PHC CR Board Passes Joint Resolution with Christendom CR Board

Shortly after the PHC CR board elections with at least four members voting in favor the following resolution was passed by the PHC CR board. This resolution was also passed by the Christendom CR board.

The past two 10th District Conventions have been held on the same date as Patrick Henry College's graduation. This year Patrick Henry College and Christendom have their graduations on the same day. The resolution simply requests that the convention be set prior to the graduation dates of the only two schools with college republican chapters in the district so that the most politically active young people can participate in the convention.

Encouraging Young People
to Participate in 10th District Politics

Joint Resolution of the Executive Boards of the Patrick
Henry College and Christendom College Republican Chapters

Passed

December 13, 2009

I. Statement of Facts
WHEREAS republicans should be reaching out to 18-29 year olds in the 10th District; and
WHEREAS this age group particularly includes college students; and
WHEREAS the most active college students in the district are College Republicans; and
WHEREAS the two only two College Republican chapters in the district are at Patrick Henry College and Christendom College; and
WHEREAS both institutions are holding there commencement exercises on the same date in 2010 (May 15, 2010); and
WHEREAS in the past the only College Republican chapter in the district was at Patrick Henry College; and
WHEREAS the last two 10th District Conventions were held on the same date as the Patrick Henry College commencement exercises (Both events took place on May 20, 2006, and May
17, 2008); and
WHEREAS it is difficult for college students to participate in events that occur on the same time
as there college’s commencement exercises; and
WHEREAS students often leave town following commencement exercises; and
WHEREAS the dates for the Patrick Henry College and Christendom College commencement ceremonies have been determined while the date for the 10th District Convention has yet to
be determined;

II. Introduction of Plan
NOW THEREFORE,
the following request concerning the date for the 10th District Convention is made to the 10th District Committee by the executive boards of the Patrick Henry College, and Christendom College Republicans.

III. Action
RESOLVED:
I. The executive boards of the Patrick Henry College College Republicans and the Christendom College Republicans humbly request that the 10th District Committee schedule its convention on a Saturday prior to the 15th of May so that college students can more actively participate.

Christmas Party and Board Elections

Come one, come all to the PHC College Republicans’ End of the Year Christmas Party!

When: Saturday, Dec. 12^th, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Lobby of the BHC!

Come for a time of fun and awesomeness with the College Republicans!
Our beloved Dr. Haynes will be speaking, we'll be giving away copies
of Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue" to a few lucky individuals as well as
free registration to the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC!). ANDDDD, there will be lots of fresh Christmas cookies and egg nog!!

ALSO!!!!

CR Board Elections: Sunday, Dec. 13^th, 3:00 p.m. Nash Auditorium

What to know: The PHC College Republican Club is run by a board of 6-8 student leaders, elected every year by the club's members (those who have campaigned and/or attended CR events and activities in the past).

What to do: If you are interested in becoming a member of the board or in having some leadership involvement next year (starting in January), please email Nikki Georgacakis and please indicate the position for which you intend to run. The election will be held Sunday, December 13, at 3:00 pm.

Even if this is something completely new to you, don’t be afraid to run! It is a lot of fun and can open a lot of doors to you as you explore career/internship options!

Positions:

Chair

Vice Chair

2^nd Vice Chair

Secretary

Treasurer

Member-at-Large

Director of Communications

Director of Media Relations

(for the last two, please simply indicate your interest, these are appointed positions)

PHC CR Kickoff

The PHC College Republicans are pleased to announce it's 2009 kickoff.

The event will be on August 27, and will run from 5:00-6:00pm. We will hold it in Townhall. We will have pizza and you will have a chance to hear about different ways you can help in the critical fall campaign effort.

We are pleased to be joined by Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican nominee for Attorney General. He is a rising conservative star, and will discuss the election cycle and why he is running.

If you are a PHC student, please join us as we kickoff this critical election cycle. Let's celebrate the conservative values that bring us together and remember why it is that we are proud to be Republicans.

Details on the CRFV Volunteer Contest

Earlier I posted an announcement from Kate Maxwell about a CRFV volunteer contest. Here are the details on the competition.

CRFV Summer Volunteer Contest

The CRFV Executive Committee is proud to announce the first Summer Volunteer Contest open to all College Republicans statewide. We have teamed up with the McDonnell Campaign to offer incentives for volunteers who are able to give 10 HOURS of work (door-knocking or phone-banking at a local Victory office) between now and August 1st.

