President’s Report
Ohio Federation of Republican Women Spring Conference Saturday, April 30,
2011
The OFRW Spring Conference was held in Dublin, Ohio this past Saturday, April 30th. I arrived early to
the beautiful Embassy Suites hotel and was greeted by Judy Bolin and Karen Skillings at the registration
table. Prior to the start of the conference, I mingled with other OFRW members from all of the different
counties in Ohio. There was also a silent auction with gift baskets which could be bid on that had been
donated from clubs and individuals across the state. The Hamilton County Republican Women’s club
donated a basket filled with a lot of our hometown Cincinnati treats. It was the beginning of a fantastic
event!
Our State President, Jean Turner, opened the conference with the Call to Order. Next, the board
members presented the Colors of the United States of America. Anna Caldwell, the OFRW Chaplain,
offered the Invocation. Married couple Marilyn and Warren Clark led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. In
addition, as wife Marilyn led us in the singing of the National Anthem, husband Warren accompanied on
the trumpet.
President Turner welcomed all in attendance and thanked us for traveling from our respective counties
in order to make the conference such a success. She read the minutes from the general meeting and
informed us that the OFRW offices will now be open three days a week.
Kendra Crawford was introduced as the recipient of the National Pathfinder Award. She spoke about
her life and how she adapted from the devastating end to her sixteen year marriage. With no formal
college education, she wondered how she would somehow provide for her four children. She made the
conscious decision to enroll in nursing school and begin on the road to her new and better life. She
knew that the road would not be easy. Nevertheless she has persevered and maintains a 4.00 grade
point average. Congratulations to Kendra!
Next, the new 2011 club presidents were recognized and presented with pins and their OFRW
Leadership Manual. The manual provides each new club president a road map with all of the
information, tools and resources needed to ensure effective leadership of their club. I was proud and
honored to receive my manual on behalf of the On-Line Club!
Sue Lynch, President of the National Federation of Republican Women, was our esteemed and honored
guest speaker. President Lynch spoke to how we as women hold the tremendous power to change the
course of politics in this country and is vehemently opposed to the “good ‘ole boy” network within the
Party. She encourages Republican women to seek and run for elected office. She is also an ardent
proponent of Election Reform in the United States which includes the Voter ID requirement. In the
course of her duties as our National President, she travels to areas all over the United States and to
foreign countries in search of women with our like-minded views. While in the course of her journeys,
one stop was to the country of Nigeria. She encountered a woman that was on her way to vote and
pulled out her ID. President Lynch asked “What are you going to use that for?” The woman replied “To
vote, we cannot vote without it”. President Lynch’s message was that even small villages in Africa are
getting it right in terms of the ID requirement, why can’t we? In the end, we were encouraged to keep
up the good fight and to stand steadfast in our beliefs as Republican Women in our mission to take Our
Country back in 2012!
Lunch was served from noon until 1:00pm. We enjoyed a house salad, almond encrusted chicken,
mashed, garlic roasted potatoes and green beans. For dessert we had a very decadent piece of
chocolate cake. In addition to having the opportunity to meet and great with each other, we were able
to place our final bids on the wonderful baskets.
After lunch, the new clubs were presented with the Charter for their respective clubs. Mary Anne
Christie presented me with the Charter for the OFRWO. Also, the winners of the silent auction were
announced.
The event ended with all of the ladies breaking out into their individual “districts” receiving information
with regards to the NFRW website. We were encouraged to visit it and to take full advantage of all that
it had to offer.
I must say that I had a WONDERFUL time on Saturday! Our ladies put on a fantastic conference. The
speakers from State President Turner, National President Lynch and National Pathfinder Award winner
Kendra Crawford were awe-inspiring and challenged me to do more and be more. I am anxiously
looking forward to the fall conference in October!
Kristie L. Davis
OFRWO President
