April 2021 Message From the President Commonwealth Greetings Members and Friends: As you read this, we are about a month Republican Women’s Club away from knowing the full slate of Repub- lican nominees that will be on the ballot in Membership Meeting November’s general election. Our nominees will have our full support and we will need Thursday, April 22 to work hard for them and contribute to their success. Please plan to spend some 7:00 pm via Zoom time at our table at the Farmer’s Market in Old Town and walking some neighbor- hoods to distribute literature. And if you Amity Shlaes are on social media, help spread the word by hitting their ‘Like’ and ‘Share” buttons! Locally, we will have candidates on the ballot with a moder- ate, common-sense agenda that should win over swing voters and even some long-time Democrats who are coming to realize that their party has left them in the dust as it marches to an extreme leftist ideology negatively impacting their children, their rights, and their wallets. Many Alexandrians think we are a one-party (Dem) town and local media often forgets to cover our candidates, neglect- ing to give them an equal level of exposure to the voters. Let’s remind them to profile our candidates, too! One-party rule is never a good idea. If you have registered as a delegate for the Republican Party Introducing her lastest work of Virginia (RPV) convention on May 8 to select our statewide candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY you will want to watch the forums being organized by the local congressional districts and the Fairfax GOP. An informational OF CALVIN COOLIDGE flyer is enclosed in this Tempo. It seems the world has changed a lot in the last eighteen Chair of the Board, Calvin months, but our values have not changed. We must keep stand- Coolidge Foundation ing up for those values, and for our candidates who stand up for those values. Linda App President POLITICS MAKE IT POSSIBLE, BUT WOMEN MAKE IT WORK! MEMBERSHIP REPORT by Shawn Blaine 2nd VP Membership Our paid membership level stands at 53 with many first-time members, but many ladies are still needing to renew their membership in 2021. Every CRWC member is very important to us and a large membership roll helps demonstrate the strength of the Republican Party in Alexandria. It also expands our friendship circle, promotes camaraderie, and increases our influence. Go to www.Alex- andriaCRWC.org to pay online, or mail us a check. FINANCE REPORT by Suzanne Morrison, Treasurer We have $13, 307.88 in the Treasury. We’ll have more when all of our membership renewals are paid! Meeting Space Request As we come out of the long separation caused by COVID, we will need to identify possible private meeting spaces as public meeting spaces (such as schools) may be slower to make themselves available. Ideally, we need a room that can ac- commodate around 25 people or more, that is free, and has free & easy parking. That’s a lot to ask. But we are asking. Any suggestions are appreciated. 2 APRIL PROGRAM REPORT by Susie Miller, 1st VP Program Chair We have a very special program featuring Amity Shlaes on April 22. She is a well-known economist and author. Some of her books are THE FORGOTTEN MAN, COOLIDGE, and THE GREAT SOCIETY. She chairs the board of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation and her talk on Thursday, April 22 will be THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CALVIN COOLIDGE. You are welcome to encourage family and friends to attend. We are asking attendees to consider ordering the book at the following link and type “CRWC” as your organization name so we can track how many sales are from our members: https://store.coolidgefoundation.org/collections/books/products/ the-autobiography-of-calvin-coolidge-expanded-and-annotated-edition . Preview of May’s Program Our May program will feature our local Republican candidates, to give you a chance to get to know them and to learn about their platform and campaign plans. As of press date, we have two candidates, J.D. Maddox for House of Delegates (District 45) and Annetta Catchings for Alexandria Mayor. We expect more candidates to announce in the coming days. We all feel it, don’t we? “Go Alexandria Republicans! Our time has come!” CRWC Book Club by Susan Yonts-Shepard For March we read Dear Leader: My Escape from North Korea by Jang Jin-sung, a former Communist Party follower turned dissident. Before turning his back on N. Korea he be- came Chief Poet in North Korea. Once he was allowed to travel and started meeting party officials, he began to question what he’d been taught compared to what he saw. Jin-sung discusses the two narratives the Party