Those who complete the most hours will be given individual prizes, including the opportunity to introduce our candidates at local rallies, free access to fundraisers and ticketed events, and much more! All volunteers who meet the minimum 10 hour requirement will be eligible to attend the First Annual CRFV Fall Kick-Off with Bob McDonnell at the end of summer. Music, food, and drinks will be provided, and all guests will have the opportunity to spend time with fellow College Republicans & enjoy a meet and greet with our future governor! A complimentary photo with Bob McDonnell will also be provided.

More details to be announced soon, and we are looking forward to providing a great time and a well-earned reward for our most dedicated volunteers.

To RSVP, send an email pledging to complete the 10 hour minimum requirement to crfvcontest@gmail.com. Include your name, school, and registered voting address. You will be sent a volunteer time log to record your hours. Pledge today so that we can put together the best event possible!
Chapter Chairmen:
Please join us on our CRFV Wiki Page for updates and information about the CRFV. This tool will will enable you to communicate better with your fellow VA CRs, see what events are happening across the state, and stay informed as to the conditions of the CRFV and its chapters.

CHAPTER CHAIRMEN:
Visit www.crfv.pbwiki.com to request access

Let us know about events at your chapter!
Contact: Kate Maxwell (kate.maxwell@crfv.net)
or Cole Usry (administrator@crfv.net)

If you need a list of Victory Centers to volunteer out of, please click here.
(Cross posted at VA Social Conservative.)

Message concerning Iran from College Republican National Committee Chair Zach Howell

Back in 1981 when the tyrannical Soviet regime was cracking down on the Polish people, Ronald Reagan publicized a telephone conversation he had with the Pope that contained this line, "Our sympathies are with the people, not the government."

Right now, the Iranian people are protesting on the streets of Iran's capital, Tehran – demanding their freedo m, and yet President Barack Obama remains silent.

On the campaign trail, Obama constantly stressed the need to employ America's soft power, our moral and diplomatic clout, around the globe. If there was ever a time to expend America's reserves of soft power in the pursuit of freedom, it is now.

If our leaders will not stand up to tyranny when it stares us in the face, then we must. While the fight for the future of Iran and peace in the Middle East at large is going on inside Iran, there are things you can do to help the Iranian people.

Click here to read the five ways you can take action to help the Iranian people right now!

Last Friday when the Iranian people went to the polls to elect a new president, the election was widely seen as a choice between the radical, holocaust-denying incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the reform-minded challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. The election was thought to be closely contested, and opinion polls leading up to election day showed Mousavi leading the vote.

So when the results were announced, mere hours after the polls closed on Friday, showing Ahmadinejad with an unbelievable two-to-one lead over Mousavi, even winning overwhelming in Mousavi’s hometown, people cried fraud.

Over the weekend, protesters took to the streets of Tehran and other cities in Iran demonstrating in the largest protests since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

As you read this email Iranian students are risking their lives to protest in the streets, to spread their message via social networking sites like Twitter -- while the mullahs and Revolutionary Guard watch and wait, trying to decide whether to mow them down, make them disappear, or give in to their demands.

Meanwhile, the leader of the free world is AWOL. No threats of sanctions. No standing up for the people in the streets. No refusal to recognize the sham government that won via fraud. But Americans can do better. We must.

An oppressed people are yearning to breathe free and you can he lp them in their struggle: http://collegerepublicans.org/help-iranian-people

Now is the opportunity to stand with the Iranian freedom fighters.

Sincerely,

Zach Howell
National Chairman
College Republicans

(Cross posted at VA Social Conservative.)

College Republican Volunteer Contest

Kate Maxwell the chairman of the CRFV recently made an announcement concerning summer volunteering.

I am so excited about our summer volunteer plans. We will be having a incentives and events for CRs who can accumulate the most volunteer hours. For all College Republicans who can donate 10 hours to door-knocking or phone-banking, we will be having a free event with Bob McDonnell at the end of the summer, so start keeping track with dates and times and a signature from your local Victory Director!

Here is a list of Victory Centers, and I hope to see you on the campaign trail this summer.

Cross posted at VA Social Conservative.

PHC College Republican Interviewed by G. Gordon Liddy

Today G. Gordon Liddy spent his show talking with active conservative young people. One of the students he interviewed was Matt Wolking the 1st Vice Chair of the CRFV. You can read about the interview in Matt's own words here.

Resume Writing Workshop

Dear Patrick Henry Students,
Are you in interested in bolstering your resume? Are you in the process of applying for internships and jobs? Then the College Republicans are pleased to invite you to a Resume Writing Workshop.
The workshop will be held: Saturday, March 7th in Nash Auditorium From 10am-2pm
The workshop will be sponsored by the Leadership Institute and will focus on teaching you the skills you need to write cover letters and resumes that will open doors.
Don’t forget to bring your resume for a free resume consultation!
This is a wonderful opportunity and we hope to see you there!
~The Patrick Henry College Republicans

Reagan's Birthday Party

Here is the first of many fun events the PHC College Republicans will be hosting this semester.  All PHC students are invited, and will probably end up coming out of necessity. 

