Our next meeting will be on Saturday, October 15, at the Looking Glass Restaurant on Warfield Blvd, in Clarksville.  We have our breakfast at 9:30 with the business meeting to start at 10:00.  This month we are honored to have former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as our speaker.  Please, if you plan on attending, RSVP quickly to Patty Holland at holland_patty@yahoo.com, or call her at 850-699-5077

Mr. Gonzales has just written a memoir of his experiences in the Bush White House and will be signing them at the meeting.   (You can buy them at the meeting but we recommend purchasing them before hand if possible).

From Amazon….

” True Faith and Allegiance is the highly-anticipated personal history from Alberto R. Gonzales, former Attorney General of the United States and former Counsel to the President—the only lawyer and only Hispanic to hold both these positions—an ultimate insider in the most tumultuous events in recent history. Born to a poor but proud working-class family in Humble, Texas, Gonzales was raised along with his seven siblings in a modest 2-bedroom home.  His loving and devout parents taught him the conservative values of hard work and accountability that motivated Gonzales to the highest echelons of power.  He was a confidante to President George W. Bush during the crucible of the 9/11 attacks, and he played a vital role in the administration’s immediate response to protect America and the far-reaching steps to prevent further harm.”

Editor’s Note:  I have had the privilege of hearing AG Gonzales speak in the past and he is motivating and inspiring.  If you only attend one meeting this year (and we hope you don’t come to just one!) this is it. 

Our next meeting will be on Saturday, August 20 at the Looking Glass Restaurant at 329 Warfield Blvd. Dutch treat breakfast will be at 9:30 am, with the business meeting to start at 10:00.  Breakfast is buffet style, so please send Patty Holland an email at holland_patty@yahoo.com  or call her at 850-699-5077 to let her know if you plan on eating ASAP.  We need to let the restaurant know how much food to prepare and that is very difficult if you do not RSVP.  Please help support this Republican-owned business by purchasing breakfast especially since they are giving us a DEAL on the room. Remember, friends and family are always welcome!

Our Speaker this Month – Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett

Jim Durrett is the Mayor of Montgomery County and was elected in August 2014.

Jim was born and raised in Montgomery County where he lives today with his wife Mary, a small business owner. Jim and Mary have three children, Jimmy, Thomas, and Paulina. They are the proud grandparents of Thomas, Reese and Walker Durrett. Jim grew up in a family of public servants, his father, Bobby Durrett, served on the Clarksville City Council for 26 years and his mother, Robin Durrett, worked the polls at every election he can remember. Jim and Mary are members of Cross Point Church.

Mayor Durrett went to work for the City of Clarksville at a young age, shoveling asphalt during the summers while attending Clarksville High School. After graduation, he attended the University of Tennessee and Austin Peay State University before returning to work full-time for the City of Clarksville. He served the citizens of Clarksville-Montgomery County for 20 years as Director of Streets, and ended a 31 year career in local government as Chief of Staff for the City of Clarksville. He most recently served as Vice President of Business Development for a local bank.

Jim has a long history of community involvement having served as Past President of the Downtown Kiwanis, Past President of Leadership Clarksville, Past Chairman Board of Trustees of the Customs House Museum, Past President of Tennessee Public Works Association (was named Public Works Person of the Year for State of Tennessee), and Past Chair of Military Affairs Committee, Clarksville Chamber of Commerce.

Our next meeting will be on Saturday, July 16 at the Looking Glass Restaurant at 329 Warfield Blvd. Dutch treat breakfast will be at 9:30 am, with the business meeting to start at 10:00.  Breakfast is buffet style, so please send Patty Holland an email at holland_patty@yahoo.com  or call her at 850-699-5077 to let her know if you plan on eating ASAP.  We need to let the restaurant know how much food to prepare and that is very difficult if you do not RSVP.  Please help support this Republican-owned business by purchasing breakfast especially since they are giving us a DEAL on the room. Remember, friends and family are always welcome!

Our Speaker will be Sen. Mark Green!

Dr. Green, Tennessee State Senator for District 22, serves as the Vice-Chair of the Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee, as well as a member of the Agriculture and Natural Resources, and The State and Local Government Committees. He is the Chaplain of the Senate GOP Caucus and was selected as the Tennessee Journal’s Rookie of the Year in 2013 and has won Legislator of the Year from numerous organizations. He recently won recognition as the NFIB’s Guardian of Small Business.  Mark was also recognized as one of the GOPAC’s Top 21 Emerging Leaders for the Country in 2013.

Dr. Green is the President/CEO of Align MD, founder of the Two Rivers Medical Foundation, which provides medical care for underserved populations, and also operates two free clinics here in the United States.

Mark is a veteran of the 160^th Special Ops Aviation Regiment, and wrote a book on his experience of interviewing Saddam Hussein.  His military awards include the Bronze Star, the Air Medal, the Air Medal with “V” for valor, and many others.  He also has earned the US Army Ranger Tab, the Combat Medical Badge, and the Expert Infantryman’s badge.

The Annual Red River Republican Women Wine Tasting Event! – Friday, October 28, 6:00 – 8:00 pm at the Customs House Museum!  This is always a lot of fun but should be even more entertaining this year as it’s right before the election!  More details to follow but mark that calendar now so you’re free to join in the festivities.

The Montgomery County GOP Fall BBQ – Saturday, October 8, 4:00 pm at the Bud Barn, 1816 Ross Road, Cedar Hill.  Keynote speaker will be Tennessee Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey.  Other speakers will include other Montgomery County Republican Candidates.  Tickets go on sale on July 27, and can be purchased from our own Deanna McLaughlin at our meetings.

