WHEN:  Wednesday March 10

TIME:  7:15 to 8:15 AM

WHERE: Iowa Machine Shed

AGENDA:

• Introductions
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Speaker: Kraig Paulson, House Minority Leader, District 35  http://www.iowahouserepublicans.com/members/kraig-paulsen
• Speaker:  Kent Sorenson, Representative, Indianola, District 74 http://www.iowahouserepublicans.com/members/kent-sorenson
• Darlene Blake – candidate for House District 61
• Brenna Findley – candidate for Attorney General
• Announcements
• Next meeting:  March 24

Facebook users – Please join our fan page.  On the Fan Page we have also added a discussion page where you can make suggestions for future speakers.

The dinner will be held on the evening of May 26th, with a Host Reception at 6:00 and General Reception and Dinner at 7:00 .  The location will be announced soon, but will be held in the Des Moines Metro area.  Tickets will be $75 apiece, with half tables of 5 and full tables of 10 providing special amenities to the table sponsors. Members of the Robb Kelley Victory Club will receive complementary ticketing and amenities based on their level of Club support.

We are also pleased to announce that Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, will be the Guest Speaker at the Robb Kelley Victory Club Dinner.  Gingrich was a US Representative from Georgia for 20 years, and was Speaker of the House for the last 6 years of his time in office.  Gingrich has founded and is working with several conservative organizations include “American Solutions for Winning the Future” and “The Center for Health Transformation”.

“This will be a tremendous opportunity for Republicans to remember the great example set by Robb Kelley, whose commitment to community action in Central Iowa lives on through his family today,” said John Bloom, Polk County Republican Party Chairman.  “It is doubly exciting that we can honor Robb’s legacy by having such a dominant figure in Conservative Politics as Newt Gingrich join us in this celebration!”

Questions about the Robb Kelley Victory Club or the dinner, and requests to purchase tickets, can be directed to Darrell Kearney, Senior Financial Officer, via email at dkearny@polkgop.com, by telephone at 515-280-6438, or by fax at 515-282-9019.

More information will be available here in coming weeks!

The 2010 Polk County Republican Convention will be held on March 6, 2010 beginning at 9:00 AM scheduled to run all day (tentatively expected to end before 6:00 PM).  The Convention will be held at the West Des Moines Valley High School (3650 Woodland Avenue in West Des Moines – click here for map) Auditorium, which can be accessed at the East entrance (facing Valley West Drive) to the facility.  All Delegates, Alternate Delegates, and Junior Delegates who were elected at the 2010 Caucus and whose names were placed on Caucus Forms B (Delegates), C (Alternate Delegates) or D (Junior Delegates) are eligible to attend the Convention.

The Convention Materials, including the Agenda, Proposed Rules, and Proposed Platform have been mailed to all convention goers, and can also be viewed here (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader – download here).  You can also download separate electronic copies of the Proposed Rules (MS Word or Adobe Acrobat)  and Proposed Platform (MS Word or Adobe Acrobat).

Important Information

Schedule

• 7:30 AM: Registration begins.  Coffee will be available at this time.
• 8:40 AM: Delegates will get seated.
• 9:00 AM: Convention Called To Order
• 12:00 PM: Absent Delegate Seats will be filled by Alternates from the Delegate’s Precinct
• 6:00 PM: Anticipated Adjournment (earlier if possible)

For more information about the actual Business Agenda of the Convention, please view the Convention Materials.

Parking

There will be adequate parking available in the East Parking Lot of the school.

Lunch

Lunch will be provided by Polk County Republican Women for those who pre-order by contacting Pat Andrews via email at apat5@msn.com, or by calling at 225-1129.  The meal will consist of turkey or ham sandwich with cheese, fruit cup, pickle spear and a dessert item for $6.00.  You may pay for your lunch the morning of the convention by check or cash.  Drinks are NOT included in the price of the meal.

You also have the option of leaving the convention site for lunch, but please keep in mind there are not many restaurants in close proximity to the school.  There is a food court located at Valley West Mall, which is several blocks north of the school.  A Subway is located on E.P. True Parkway (south of the school) about a block west of Valley West Drive.  If you do leave the school for lunch, please keep in mind that business will resume promptly an hour later.

Refreshments

Refreshments will also be provided by Polk County Republican Women, including ala carte items for breakfast, snacks and beverages. These will be offered from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Seating

Convention Delegates will be provided a seat assignment (indicated on their credential badge).  Handicapped seating will be made available as necessary.

Speeches

Various Candidates and Offices Holders representing Polk County Republicans will be provided time for brief speeches throughout the day.

County Convention Fees

If you have not yet paid your $20 (delegates) or $10 (alternates) fee for the County Convention, please mail a check to 621 East 9th Street, Des Moines, Iowa  50309, or you can pay online by clicking on one of the buttons below (these links have been deactivated since the convention is over – Art, 03-08-2010).

District and State Convention Delegates

We will be electing delegates to the District and State conventions.  The total combined fees for those conventions will be $40.00.  Polk County Republicans will be collecting these fees, so if you are interested in being a delegate to those conventions, please plan on writing a check at the county convention to Polk County Republican Party.

Other Information

Most other details of interest should be found in the Convention Materials.  If you have a question that you can’t find the answer to, please feel free to email us at convention@polkgop.com, or call the Polk County Republican office at 515-280-6438.

We look forward to seeing you at the Convention!

If you have any questions or comments about the platform, please email them to “rules@polkgop.com”.

If you have any questions or comments about the platform, please email them to “platform@polkgop.com”.

Confirmed Speakers:

• None at this time… stop back for updates!

Agenda

• Not yet determined… stop back for updates!

The Museum is at 75 East Army Post Road in Des Moines.  See the map below.

Doors open at 6:30.  We plan on the meeting to last until no later than 8:30.  Any questions, please contact the Polk GOP Office at 515-280-6438, or email John Bloom at johnbloom@polkgop.com.

We look forward to seeing you there!