You’re Invited!

     To Ronald Reagan’s Birthday Party

            He may be dead, but we have not forgotten him. (You shouldn’t either!)

Come celebrate with PHC’s College Republicans in the Dining Hall at 5:00 on Friday, Feb. 6. There will be birthday cake, ice cream, jelly beans (his personal favorite), and a showing of In the Face of Evil—a bold portrayal of his presidency and his contribution to the fall of Communism.

            No RSVP necessary—just show up for dinner ;) and be prepared for a great event!

Conservatively Yours,

The College Republicans of Patrick Henry College

 

p.s. First 50 attendees will receive free Ronald Reagan 2009 calendars and posters!

2009 CRFV State Convention

Last Saturday, January 26th was the College Republican Federation of Virginia (CRFV) State Convention. Matt Wolking, Nicole Forcine, Joe Catoe, Daniel Davies, and myself, Willie Deutsch, all attended the meeting from PHC. The purpose of the meeting was to elect a new board for the CRFV.

Before the elections got under way, we heard from representatives of all the Republican campaigns for statewide office. John Brownlee spoke first talked about his background as a prosecutor and a military man, and Dave Foster spoke about his ability to win elections in NOVA and his desire to work on issues like voter fraud. Senator Cuccinelli was unable to speak so I spoke on his behalf, and shared why I am supporting him in this nomination contest. Bob McDonnell's daughter talked about efforts the campaign will be doing with the young people. She discussed a number of creative ideas. The McDonnell for Governor team seems to be running a very smart and creative campaign. A representative for Bill Bolling also spoke briefly about ways we could help with that campaign as well.

The elections were a very positive affair. All the candidates talked of their desire to grow the CRFV: strengthen the chapters we have, create new ones, and ways the CRFV could assist the local CR chapters.

Our new CRFV Board is:

Chairman: Kate Maxwell

1st Vice Chair: Matt Wolking

2nd Vice Chair: Ray Boyce

Treasurer: Jadan Horyn

Secretary: Kelly McCain

Kate Maxwell already has connections with a number of VA state officials including to Bob McDonnell, and Chris Saxman, and plans on using her connections to do a number of creative things for the local chapters.

Congratulations to Matt Wolking on winning 1st Vice Chair. PHC now has a member on the CRFV board. His technological abilities and connections will be a valuable asset to improving the CRFV.

I am looking forward to this upcoming year as the CRFV and its local chapters works to involve more college students in the political process, and get all three of our state wide officials elected in November.

(While Willie Deutsch is actively supporting Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General, this post should not be construed in anyway to be an endorsement of any candidate by the PHC CR club in the Attorney General race.)

Young Voters in the GOP

As the Republican Party seeks to rebuild and move forward it is imperative that the party does a better job with young voters.  This fact was acknowledged in the RNC Chairman Debate when the candidates were asked how they planned on reaching out to new voters.

As we kick this semester off, I hope everyone will join us as we seek to work as college students to grow this party and advance conservative principles through it.

Driving Governor Palin

Besides Student Action Teams, another major project that PHC College Republicans were involved in this past semester was driving the motorcade for Sarah Palin when she was in Virginia.  After the Republican's tickets first trip to Virginia in Fairfax, in all the other swings through Virginia by Sarah Palin, PHC students drove her motorcade.  This was an amazing opportunity for PHC students to be involved with the presidential campaign in a way many students are not able to experience presidential politics.  Some important people believe Patrick Henry College will be able to build on these and other connections and get Governor Sarah Palin to speak at the school's graduation this coming May.  The rest of this article is a copy of an article about this opportunity that was done for the PHC website.       

Driving Gov. Palin and Other Political Pursuits

October 30th, 2008

By Sarah Pride

CONTACT:

David Halbrook Patrick Henry College (540) 338-8727 OfficeOfCommunications@phc.edu

 

From L to R: Todd Palin, Lucas Alm, Molly Wyer, Rebecca Beach, an aide, Erin Pradia, an aide, Sarah Palin,  an aide, an aide, Nicole Forcine

A small fleet of twelve-passenger vans careened down the highway at 85 miles per hour, bumper-to-bumper, ten feet apart. Squealing onto the tarmac at Dulles Airport, the caravan stopped near a large campaign plane and disgorged a small army of Secret Service agents and members of the press.

Patrick Henry College sophomore, Erin Pradia, one of the van drivers, watched intently as Secret Service agents shouted, “Photo op! Photo op!” From the front van, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and her husband emerged and graciously greeted the press. Then, before boarding the campaign plane, Palin turned to an aide.

