. We want to give a special thanks to BCRR and School Board Member Jerry Register who arranged for us to be at the meeting. Coffee, Donuts and Great Conversation! Coffee and donuts are a bonus, but the real reason to come to the Bay County Republican headquarters on Saturday morning is the great conversation and camaraderie. BCRR member Ken Ford opens the doors every Saturday morning from 8 to 11, and others of us show up to greet visitors, keep Ken company and talk about the latest political news. Recent topics of conversation included the CD2 race, the foreseeable problems with nationalized health care, the messed up state of Florida's homeowner's insurance market and how the two might be related, plus other topics of interest to a bunch of grassroots Republicans.
Bring your coffee cup and your point of view with you on Saturday mornings to the Republican headquarters for any part of the three hours you can spend. You’ll be glad you did! The number at HQ is 763-8656. Republican Party of Florida - Annual Meeting January 8-9 The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) will hold its annual meeting in Orlando on January 8-9, 2010. Attending the meeting from Bay County will be John Salak, Chairman of the Bay Co. Republican Executive Committee; Jonathan Hayes, Bay Co.’s Republican State Committeeman; and Melissa Hagan, Bay Co.’s Republican State Committeewoman. RPOF’s executive committee is comprised of the Party chairman, state committeeman and state committeewoman from every county in Florida. RPOF steers the state Party ship, with the guidance of the RNC. If you’d like to attend the annual meeting and see how this all works, contact John Salak at john.salak@L-3Com.com or 276-2872.
BCRR Board’s Message At the final 2009 Board meeting great honors were paid to our President, Teresa Eaton, for her year of dynamic leadership. The Club has been greatly improved and strengthened by Teresa’s forward-thinking ideas and unflagging energy. Her devotion to making the Club a relevant part of local and state politics has created a legacy for us all to be proud of, and is a challenge to be met by future Boards. We all wish to express our respect, admiration, and thanks for Teresa’s honorable service to the BCRR.