Carol Pickron, Jackson County R.W. President
Contributed by Guest Writer, Carol Pickron
What a wonderful weekend! The N.F.R.W. Convention
was held at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky September 19-22, 2013.
We had amazing speakers, great food, wonderful sightseeing, and an awesome time
getting together with Republican Women from all over the country.
This was a Convention of firsts for me,
first Biennial, first trip to Louisville, first mother daughter trip with my
eldest and my first horse race. We arrived early which allowed us an extra day
of sightseeing, the Memphis Belle riverboat was a treat and so was Louisville’s
famed Derby Pie that was dessert. The trolley and boutiques were excellent and
the Bistro restaurant has made my list of places to eat again. When the convention began it was nice to have
so many options for training. The
Leadership seminar was worth the trip alone.
Deb Soffield, the speaking coach offered so much useful advice and was
one of the most informative sessions I attended.
Opening ceremonies and the first official
day’s events offered speeches from Senator Mitch McConnell, his wife former US
Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, R.N.C. Co-Chair Sharon Day, psychologist Timothy
Daughtry and conservative film maker and author Dinesh D’Souza. Mr. D’Souza was especially appealing to
me. I love the American Dream and his
story is such a testament to all that America has to offer. His perspective on
how the liberal agenda is eroding our great nation and changing our place in
history and everything he is doing personally to change that is inspiring.
There we many break out session s where we
could learn how to better our clubs and state organizations with speakers on
fundraising, winning the 2014 elections, media and social networking and
membership retention.
The evening festivities at Churchill Downs
were a wonderful way to meet some of the ladies from across the country. Never having been to a horse race I was eager
to place a bet (I even won, albeit 4 dollars) the banquet room was packed,
Derby hats were everywhere, and there was a special N.F.R.W. race held in our
honor. It was wonderful evening of
conversation and camaraderie.
The new slate of officers was voted on the
next day as well as a series of resolutions. Special presentations were made to
clubs and states for outstanding achievements. There were concessions and
novelties, auctions and authors, meetings and people to meet. Truly, I was so
glad to be there and be a Republican Woman.