“I want to thank the volunteers,” she said. The van drivers, most of them PHC students, shook the hands of Todd and Sarah Palin and then lined up by the plane for a once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunity.

“I was really impressed that [Palin] spent so much time with each of us—about fifteen seconds,” says Pradia. “She asked each of our names, and we also had a chance to say something to her. I complimented her on her poise during the debates.”

“[Palin] is just as beautiful in person as everyone says,” exclaims freshman Rebecca Beach.

This slightly unusual episode reflects the almost uncanny tendency of PHC students to show up at the right place and the right time, especially in matters political. A few weeks before the Palin rally, a PHC alum in D.C. learned that the McCain campaign needed trustworthy drivers for their Virginia motorcade. The alum connected them to volunteers at Patrick Henry College. So while thousands crowded into McCain/Palin rallies to catch a piece of history, PHC students dashed around behind the scenes, chauffeuring candidates from airport, to hotel, to venue.

“What impressed me was watching how (Palin’s) staffers worked together,” says senior Nicole Forcine. “I could see the positive attitude and excellence of one young Christian woman who was there to serve, as opposed to others who were out to further their own careers.”

Student Action Teams

This type of hands-on civic and political involvement is an important part of Patrick Henry College’s ethic of service to God and country, a striving for excellence and integrity in both word and deed. To further encourage its students to walk out their beliefs in this manner, the College’s Academic Calendar includes a fall break from November 3-4, specifically so that interested students can help on campaigns without losing academic standing.

This year, 75 students and staff have signed up for “Student Action Teams” with Generation Joshua (GenJ), a nonprofit youth organization started by the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and other groups. These students fan out across the country to lead more than 1,000 youth, mostly between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, who will canvas for candidates in eighteen races in fourteen different states.

“We have lots of young people as volunteers, but they need someone to lead them,” says Caleb Dalton, Student Action Team Coordinator for GenJ.

Teams are assigned to work in congressional races during the critical last 72 hours prior to the November 4th election, explains Nicole Forcine. They will also be campaigning for candidates through phone banking and door-to-door literature drops. On Election Day itself, the young people will segue into sign-waving. “That’s where we get more involved with any local candidates we can endorse,” Forcine says.

And after election day, whether nursing bruised psyches or celebrating victories, everyone involved will have gained valuable insight into the civic practices of a free country. Having further grounded their political beliefs through the sacrifice of time and energy, participants walk away with a greater appreciation of both the privilege and responsibility of American citizenship.

Adds sophomore Betsy Sayre, who traveled to her home state of northeastern Pennsylvania to work a campaign with seven other family members: “This is an awesome way to live out what [Patrick Henry College] is about—impacting the culture.”

Click on a thumbnail below to see a larger version.

Security check	Lucas Alm, a PHC junior	View from front car in motorcade, behind security and Palins
PHC students by their vans	The Saturday, Oct. 25 crew: Kenny Ly, Erin Pradia, Brian Dutze, Molly Wyer, Rachel Reiley, Lucas Alm	Erin Pradia, PHC sophomore
Motorcycle security crew

PHC College Republicans help defeat an incumbent Democrat Congressman

One of the top activities for the PHC College Republicans this year was stafing and directing the Student Action Teams run by Generation Joshua. One of the teams campaigned for Pete Olson in TX-22. This was Tom Delay's former seat which the Democrats won in 2006. The Generation Joshua team lead by PHC College Republicans helped Pete Olson win his seat by 5 points.

This team was directed by Joey Alm, and lead by Ben Rogers, Rachel Reiley, Jenna Lorence, and Josh McKnight. One of the moms who participated in the Student Action Team created a blog which shares some stories of the campaign, and includes a photo gallery.

Thank You

Happy New Year!! Today marks the beginning of 2009. It is a year with difficult challenges, and amazing opportunities.

The New Year is always a time for reflection, and I want to briefly reflect on last year. We were blessed as a club to have Nicole Forcine as our chairman, and she will be missed as we go forward. In a year that was difficult for Republicans everywhere, Nicole helped build this club. She was willing to work with people who disagreed with her, and she took significant amounts of time to work to avoid difficult situations. She was patient and didn't easily show it if she got stressed out. Under her leadership, the club organized a trip to the March for Life last January, brought Star Parker to campus, organized a trip to the McCain/Palin rally in Fairfax last September, and sent over 80 members to lead Generation Joshua's Student Action Teams during the week before the election--and these are only the highlights of last year's activities. Thank you for yoru work as chair over the past year Nicole, and may God continue to bless your endeavors as you graduate and move on from college.