NORWF Weekly Happenings
This week’s message will be short, as many of you will be spending the day with family and friends celebrating Easter. May the Blessings of this most Holy Season be with all of you and your families.
Spring is definitely in the air, I do believe we have seen the last of the cold weather here in Florida. You know what that means.. All the global warming talk can begin again! Another season getting going is the 2013-2014 political season. The list of people filing papers to run for various elected offices continues to grow, and as Republicans, we cannot take our eyes off the ball for a second. We must watch for continued manufactured issues and controversies that force our attention away to what is truly going on in our governments. WE must learn to discern fact from media hype and “fiction”.
At the OCREC meeting the other night, we were privileged to have two elected officials speak to us; Congressman Dan Webster was on hand to give us a glimpse into the Washington scene (it’s not pretty) and State Senator Dave Simmonds gave a report about what’s happening during the Florida Legislative Session, going on now through the 1st week of May. Both speakers were informative and spoke of the need for us citizens to get and stay involved in our government. Reminder: all government is of, by and for the PEOPLE!!! US! It is our duty as citizens to stay focused and as involved as we can.
To that end, see below for a list of events that is going on in our area.
Wednesday, 4/3 – Apopka City Commission meeting, 1:30 pm at Apopka City Hall. If you get the Apopka Chief, and you probably should, you can see the City is dealing with a host of issues right now.
Thursday, 4/4 – West Orange Republican Women’s Federated monthly meeting, 12:00 noon, at the West Orange Country Club. Reservations are needed.
Looking ahead, our own NORWF Bunco Party and Stuffed Purse Auction is coming up quickly, Saturday April 13, from Noon – 3 at Windy Hill Ranch. Mary Smothers has put out several emails recently about what is needed, from door prizes to food donations, to items to put into purses. This is a CLUB event and there is way for each of our members to contribute. Tickets are $5.00 and available from any NORWF Board member.
Birthdays this week (3/31 – 4/6) – None that I could see. Again, apologies if I missed anyone.
Wishing the Blessings and Beauty of this Easter Season upon all.
God Bless!
In Liberty,
Barb Zakszewski
President
NORWF
Weekly Message
Blessed Palm Sunday to everyone! The start of Holy Week; Passover begins later this week. Let us pray for our Christian and Jewish friends as we commemorate the Holiest week of the year. If you missed our meeting on Thursday the 21st, you missed another good one. Patty Redlich, Orange County State CommitteeWoman to RPOF spoke about specific plans to take back our Nation and how our Club can help. She told us she has been charged with being the liason for the Teenage Republican Clubs in our state. Each Federated Club can help by sponsoring or mentoring a teenage Club in area High schools. Young people are bombarded constantly with messages from the liberal democrats and we, as Republican women can work to counteract that effect. There are a surprising number of Conservative republican teens and we must reach out to them. Patty suggested other ways we can make a difference are to hold issue or candidate coffees in our homes, or some kind of ice crème social. It is up to us, individually and as a Club, to decide what we are willing to do to save our Nation.
To that end, our meeting next month will be a celebration of our Youth, as NORWF will award our two scholarships, the Alice B Miner Scholarship and the Barbara Gehrig memorial scholarships. This week is the last week we will be accepting applications (deadline is Saturday March 30). If you know a high school senior, or someone who is continuing their education, please encourage them to apply. All the information for both scholarships is on our website, www.norwf.org. You can also contact Joan Alsup, Scholarship Chair for information. Our meeting in April will be on a special day and time, Wednesday April 17 at 7:00 pm at Errol Estate. In addition to our scholarship presentations, we are honored to have as our guest speaker, James Doyle, the young man who is working with Patty on the TARS clubs mentioned above.
Several activities this week to look for :
Tuesday March 26, Orange County Board of Commissioners meeting, starting at 9:00 am, 201 Rosalind in downtown Orlando.
Tuesday March 26, Winter Park Republican Women Federated, monthly meeting, 12 noon -1:30, Winter Park Racquet Club; RSVP to Susan Burrows.
Today March 24 – March 31 – Online fundraiser for Scott Plakon. Scott just announced his candidacy for Florida House, District 29, which covers mostly Seminole County. Visit www.scottplakon.com for details.
Thursday March 28, OCREC meeting, 7:00 pm, Marks Senior Center.
Birthdays this week (3/24 – 3/30) – None that I could see, I hope I did not miss anyone.
Looking ahead, Don’t forget to get your tickets NOW to the NORWF Bunco Party and Stuffed Purse auction, Saturday April 13, at the Windy Hill Ranch, from Noon – 3:00 pm. $5.00/ticket, contact any NORWF board member for tickets, or Mary Smothers.
Stay focused, stay involved. Write letters to the Editor, have that issues coffee, attend meetings, contact your local, state and National elected officials to let them know where you stand on issues, hold them accountable!! It’s still not too late to affect change, but we must ACT now! Working together, as always, we are Women (and men) making a difference!
In Liberty,
Barb Zakszewski
NORWF
NORWF Bunco Event!
Save the Date
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Second Annual NORWF Bunco Party/Stuffed Purse Auction At Windy Hills Ranch from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m.
