Greetings!
Last month the delegates of the 17 precincts of the Bartow County Republican Party assembled at the BCRP headquarters to participate in the County Convention. As part of this process, the delegates elected a new BCRP Executive Committee for the 2011-2013 term. I was gratified and humbled to have been elected as chairman of the new executive committee, and am excited about serving you for the next two years. In addition to myself, the new Executive Committee is comprised of Fred Kittle (First Vice Chairman), Robert Adkerson (Vice Chairman - Communications), Debra Conley (Vice Chairman - Events), Dr. Ted Perry (Vice Chairman - Membership), Chuck Simpson (Vice Chairman - Fundraising), Wayne Rice (Vice Chairman - 11th Congressional District), Bruce Poore (Treasurer), Kenneth Cathcart (Asst. Treasurer), Mindie Glidewell (Recording Secretary), Susan Crockett (Corresponding Secretary), and Michael Huneke (immediate past chairman). I am so excited to work with this outstanding group as we pursue our vision of growing the party in Bartow. I would be remiss, however, if I failed to offer my sincere thanks for those former members of the Executive Committee who worked hard for the BCRP and are now enjoying a well deserved break as others take up the flag. They include David Palmer, Phyllis Nall, Ted Henry and Bobby Wilson. Please take a moment to thank them when you see them. As always occurs when you bring new leadership and new personalities into a group, our new Executive Committee has some new ideas and goals that we want to pursue as we build upon the foundation left to us by previous committees and chairmen. Of course, the overarching goals are still to promote and support Republican candidates for office within Bartow County and to grow the membership of the party, but the changes come in how we pursue those goals. As chairman, I have a vision for the future of the party, and the Executive Committee has helped me to refine that vision and we've begun to lay the groundwork to accomplish those goals. My vision includes forging closer ties with our local business community, especially the small business owners that are the lifeblood of our community and which provide most of the new jobs created here in Bartow, in Georgia and across the nation. We absolutely must do a better job as a party to be the voice for these businesses within the framework of the local and state political bodies. We must be their advocates for lowering taxes, reducing regulation, eliminating favoritism in how the law is applied, and in short, in doing all we can to minimize the burdens on our small businesses so that they can be freed up to create wealth and in turn, jobs. Our vision also includes reaching out to the minority communities in Bartow. As I went knocking doors during the primary and general election periods, I ran into many wonderful black and Hispanic voters who told me they could never vote for a Republican. Yet as we sat and talked about what they objected to about the Republican Party, we found that we had more in common than we expected. We discovered that they share the Republican Party's pro-life position, its goal of allowing parents freedom of choice in education, and a loathing of high taxes and government interference in our lives, just to name a few. Some have argued that Republicans should not waste energy with these minority groups because they will never join us. I could not disagree more. Our vision also includes education. We want to share with the people of Bartow County the rich heritage of freedom and the Judeo-Christian foundation of our nation. We live in a time when we are told we must be politically correct, and that we are supposed to keep our mouths shut about our Christian heritage because we might offend someone. We are told that our nation is no better than any other and it is arrogant to say otherwise. I say hogwash. The United States of America is the greatest nation in the history of this world, a nation that for the first time in history said that we are all children of God and answerable only to Him, and that our government serves us, not the other way around. These beliefs as outlined in the Declaration of Independence broke with historical understandings of the role of government and our relationship to it, and they were based on our Christian heritage. To bury that heritage is to destroy the foundation of this nation. This education goal also includes teaching our citizens how to be effective in petitioning their government and holding them accountable. Our goals include another very important element, which goes back to the very purpose of our party. We have a delegation of strong conservatives from Bartow County in the Georgia General Assembly. We want to grow and improve the level of support for them so that they can continue to do the outstanding job of representing their constituency, the citizens of Bartow County. They should be rewarded for their diligence, and we reward them by helping get out their message and get re-elected. This also extends to our Republican elected officials on the school board, commissioner, sheriff, and other elected offices in the county. President Obama campaigned on "Hope and Change". The change he gave us has been horrific, and the hope we now have is in seeing him and his comrades voted out next year. The message of conservatism is one of hope. It is one that says that we as individuals are what make this country great, and that government should do only what the Constitution authorizes so that we are free to do those things that make our nation special. Over the next few weeks and months we will continue to implement these goals and to share them with you. You can find out what we are doing (like the upcoming Family Freedom Fest) by going to our website (www.BartowGOP.com) and signing up for our newsletter, or finding us on Facebook and Twitter. In response to questions I've received from so many of you, we'll also be rolling out a plan detailing opportunities for participation and ways you can get involved and help the party. We are here to serve you and the party is nothing without your support. We'd also love for you to consider purchasing a membership, which allows us to keep our headquarters open, increase our presence in the community, and work with local charitable and humanitarian groups. And of course, any donations are most welcomed. Our goal is to prove to you that your Bartow Republican Party reflects your principles, values and goals for our county, state and nation. Help us be your voice in bringing true hope and change to our community. Come see the new Bartow Republican Party and join us in the fight for those things we hold so dear. We'd love to have you. Sincerely, Louis DeBroux Chairman, Bartow County Republican Party
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