March 2023 Newsletter

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President's Message

We are already nearing the end of March and Kingwood Area Republican Women have had three informative General Meetings. What a great start to our year!

Our January speaker, Hipolita “Poli” Acosta, is one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Poli brought us great insight into his career as a Federal Undercover Agent dealing with human alien smuggling, sex trafficking, drug cartels, and border issues. He is a great public servant to our country. Poli has written four books and you can find them online.

February’s guest speaker was Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey. He brought us important, updated information on our area, including how our tax dollars are being spent by Harris County, updates on parks, and drainage and flooding issues. Our Commissioner has advocated for more law enforcement resources, increased funding of infrastructure roads, parks, and drainage, as well as lower taxes. Commissioner Ramsey is very tuned in to our area of the precinct and encouraged us to call his office or contact him with any questions or reports of negligence we see occurring in our area. He wants us to be involved with him in keeping our precinct well-maintained and vital.

Miss North Texas, Chloe Burke, was also another of our guest speakers. She spoke on behalf of the American Heart Association. She reminded us that February is National Heart Health Month. KARW is planning to provide CPR training and certification to our members on Tuesday, April 25 at the Porter Fire Station. I encourage you to contact Americanism Chair, Alice Rekeweg at Caringforamerica@KARW.org to sign up and participate in the upcoming class. CPR certification is valid for two years, so you may be a first-time trainee or merely need to be re-certified. We look forward to this opportunity.

Our March General meeting featured our very own KARW members who are candidates for the Humble ISD School Board.

KARW has been busy with several volunteer projects. We signed and mailed Valentine’s Day cards for our veterans in VA homes across Texas and we continue our coupon clipping project for our military families. More information will be coming regarding our flag cleaning project for Houston National Cemetery.

Let me encourage you to bring friends and neighbors to our meetings and invite them to join KARW. Our membership is growing and what a wonderful opportunity for you to let our community know that we are developing candidates and electing leaders in our community and state.

General Meeting Recap

We were honored to have Hipolito Costa as our featured guest speaker for our January 2023 General Meeting at Tin Roof BBQ. Mr. Costa has written several comprehensive books on immigration and border issues. Among these are: Deep in the Shadows – Undercover in the Ruthless World of Human Smuggling and Shadow Catcher -a U.S. Agent Infiltrates Mexico’s Deadly Crime Cartels. Mr. Costa addressed his long history of working undercover along our border and the current issues regarding border security today. His stories and accounts of his illustrious career were riveting and enlightening.

Our February General Meeting featured two special guest speakers. Chloe Burke, a Woman of Impact American Heart Association Representative. Ms. Burke is a heart defect/open heart surgery survivor who uses her story to teach our youth the importance of preventative heart health. Her moving story of survival was both informative and inspirational.

3w2e45Commissioner Tom Ramsey was our main speaker who shared updates on what is happening in Commissioner’s Court. A main focus was on Comptroller Hager’s discovery that there was actual police defunding of Precinct 5 Constable’s Office. Commissioner Ramsey also fielded many questions regarding flooding issues in Kingwood.

On March 23, 2023, KARW hosted a forum featuring our very own KARW members who are running for trustee positions on the Humble ISD School Board. There were over 60 members and guests in attendance. Candidate members in attendance included: Position 2 candidates: Robert Scarfo and Dru Gutierrez; Position 6: Audra Deaver and Holly Ham; Position 7: Nancy Morrison, Leigh Marcus, and Mike Grabowski. Awards Chair, Susie Cintron, served as the forum moderator.

Each candidate was allowed a two-minute opening and a one-minute closing. Each candidate was given three questions to respond to and these questions were written by KARW members. Some of the question topics included: What advocacy groups are you affiliated with? What do you bring to the position that the other candidates do not? Do you agree with the board presidency rotation rule that was changed? Would you vote for or against another school bond? There were topic issues dealing with CRT, DEI, and school safety concerns. Parental rights posed another big topic. Candidates were also allowed to distribute campaign literature and yard signs.