This is a fun event and funds raised go to our Scholarship Fund
March Meeting Info
MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW!
NORTHWEST ORANGE REPUBLICAN WOMEN FEDERATED MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP MEETING
THURSDAY, March 21, 2013
ERROL ESTATE RESORT AND COUNTRY CLUB
1355 Errol Parkway, Apopka, Florida
11:00 a.m. ~ 1:00 p.m.
Special guests: Orange County State Committeewoman Patty Redlich and Orange County State Committeeman Rich Crotty
Patty & Rich will discuss RPOF plans and strategies as we head into 2013 & 2014, and how our Club can be a part of these plans. This is important, NOT-TO-Missed information! We may have lost the election in 2012, but we can regain our foothold going into 2014. Come find out how!!
Guests are ALWAYS Welcome!!! Come join us and bring a friend!! Remember, reservations are required! Reservations are a must, even if you do not eat. We have a table reserved for those of you who do not plan to eat and water is available. No food or beverages may be brought into our meeting. If you have a food allergy, please let us know when you make a reservation. Thank you for your understanding.
Posted in Current Events, General Meeting, NORWF News, NORWF Programs | 
norwf, patty redlich, rich crotty | 
Leave a commentWeekly Message
If you missed our general membership meeting this past Thursday, you missed a good one. Our program featured Orange County School Board member and NORWF member Christine Moore, along with concerned and active school parent Linda Kobart. They discussed various legislation going before the Florida Legislature in March, especially the pro and cons of the Parent Trigger Bill. The education of our children should concern all of us. If there are issues that concern you, be sure to contact Christine; she is very well versed on these issues. You also missed an exciting announcement from NORWF member Terri Seefeldt (inabsentia, announcement was made by NORWF member Barbara Martin). Terri has filed papers and announces her candidacy for Florida House Assembly, District 31, the seat now held by Honorable Bryan Nelson (also a NORWF associate member), who is being termed out in 2014. Let’s wish Terri well and congratulate her on this important decision.
Shortly after I left the meeting, I travelled to my doctor for treatment of a sinus infection and developing ear infection. My doctor is a conservative Republican with a small patient-focused practice. We quickly got into a discussion of ObamaCare and how it is and will affect physicians’ practices like hers. She explained that payment for services through Medicare for seniors will be cut and also how these doctors will be graded by bureaucrats on the outcome of these visits. Physicians will receive more from Medicare by offering less services to seniors. She indicated that she could see several practices not offering services to seniors any longer and questioned where these people will go. There will also be more long-term devastating consequences, including the gradual loss of doctor-patient privacy as ObamaCare gets more entrenched into day-to-day physician practices. She is not optimistic. What can we do? Maybe one option is to demand Congress defund ObamaCare.. this might help with that little problem that keeps coming up: Sequestration!
On a more fun note, I’m getting ready to leave for the FFRW Annual Spring Conference, next weekend. The special guest at the Sunday night Banquet will be none other than Governor Rick Scott. I can’t wait to network with women from across the State and come back with some fresh ideas to jump start our Club. It all starts at the grassroots level; we must somehow motivate ourselves to keep up the good fight, our Nation is worth it, don’t you think?
As far as what’s going on, we have a slew of political as well as fun things coming up. Mark your calendars for these events:
Tuesday Feb 26 – Winter Park Republican Womens Federated, Monthly meeting, 12:00-1:30 pm, Winter Park Racquet Club. Email Susan Burrows to RSVP.
Tuesday Feb 26, Orange County Board of Commissioners meeting, starts at 1:30, 201 S. Rosalind Avenue.
Tuesday Feb 26, Orange County School Board meeting, 5:30, 445 W. Amelia Street.
Thursday Feb 28, OCREC monthly meeting, 7:00 pm, Marks Senior Center
Saturday March 2, Apopka Arts & Jazz Festival, 9:30-4:30, Apopka Amphitheatre, organized by Orange County School Board member Christine Moore. Come see what our local school children are doing in the arts and music areas. 31 area schools will be represented!
Wednesday March 6, Apopka City Commission meeting, 1:30, Apopka City Hall.
Looking ahead, Saturday March 9, “Birdpalozza” an event organized by Orange County Commissioner District 2, Fred Brummer. 9-4, at Magnolia Park, on the shores of North Lake Apopka. NORWF will have a table there, PLEASE consider volunteering an hour or two. It will be an interesting and unique event, I’m sure. Contact Michelle Decker or myself to let us know when you will be available.
Birthdays (2/24 – 3/9) – 2 weeks worth since I may not be writing my weekly message next weekend:
Henry Booth (3/2); Cecile Nault (2/25);
One last note, I know many of you have renewed your NORWF membership, but if you have not, please do so by Thursday Feb 28. As of March 1, anyone not renewed, will be dropped from our membership lists and mailing type lists. We are a grassroots organization and an active an vocal part of our community!. Please consider renewing your membership. If you have questions, TALK to me, or email me. We can make a difference, but we need EVERYONE on board to affect change. I hope to see or hear from you! What can I do for you?
In Liberty,
Barb Zakszewski
NORWF