maintains at all times. There is the propaganda that everything is fine and what isn’t fine is because the Western powers, especially the US, are at fault. And then there is the reality. Before he became Chief Poet he was always hungry as were his family and most everyone he knew. Jin-sung talks about a family he knew who pretended every evening to sit down to a family meal even though many times there was nothing to eat. But the family maintains the “tradition” in the hope that better times were coming and soon there would be food. His descriptions of public hangings, of people saving one grain of rice at a time in order to have a decent meal in the future, and families separated for no apparent reason contrast with the easy life of party officials and select people like Jin-sung who lived in the Capital city. Jin-sung is complimentary of President Trump. He thinks Trump is the only President who truly understands North Korea. In the past the US and others have paid because they didn’t know how to negotiate with North Korea. North Korea threatens and the west pays. Trump realized it was an empty threat and walked away saying North Korea can choose a better life, the west will help. But they must make the decision. On April 24, the book club is discussing Unmasked, Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy De- mocracy, by Andy Ngo. All members of CRWC can join the book club. We are looking forward to one day meeting in person again!! 3 4 The 2021 White House Ornament commemorates the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson. The ornament features a painting of the 1967 Blue Room Christmas Tree. The painting was requested by Mrs. Johnson for their Christmas card and was sent to White House staff, family and friends. (24K gold-plated brass) Sales from purchases of this 2021 ornament help support local political candidates, i.e., Re- publican candidates running for City Council. The ornament can be purchased through CRWC’s website, www.alexandriacrwc.org, or by check, cash or a CRWC event or from Linda Greenberg, [email protected] or 703.461.6992. 5 Mourning the Recent Losses of Some Great Republican Women Dear to CRWC Members Greg Korologos A Tribute to Mary Ramey Written by Paula Wil- loughby, VFRW Past President (2006-2008) and Doriene Steeves VFRW Past President (1980-84) Mary Ramey, who served as President of the Virginia Federation of Republican Women from 1984-86, passed away on Saturday, April 3, 2021 at the age of 91 surrounded by loved ones. Her achievements emphasized recruiting women to run for office by initiating the Women’s Candidate Recruitment Com- We are sad to announce the passing of Greg Korologos, mittee. She also oversaw a fundraising event called the who died in hospital in Alexandria on April 5th at the “Gascony Gathering,” that hosted sitting Senators as age of 87. guests at the home of the parents of the U.S. Senator Paul Trible in Kilmarnock. Prestigious guests included Born in Salt Lake City, Utah into a Greek Orthodox such names as U.S. Senator Strom Thurman and Eliza- family, Greg was schooled in and fluent in Greek. She beth Dole.” (The name Gascony came from Northum- came to the DC area in 1976 to work for John Lehman, berland County, VA). then White House National Security Advisor to Secre- tary of State Henry Kissinger. She spent the next thirty As a courtesy to the VFRW, Mary was honored to years working for government and on Capitol Hill and second Virginia’s nomination of President Ronald living in Alexandria. Reagan for a second term at the Republican National Convention in 1984. She served on Senator Trible’s She joined CRWC on her retirement and contributed staff in his Capitol Hill office for 6 years from 1983- not only her sharp wit and fervent Republican convic- 1988. She served at USDA under President George tions to the club, but also her delicious Greek pastries. Bush from 1989-1993. She also worked at NFRW She will be sorely missed. headquarters in Alexandria, VA. Funeral services and interment will be at Mt. Olivet She was active in the Virginia Beach and Common- Cemetery in Salt Lake City. Those who wish to express wealth Republican Women’s Clubs. Mary was a great condolences, please visit www.neilodonnellfuneralhome. mentor and friend to several VFRW Presidents includ- com. ing the current VFRW President Paula Steiner. Mary took the VFRW to new heights and will be missed. The family requests cards be sent to: Laura Ramey Stopper 641 Greentree Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23452 6 Alice Butler Short – The Life of the (GOP) Party By Paula Steiner VFRW President Last week we lost one of Virginia Federation of Republican Women’s finest.