Our next meeting will be on Saturday, June 21 at the Looking Glass Restaurant at 329 Warfield Blvd. Dutch treat breakfast will be at 9:30 am, with the business meeting to start at 10:00.  Breakfast is buffet style, so please send Patty Holland an email at holland_patty@yahoo.com  or call her at 850-699-5077 to let her know if you plan on eating ASAP.  We need to let the restaurant know how much food to prepare and that is very difficult if you do not RSVP.  Please help support this Republican-owned business by purchasing breakfast especially since they are giving us a DEAL on the room. Remember, friends and family are always welcome!

We have primaries coming up so we will be having multiple speakers over the next few months.  This month we will be hosting Lori Smith, candidate for Tennessee State Senate District 22 and State Representative Jay Reedy who is running for reelection for House District 74.

Our next meeting will be on Saturday, May 21 at the Looking Glass Restaurant at 329 Warfield Blvd. Dutch treat breakfast will be at 9:00 am, with the business meeting to start at 9:30.  Breakfast is buffet style, so please send Patty Holland an email at holland_patty@yahoo.com  or call her at 850-699-5077 to let her know if you plan on eating ASAP.  We need to let the restaurant know how much food to prepare and that is very difficult if you do not RSVP.  Please help support this Republican-owned business by purchasing breakfast especially since they are giving us a DEAL on the room. Remember, friends and family are always welcome!

NOTE THE CHANGE IN TIME!  We need to be out of the restaurant no later than 10:30, so we are moving up our meeting by half an hour!

Richard H. Binkley

Korean War Veteran & Missionary

This month we are honored to have Korean War veteran and missionary Richard H. Binkley as our guest speaker.

Mr. Binkley was recently on an Honor Flight to Washington D.C. for Korean War Veterans.  A native of Montgomery County, Mr. Binkley has worked for the government and upon his retirement embarked on a career as a gunsmith and a missionary.  One of his first mission trips was to war-torn Sudan.   He has been married for 59 years to Jo Anne Mackens and together they had two children, a daughter who lost her life to breast cancer and a son who lost his life to ALS.

We are fortunate to have Mr. Binkley as our guest for our May meeting.  If you think his biography is familiar, it is because he was scheduled to speak to us in December, but fell ill.  We are so happy he’s able to speak to us now!

February Meeting – Saturday, February 20, 2015

Our next meeting will be on Saturday, February 20 at the Looking Glass Restaurant at 329 Warfield Blvd. Dutch treat breakfast will be at 9:30 am, with the business meeting to start at 10:00.  Breakfast is buffet style, so please send Cathy Kolb a text or email (931-801-6954 or cathykolb@reagan.com) to let her know if you plan on eating ASAP.  We need to let the restaurant know how much food to prepare and that is very difficult if you do not RSVP.  Please help support this Republican-owned business by purchasing breakfast especially since they are giving us a DEAL on the room. Remember, friends and family are always welcome!

Presidential Candidate Speed Dating!

Early voting has started already for the Tennessee primary, so we will have representatives from two of the Presidential candidates running in the GOP Primary. Our speakers, in alphabetical order of the candidate they will be representing, will be:

• Kevin Kookogey, speaking on behalf of Sen. Ted Cruz.
• Pat Allen, speaking on behalf of Sen. Marco Rubio

Each representative will be allotted the same amount of time to speak.  Keep in mind, we do not endorse any candidates prior to a primary.  Candidate representatives that were selected to speak were those who requested to speak so we aren’t endorsing – we’re simply giving those who requested an opportunity to present their case to our members. (Note, that Keith Svadba was scheduled to speak on behalf of Donald Trump but has had a business meeting come up he must attend)

Our January meeting will be held on Saturday, January 16 at The Looking Glass Restaurant at 329 Warfield Blvd, Clarksville, TN.  Breakfast begins at 9:30, with the meeting to start at 10:00 am. If you plan on eating breakfast, please RSVP to Cathy Kolb via text or email (931-801-6954 or cathykolb@reagan.com) as soon as possible.

Our speaker this month will be Judicial candidate Herb Patrick.  We will also be holding officer elections for the 2016-2017 term.

Hope to see you there!

Our December meeting will be on Saturday, December 19th, at the Looking Glass on Warfield Blvd, in Clarksville.  Breakfast is at 9:30, with the meeting, more or less, starting at 10:00 am.  Since this is more of a holiday event, than a meeting, we won’t be as structured.  We do have Richard H. Binkley, Korean War Veteran and Missionary, who will be speaking briefly for us.  We’ll also have the return of our traditional Christmas Trivia contest (with prizes in three categories this year!).

New this year is the Candidate Ornament Poll…instead of a straw poll, we’ll be making ornaments featuring the likeness of our favorite Presidential candidate…bring a 2″ picture of your favorite!

Hope to see you there!

Our July meeting will be on Saturday, July 18th at 9:30 am (if you want breakfast) with the meeting to start at 10:00 am. We meet at The Looking Glass restaurant at 329 Warfield Blvd, in Clarksville.

This month we are very fortunate to have our own excellent Congressional Representative, Marsha Blackburn as our speaker!

Blackburn’s reputation for focusing on freedom, free people, and free markets helped move her from the Tennessee Senate to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002, where she represents Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.  She quickly became a leader in Congress and a leading voice advocating for a smaller, more efficient federal government that is accountable to its citizens.  A regular on many of the Fox News shows, she is often praised by good government groups for her positions on taxation and free market economics.  She is a strong supporter of the music industry as well as the military.  Her support of Fort Campbell has been key in protecting our largest employer in Montgomery County.  She has been named a Taxpayer Hero by Americans for Tax Reform each year she has served in Congress.  A native of Laurel, Mississippi, she is a graduate of Mississippi State University.  She is married, has two children, and two grandchildren.