CFO Jeff Atwater at September Lunch

Join us on Friday, September 26, at Bear Lakes for Florida CFO and local favorite Jeff Atwater. Running for his second term, Jeff will update us on his campaign and what’s happening in Tallahassee these days.

This event is co-sponsored with the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches.

A fifth generation Floridian, Jeff Atwater was born in 1958 and lives in North Palm Beach. He has a BS in Finance and an MBA from the University of Florida and prior to starting a political career, has worked as a community banker for more than 25 years. He served on many local boards, including the NPB Chamber, United Way, the Boy Scouts and Roger Dean Stadium.

Elected to the North Palm Beach City Council in 1993, he served as Vice Mayor, then was elected to the Florida House in 2000, and the Senate in 2002, becoming Senate President from 2008-2010.

In 2010, in his first statewide race for Chief Financial Officer, he defeated Democrat Loranne Ausley with 57% of the vote.

As CFO he has opened the state’s books to the public through a comprehensive website, including audits and vendor contracts in addition to detailed budget information. In other initiatives, he has pushed for insurance reform and prosecution of insurance fraud, particularly associated with PIP (Personal Injury Protection) claims for staged accidents.

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$20/Members $25/Guests

Adam Putnam Describes the Stakes in the November Election

By Meg Shannon, Republican Club of the Palm Beaches

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Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam was the featured speaker at a joint meeting of the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches and the Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches, He told the audience that Florida is the last bastion of large states that are not blue in color, and if the Governorship is lost, Florida will look more like Michigan, New York, Ohio and California.

Florida needs to stay conservative by keeping Republicans as the Governor, the Attorney General, the Chief Financial Officer and, the Agriculture Commissioner, and as the majority party in the Florida House and Senate. Pointing out that Republicans are the ones with solutions in the country, he noted that in Florida Republicans have created an environment for businesses to succeed and families to thrive. Palm Beach County is the perfect example of the American Dream. Noting that the current culture of problem solving is fragile, he reminded the audience that just a few years ago Time Magazine had a cover story calling Florida the “Sunset State”, claiming that tourism, real estate, the manufacturing base and diversity in the economy were all dead. At the same time the Wall Street Journal had front page stories claiming that Florida had a 15 to 20 year glut of condos.

Today, 5 years later, with a Republican Governor, Florida leads the nation in job creation, crime is at a 43 year low, and it has a balanced budget after paying off $5 Billion in debt and putting $3 Billion into a savings account in case of hurricanes. Florida and Texas are succeeding, with our chief competitors being states in the southeast like the Carolinas and Tennessee which, like Florida, have low taxes and low regulatory burdens. Florida can set its own destiny, with things in Washington broken for the foreseeable future.

Hilary Clinton, wants a Democratic Governor in Tallahassee to help bolster her presidential run. The potential opponent to Governor Scott is likely to be Charlie Crist who has changed his mind on every single issue of conscience. He has no compass. People can respect leaders who hold beliefs, but someone like Crist undermines public confidence. We need to be energized to keep him from being re-elected as he has morphed from a Republican to an Independent and now to a Democrat. While Crist left the state with many problems when he left the Governorship, we want to make Florida better by improving tourism, engaging in the shale gas revolution, bringing back Pratt Whitney, developing biotech, and creating more medical cities. Florida is not just a prize to be enjoyed later in life, it can be the American Dream now for many people. That’s why our leadership is so important.

Why is having a Republican Governor so important? The Florida Constitution requires that we re-write it every 20 years, so the next Governor will have the right to name half of the committee which will do this. Clubs like ours are in the front line of grass roots activism to keep Republicans in control of our state. In 2010 Republicans were passionate and committed, and this is what is needed this year. Nothing is more persuasive than our supporters talking to their neighbors one-on-one. It is much more important than any advertising done during a campaign. The other side has put legalizing medical marijuana on the ballot to energize their base and increase turnout. We all need to pull together for the good of the state by continuing the pro-business, pro-family environment we have created in Florida.

Book Signing with Colonel Allen West

Adam Putnam at May Meeting

Adam Putnam is one of the Republican Party's brightest stars with an equally bright future.  He is going to speak with us about the state of our State, our optimistic future under Republican leadership, and the way that we Republicans can work hard to earn a victory this coming election season.

As Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Adam Putnam serves in Governor Scott's Cabinet and oversees one of Florida's largest and most important industries – agriculture. His priorities include fostering the growth and diversification of Florida agriculture as a means of creating jobs and growing Florida's economy.

Prior to his current position, Commissioner Putnam served five terms as Congressman for Florida’s 12th Congressional District; and before that he served as a member of Florida's House of Representatives. He has been recognized as a leader on a variety of issues, including water, energy, and government transparency and efficiency. Commissioner Putnam has been acknowledged for his efforts to bring comprehensive restoration to the Everglades, and modernize programs to ensure Florida agriculture remains a leader throughout the nation He is a graduate of the University of Florida and holds a Bachelor of Science in Food Resource and Economics.

We are very fortunate to have one of our best and brightest elected leaders as our guest. We hope you will join us.

 

Save the Date – April 28

Mark your calendar for a meeting with a well-known local author on Monday, April 28. Details will follow, watch this space.

New Officers Sworn-in

At the February meeting at Frenchman’s Reserve Clubhouse, County Commissioner Hal Valeche administered the Oath of Office to newly elected leaders Marilyn Parmet (President), Linda Gore (First Vice President), Jane Pike (Vice President), and Linda Stoch (Membership Chair). Treasurer Jeff Holtzman could not be present.

Following remarks by Hal in support of the candidates for the Palm Beach Gardens Council election on March 11, (Robin Deaton and Mike Peragine, who were both present), Marilyn introduced the speaker for the evening, American’s for Prosperity Florida Director Slade O’Brien. In a Powerpoint Presentation, Slade took us through his view of the Challenges and Opportunities for 2014.

Some Pictures of the event:

February Meeting Features AFP’s Slade O’Brien

RCNPB Co-Hosts PBG Council Candidate Forum

Get out of our Comfort Zones – says our keynote speaker

Allen West was the keynote speaker at our 2013 Holiday Party.

Members and other guests were eager to hear from former Congressman West at our year-end meeting.  Outgoing President Cindy Tindall described the evening’s events and then after the invocation by Howard Parmet, and the Pledge of Allegiance and a song of thanks, there was a mad dash to the sumptuous Turkey buffet.

Colonel West had several messages to us for 2014:

• It’s not enough to keep the majority in the House – we need to expand it.
• He asked 3 questions of us – had we read Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War”?  Had we read “Rules for Radicals”?  And had we read the GOP’s Growth and Opportunity Strategy report?  Many had read the first two, none had read the latter.  How are we going to win if we hadn’t even read the document?
• We in Palm Beach County need to get out of our comfort zone and get out to communities like Belle Glade and Pahokee
• DO talk about social issues with the black community.  School choice is the top issue there as is abortion.
• The Republican Party was formed to fight slavery; now we are fighting economic slavery  Reject being called racist.
• We have a war for/on behalf of women, not a war on women
• The ‘other side’ never stopped campaigning.  Our party has to step up.
• Obamacare is going to fail.  The strategy will be to blame the insurance companies and then move to Single Payer – “Medicaid for all”.
• He ended with an oft used quote about combat “If you find yourself in a fair fight then your tactics suck!“

After a question and answer session – Allen had to leave for the TV studio in Boynton Beach for a segment on the Kelly Files on Fo News Channel.

Cindy conducted the election for the 2014 Officers’ slate.  Marilyn Parmet was elected President; Linda Gore – First VP, Jane Pike – VP; Treasurer – Jeff Holtzman, and Linda Stoch, Membership Chair.  The position of Secretary remains unfilled and members are encouraged to volunteer for the Board- just contact Marilyn.

After the elections – candidates for office were given a few moments to speak.  Speakers running in the GOP Primary for Congressional District 18 against Patrick Murphy were:  Ellen Andel,  Beverly Hires, Carl Domino, Alan Schlesinger and Ilya Katz.  Calvin Turnquist also running for the seat was not present.  Also speaking was Henry Colon, the only Republican candidate running against Ted Deutch in District 21.  Paula Prudente handed out cards for a new GOP candidate running against Alcee Hastings, District 20.  You can keep abreast of all the 2014 by clicking on the 2014Voter’s Guide button on the first page of the website.

Thanks to all who came and Congratulations to the new Officers!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year!

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Some pictures from the event:

December Meeting Features Allen West

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