The 28th "Tribute to Women" and  85th Federation Anniversary Celebration was a great success!

Our 28th "Tribute to Women" and 85th Federation Anniversary was a great success last weekend in Lansing!  Thank you to everyone who attended and participated as club members, guests, elected and party officials, candidates and friends. A special thank you to our Host Club, the Mid Michigan RWC and to their president and Tribute Chair, Stephanie Whitbeck, for sharing her membership privileges with us at the University Club on the MSU campus for this special occasion. The arrangements, service and location were excellent and appreciated by all. We had a record crowd that gathered to honor our Club Tribute Honorees, our 85th Anniversary Honorees, to honor this year's  Special Honoree, our 2010 Scholarship Winner and to enjoy our very special keynote speaker, Sue Lynch, President of the National Federation of Republican Women. We paid a special tribute to those who were veterans on Armed Forces Day!  

Some highlights of the evening include the following:

2010 Special RWFM Honoree:  Bette Church was honored as our Federation Honoree for the year.  She was chosen for her political involvement and contributions to the Gerald R. Ford Republican Women's Club, the Kent County GOP and state republican groups. She has been referred to as the female "Paul Revere" and named a 'Walking Encyclopedia'.  She has served on the "Caring for America" committee and equipping people with the Truth is how her heart's desire will be fulfilled. 

2010 RWFM Educational Memorial Scholarship Winner:  Samantha Troutman of Battle Creek was joined by her father, Michael Troutman.  Samantha attends Lakeview High School and the Battle Creek Math and Science Center, is a member of the Battle Creek Youth Orchestra, Lakeview National Honor Society and is a student tutor. She will be enrolled in the James Madison College at MSU in the fall and plans to study public policy.  

Our Keynote Speaker was our new national federation president Sue Lynch of Wisconsin. What a wonderful opportunity to meet her and share the successes we have had with our federation and clubs this past year. Sue was introduced by Joan Jackson, long time friend and republican women's groups colleague, and member of the RW of Leelanau County. She focused her message on winning the elections this year with good conservative leaders who are knowledgeable about our nation's history, people, constitution and policies that will affect our future generations. Sue gave an insightful and positive talk about the role our national federation has developed with the RNC, federal legislative groups and playing an active role on getting our message out on social medias like YOUTUBE and Facebook! Sue charged us all with taking responsibility for stepping up and taking an active role in our club, community, state and nation to win back our country in 2010!  We were very honored to have our national president join us for our 85th anniversary and to celebrate the rich history of our state federation.

The Special 2010 Ladies are...

Antrim - Carol Perrin

Benzie - Jeanette Feeheley

Birmingham - Irene Mitchell

Bloomfield - Violet Vestevich

Calhoun - Ann Rosenbaum

Charlevoix - June Jackson

Conservative Alliance - Vanessa Ferguson

Ford Women - Barb Vander Veen

Grosse Pointe - Marjorie Parsons

Hillsdale - Fran Wells

Kalamazoo - Diane Taylor

Leelanau - Lonnie Morley

Macomb - Beverly Marrocco

Mid Michigan - Stephanie Whitbeck

Monroe - Barbara Stroupe

Royal Oak - Helen B. Cost

Saginaw - Joan Kemerer

Suburban - Jean Telep

Traverse Bay - Janet Reed

Van Buren - Jean Thomas

Congratulations to our 85th Federation Anniversary Honorees

What a great pleasure and honor to recognize all of our 2010 honorees at our celebration. Since our federation was founded and organized in 1925 at a Tea Party in Port Huron as the "Republican Women's Federation of Michigan", thousands of great ladies have increased the interests of women in Republican political issues and activism, educated Michigan citizens on the important issues of their time, got out the vote and motivated women to run for elected office.

The following ladies have been active participants since before 1980 in their local communities, clubs and parties. We recognize them for their commitment to the freedoms we celebrate today, to their faith, family and to our government. They have shown us how to lead by example, to learn and share knowledge and their strength of experiences to our conservative values.  

Bloomfield - Marian Costello ,Eleanor Patton, Savilla Bare, Marilyn Gosling, Betty Hagemeyer, Joan M. Karakuc, Jeanne Schlitters, JoAnn Sellers, Iris Spencer, Valerie Straith, Marybeth Wilson, and Eleanor Patton

Birmingham - Irene Davis, Barbara Keaton, Emily Murphy, Gayle Murphy, Sara Thomson and Marg Thoms

Special Recognition for Deceased Members, Eleanor Whitson and  Fran Campbell

Grosse Pointe -  Alice R. Hausner, Marlene (Marti) Miller, Alice Baetz, Lynda F. Webster, Alma Cook and Judge Kirsten Frank Kelly

GRFRWC -  Bette Church

Hillsdale - Fran  Wells

Kalamazoo -  Judy Todd Johnson

Mid  MI -  Henretta Band, Miriam Bethards, Barbara Burke, Alfreda Schmidt and Virginia White

Monroe -  Patti Braden, Jo Bach, Mary Abel, Margery Shinkle and Julia Berning

Royal Oak -  Muriel Versagi, Joan Larson

Leelanau - Hon. Connie B. Binsfeld and Joan Jackson

Saginaw -  Joan Kemerer

Suburban - Mary Dumas , Mary Carter, Donna Anagnostou,  Audrey Greenleaf, Hulda Piercecchi and Pattie Coughlan and Mary Carter

Traverse Bay -  Karen Goodrich, Kate Schictel, Gloria McKay, Marjorie Robertson, Ida Thompkins, and Linda Witt

Van Buren -  Jean Thomas, Ruth Stein, Jean Stein, Shirley Jackson, and Sid Shank

We want to thank our federation members and clubs, elected officials, candidates and friends for their support in buying ads in our Tribute Booklet this year. Our annual "Tribute to Women" event is the federation's primary fund raiser each year and we appreciate the contributions and support for our programs and activities. 

New author David Breuhan joined us for our event and shared his thoughts about his new book "Spread the Wealth". "The intent of this work is to promote the formation of great public policy through a Renaissance in modern economic thought". ..."He makes complex ideas easy to understand without over-simplifying. His passion for liberty shines where we are, how we got there and where we ought to be". Thomas G. Donlan, Editor, Barron's Weekly.  www.spreadthewealthbook.com

Nancy Steckler, President

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