We Graduated

After participating in hundreds of hours of instruction, and basically the same if not more in travel to get to these classes, we graduated last night.

It was at the Historic Manning House in Tucson, Arizona, a gorgeous facility that's been around since the Conquistador days. Literally.

Our final day of class was actually kind of a wrap-up, where we talked about the program and what we have learned from it. One by one, we stood up and spoke of our experiences, and what we will do with the knowledge entrusted to us.
And one by one, each classmate tearfully (or nearly tearfully) admitted that they've never been so close to a group of women.
Yes I know, it sounds like a church retreat but it was the furthest thing from it. We are a group of politically active women who are basically clawing our way through a man's world--never really gaining respect or equality by our work or our accomplishments. None of us have a little circle of girlfriends to get together with, none of us have ever belonged to a sorority....but somehow we were all able to spend long hours together, endure some stress, and come out of it for the better.
My comments to the class was simple: "We have shown that we can BE Republican Women, but not ACT like Republican Women." Meaning, we don't have to eat each other alive. And everyone's comments were very close to mine. It was a touching experience, to know that the whole group felt the same. Each classmate admitted the amount of political training and campaign strategies and networking was enormously useful (in my case, it has been invaluable) but in the end the greatest gain was the friendship of some really amazing women.

So then we had our graduation ceremony. We had presentations, great speakers, an open bar (most important) but when it came to walking across the stage to receive the diploma, I found myself to be suddenly very, very sad. I snapped photos all day, joked and celebrated with my classmates--but once I realized it was all over I just didn't want to be there anymore. I wanted to go get myself ready for the next day. I wanted to go get acclimated to the absence of positive words, support, and close friendship. Really, it felt that awful! I poked around very little--I hopped in my car and took the long way back to my hotel room. I guess you could say I was a party pooper.

But, let me share a few of my photos...

This is beautiful Sophia, standing with our flag:



The class gathering out front of the Manning House for a group photo:



The classy Christine, with her pretty pink outfit. And the ravishing Beth as well!



My tribute, to John Travolta--and Margaret's tribute to Jackie O:

Headed To Tucson

Heading to Tucson on Monday afternoon to prepare for my graduation. Since it's about 6 hours of driving, I need to get there on Monday night to be rested and ready for Tuesday. I have a picture slideshow to complete, and our class is filming a commercial. Then we have an afternoon of classtime. Graduation is at 6pm. I only know a couple of people in Tucson, and I doubt they'd be interested in sitting thru my graduation, so this is another solo event for me.

However, one of my recent visits to Tucson yielded some very nice photos! (Oh by the way my newest camera stopped working today so I may not have graduation photos)

But this is a tourist place, and an actual church that is outside of Tucson. It is a three hundred year old gorgeous church, and people are welcome to walk thru and look around when they're not having services.

This Was Not Easy

This is what 60 pages of names and addresses looks like. Not just any names, but those of registered voters in the Lake Havasu City limits. That's tough, because we have a lot of residents who live just outside the City. They're customers in Havasu's stores, they're patrons of the restaurants, they're friends of friends and they hang out in town. So I couldn't just get ANY signature. I had to work for it. So did my friends! We walked neighborhoods, we were sometimes treated a bit rudely, we braved the harsh winds and the burning sun...

And we did it. We got the remainder of my signatures today!

I got to work at 10am with a friend, and we gave ourselves the goal of 45 signatures. The 45th person to sign was at 11:35, and I looked at her with a little bit of emotion and said, "You just qualified me for the ballot. Thank you very much." Then I went to my car and fought back tears.

I can be a normal person now! I have one less thing to worry about!!!

I can't thank everyone enough. It was a lot of worrying--a lot of nights lying awake stressing--but now that part is done.

Begging

Yesterday I went door to door, campaigning. And the day before. And the day before.

But if it weren't for the help of some friends who went out door to door, I wouldn't have been able to say this:

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF BEGGING FOR ME!! I will have my minimum number of signatures, and about 50 or 60 extras for padding.

Then I switch gears and begin begging for votes instead of signatures. Geez, this is fun.

Shawnna Bolick

My dear Shawnna is the OTHER Shawna in the leadership program I'm in. But when we're together I introduce myself as the OTHER Shawna. That's because she's the superstar of the two S-girls. She has two "n's" in her name. I have one.

She is running for the Legislature in her district in Phoenix, and it's been a fun ride to watch her work.

The one on the right with the brown hair is Shawnna.



The gal on the left is Christine, an attorney who is the legal counsel for our Governor, Jan Brewer. So she knows quite a bit about AZ's Illegal Aliens law that was just signed. In my photo, she and Shawnna just happen to be discussing the SB 1070. Too funny. That's pretty much all we can discuss when we get together.

Shawnna's been campaigning just as hard as Wendy Rogers, going door to door and putting up those pesky signs. When I saw one of Shawnna's signs in Phoenix I didn't have my camera. Dang it!

But her website, http://www.bolickforarizona.com/ says it all. She's ready to serve!!

It's so neat to see that the Shawna's are taking over the state. It makes sense...

Wendy Rogers

Part of the training I've been in promotes networking, and getting to know other women who are vying for either political roles or leadership roles in their community. My classmates (18 of them) are stupendous (yes I learned that word from the program. Just kiddin.) They are very accomplished, they make me feel like a total slacker.
One of my classmates is Wendy Rogers. I can't describe what an amazing feeling it is to be able to say she's a friend. She is an ass kicker. She was one of the Air Force's first female pilots. When she got married her husband took HER last name. Alright, kidding again. When she does push ups, she doesn't move-- the Earth moves AWAY from her. Kiddin again.
But really, it is just great to have her acquaintence. Or acquaintenance. It's good to know her.
She is running for our State Senate--for her district, which is in Tempe. A part of Phoenix, really. I finally got a chance to see one of her campaign signs as I was in her neighborhood last week. I was so excited!!!





She rides her bike on the campaign trail, and she has visited literally thousands of homes. I've visited hundreds myself, since March....but she's been to thousands. She wants the job of Senator, like you wouldn't believe.

Her website, www.wendyrogers.org is very comprehensive, and it does a good job of showing what kind of person she is. She's a leader!

So, today, I am hitting the streets to meet voters. It's Wendy Rogers style!!!!

Golden Valley, Who Are You??

I see you have logged on a couple times, just curious.