Liberty Belles and Beaux

At our March General Meeting our Liberty Belles and Beaux were introduced and presented with their special pins. The current Liberty Belles and Beaux are: Devon Alexander, Cheryl Austin, Carolyn Cammack, Bill Chambers, Joyce Chambers, Susie Cintron, Halene Crossman, Leslie Flickenger, Beth Guide, Holly Ham, Kathleen Jordan, Leigh Marcus, Pat Morlen, Julie Payne, Robert Scarfo, Stacy Sherman, Dorothy Webster, and Jennifer Werres. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Liberty Belle or Beaux, please contact Susie Cintron at AWARDS@KARW.org

Legislative Update

Members, please refer to our website for the complete and detailed Legislative Update complied by our Legislative Chair, Pat Morlen. Here are the main talking points:

Week in Review by Senator Brandon Creighton: “Ending Woke ‘Dei’ at Texas Universities” and Property Tax Reforms for Texas Businesses and Homeowners
Texas lawmakers propose Constitutional Amendment to deny bail for violent or sexual offenders
Dispatchable Generation Mandate, Subsidy Funds Filed in Texas Legislature
Governor Abbott announces 2023 Priorities in State of the State Address
“Mattress Mack” files lawsuit against Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office

Campaign Activities

Campaign and Legislative Committee meets once a month. All members are briefed and given a synopsis of upcoming legislature and how it will impact our lives. We also discuss any needs or issues that are brought to our attention from Republican candidates. We partner with them to understand how we can best support them in their efforts to get elected. Please reach out to Pat Morlen at LEGISLATIVE@KARW.ORG if you are interested in joining this important committee.

Caring for American Projects

KARW prides itself in its efforts to serve our community and our state. Alice Rekeweg is the Americanism and Caring for America Chair. Not only does she and her committee plan our annual participation in the Kingwood 4^th of July Parade, but they are also instrumental in various projects throughout the year. Some of these projects include: assisting Blue Star Moms in preparing gift packages for our military serving overseas, toy and gift card collection in support of Judge Laryssa Korduba’s Christmas toy drive, book donation for Ukranian refugee children in Houston, preparing hundreds of American flags for the Memorial Day Service at the Houston National Cemetery, helping to purchase and work at the Wreaths Across America event each year, delivering care packages for our law enforcement officers, and our ongoing coupon clipping for service member families (Jean Waldrop, along with a number of KARW members have helped to save over $55,000 in grocery bills for military families because of the coupons we have clipped). Please remember to bring your clipped manufacurer’s coupons to our monthly General Meeting for collection. If you would like to assist with any of the Caring for America projects and events, please contact Alice Rekeweg at CARINGFORAMERICA@KARW.ORG

Greetings from Greater Houston Council

The Greater Houston Council of Federated Republican Women is a coalition of 38 Federated Republican Women’s Clubs in 13 surrounding counties of Houston. GHC works with TFRW and NFRW by coordinating and supporting its member clubs and encouraging them through program and membership growth. We have quarterly meetings which all are invited to attend.

The next event is our yearly Nuts ‘N Bolts Workshop. This will be held on March 27, 2023. The check-in time is 8:30 a.m. Our Legislative Chair, Pat Morlen will be one of the presenters. It will be held at Trini Mendenhall Community Center 1414 Wirt Road, Houston, TX 77055. Learn about fundraising, legislative positions, how to run a successful meeting, and much more. This workshop not only helps Treasurers, Membership, and Presidents, but also helps club members understand the behind the scenes running of your club. If interested, contact Amy Byers GHS VP/Membership at 936-444-7272.

2023 Lincoln Reagan Dinner

The George R. Brown Convention Center was the site of the 2023 Lincoln Reagan Dinner on Friday, March 3, 2023. Featured speakers included U. S. Representative Monica De la Cruz (the first Republican to represent the 15^th Congressional District), U.S. Representative Chip Roy, from the 21^st Congressional District, and Texas Senator Brandon Creighton. The keynote speaker was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

A record crowd of over 1,400 Harris County conservatives were in attendance and with the help of State Senators Brandon Creighton, Mayes Middleton, and Paul Bettencourt, they were able to smash the previous fundraising record and raise over $1,000,000.

KARW had a strong presence at the Lincoln Reagan Dinner. KARW members: Joyce Chambers, Kathleen Jordan, Stacy Sherman, Beth Guide, Cheryl Austin, Vizi Lange, Gina Thompson, Marilyn Harkrider, Mardi Long, and Alice Rekeweg served as greeters for the event. Other KARW members in attendance included Leigh Marcus, Chris Parker, and Janie Branham. Janie Branham was one of the recipients of the Patriot Award.

Holocaust Remembrance Association Fundraiser

KARW Member, Rozalie Jerome, has asked us to consider attending the Second Annual Beauty for Ashes Fundraiser Luncheon to be held on Friday, March 31 at 11:00 a.m. at Kingwood Country Club. The guest speaker will be Edith Jucker, child Holocaust survivor. This fundraiser is dedicated to building the Holocaust Garden of Hope. For information please call: 888-546-8111.

April General Meeting

Evites are being sent out for our April 20, 2023 General Meeting featuring guest speaker Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Martin. The meeting will be held at Tin Roof BBQ in Atascocita at 11:00 a.m. He will give us a city council update and take questions from our members.