Year In Review

2024 Year In Review

Recapping a Great Year

 Knowing what an important election year 2024 would be, we formulated a strong campaign plan:

  1. to expand voter registration (Jane Luke and the Voter Registration team registered over 600 people)
  2. to focus on election integrity by recruiting poll workers (62 regular members and 14 associate members volunteered as poll workers or poll watchers)
  3. to Bank Your Vote by promoting early voting each day of early voting,
  4. to increase our social media presence by posting voter information and early voting reminders on social media platforms.

 

We promoted Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s project: YOUR VOTE MATTERS to get our Republicans out to vote.

 

We followed this plan for the March 5 Presidential Primary, August 1 State and Federal Primary and State and County General Election, and the biggest election of all on Nov 5.

 

*January meeting – we invited the 6 Shelby County State Republican Legislators as our speakers to preview their legislative agenda. Senators Paul Rose and Brent Taylor, State Representatives Mark White, Kevin Vaughan, John Gillespie, and Tom Leatherwood.

*Women in Government was the *February meeting with County Commissioner Amber Mills, Judge Mary Wagner, Judge Valerie Smith, and City Prosecutor and candidate for judge Rhea Clift (who won her election in August) presenting their journeys to their elections.

We unveiled 2 new projects:

  1. Pilot program for the Constitution Essay Contest for eighth graders. With September 17 being Constitution Day, the essay winners read their essays at our October 2 meeting.
  2. Armed Services Project is the Memphis Fisher House, which is a home away from home for families to stay when military family member is having treatment at the Memphis VA Medical Center. Our club purchased a large grill with utensils and cover for the families to use while staying at Fisher House.

*March meeting speaker, Amelia Carlson, award winning journalist and media expert, taught us to be Media Savvy with her power point and hands on instruction.

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn honored us by speaking at our sold-out *April meeting.

RWOP’s Annual Rummage Sale was held with a very successful outcome.

*May speaker, Political Analyst Layne Provine, gave us an overview of the 2024 Elections and discussed getting involved this year as volunteers in Shelby County.

Members donated much needed baby items and presented then to the VA Women’s Baby Shower at the VA Medical Center for new mothers there.

Our Annual *June BarBQ, sponsored by Senator Brent Taylor this year, was held at The Quonset. “Meet the Candidates” was the theme for this well attended event.

*July 31/(August) speaker Jordan Carpenter, who serves as legal counsel for the Center for Public Policy, focuses his work on legislation protecting the fundamental rights of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children.

  1. Our Constitution Essay Contest was more defined. Eighth grade students from representative area schools were given pocket Constitutions and were invited to participate with the topic: The Constitution is a living document that passes from generation to generation and ensures the protection of our freedoms and rights. Why is it important for Americans to read and understand the Constitution? The top 3 overall winners would receive awards and read their essays at the October 2 meeting.  Contest deadline set for September 18.
  2. Our State Caring for America Project is “Support the State Troopers”. Our club donated $25 per member to help provide the needed 1200 insulated lunch bags and drinking cups along with other items the state troopers have requested. 
  3. The Grill donated to the Memphis Fisher House was delivered to them.
  4. We held our New Member Brunch at the home of Julie and Jim Ethridge for our 30 new members.

Tennessee Commissioner of Education of Education Lizzette Reynolds spoke at our *September meeting sharing her deep commitment to education, policy, and advocacy. The Lab School of Memphis was the selected school as the recipient of our Dictionary Project as well as our club’s donation of dozens of books from the Mamie Eisenhower Recommended reading List.

  1. After the August County and State Primary Election, campaign season began in earnest. Our club members staffed the RPSC Headquarters every Thursday through Election Day. Many served as poll workers with the Election Commission and many more worked as poll watchers for State Representative Mark White and State Representative John Gillespie, during Early Voting and on Election Day. Two of our members went to the battleground State of Michigan with the NFRW Save America Strike Force to door knock for President Trump and to encourage early in-person voting for all the Michigan Republicans down the ballot.
  2. Fisher House dedication and ribbon cutting was September 17.

*October featured speaker was U.S. Congressman David Kustoff who discussed the Electoral Map and the path to Republican Victory.  The top 3 Constitution Essay Contest winners received monetary awards as well as historical books and U.S. and TN flags for their schools. All attendees received pocket Constitutions and the history of the 1787 Constitutional Convention.

We held a very well attended Get Out the Vote rally for U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn and State Representative Mark White at New Bethel Early Voting site.

We saluted our nation’s Veterans at *November 6 meeting with speaker retired LT Colonel Dolores Gresham, U.S. Marine Corps, while celebrating HUGE victories from Election Day.

Germantown Municipal Judge Rhea Clift spoke about the bail process at the*December 3 Christmas Brunch and Installed the 2025 Club Officers.  We celebrated the beginnings of our 20-year anniversary as a club by honoring our Founder Rieta Selberg.

  • RW of Purpose members visited Fisher House to bring monetary and product donations collected from the club in December.
  • Club members met at the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery on December 14 to place wreaths on our veterans’ graves.

We ended a very active 2024 for Republican Women of Purpose by informing and organizing our members for a unified County Party Reorganization in January.

 Barbara Trautman, 2024 President, Republican Women of Purpose