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REDDING REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE MINUTES Attendance: A quorum was present: Gary Miyashiro Guests: Liz Furrer The meeting was called to order at 8:07 pm Minutes of May 5, 2008 Meeting Tom Derderian moved to approve the Minutes of the May 5th meeting, Urs Furrer seconded. Motion unanimously passed. Treasurer's Report Gary Miyashiro waived the Treasurer's Report in order to move forward with the Republican Town Caucus. The meeting then adjourned temporarily to proceed with the Caucus. After the Caucus concluded, the meeting resumed with a discussion of general matters. General Matters Georgetown Day June 8th A discussion occurred regarding possible participation/booth at Georgetown Day on June 8th. Ward Mazzucco ("WM") noted that he had not heard from the Georgetown Day people who would normally have been in touch by now about a booth or other participation. Julie Gorman and Tom Derderian agreed to follow up and coordinate any possible participation. A sign-up sheet was passed around for volunteers to assist on the day of the event. State Election Campaigns WM encouraged everyone to contribute to the campaigns of Melanie O'Brien, John Stripp and Toni Boucher. WM noted that even smaller donations of $5, $10 and $15 are very helpful because each candidate needs at least 150 donors to qualify for state campaign financing. WM promised to distribute campaign contribution details in the near future. It was also noted that Julie Gorman had agreed to serve as town coordinator for Melanie O'Brien. All inquiries of or information for Melanie should be sent to Julie directly. Shays Campaign Shays Campaign Town Coordinator Tom Derderian introduced Zach Eastright, the Shays Field Representative for Redding. Tom noted in his introduction that Zach recently completed a six-month internship at the White House. Zach said that he would be Redding's liaison to the Shays Campaign and encouraged members to contact him with any concerns or comments they might have. He noted that this year's campaign would again be challenging and encouraged everyone to assist by writing letters, putting up signs, attending events and contributing donations Tom Derderian noted that Chris Shays would be marching at the Memorial Day parade, as usual, and encouraged everyone who could to attend. Tom also noted that a fundraiser for Chris would be held in Redding again at the home of Bob and Linda Koch. The date that works best appears to be June 22nd. Tom noted the 2006 event raised over $10,000 and he was hopeful a similar amount could be raised this year as well. Tom asked that everyone "save the date" and bring others to the event as well. The suggested donation this year is $100 per person or $180 per couple, checks should be made payable to "Shays for Congress". Database WM reminded everyone that Tom Derderian and Jerry Sarnelli are actively updating the RTC database and any email addresses of Republicans or Independents in town should be forwarded to either Jerry or Tom. Vacancy Committee Laura Hoeing reported on Mike Hoffman, a candidate for an RTC vacancy. Mike has been a resident in town since 2003 and Laura has known him for over 20 years. He runs his own landscaping business, "Hoffman Landscapes", on Route 7. Mike is a Cub Scout Leader and fundraiser for the Scouts and for the Center of Hope in Wilton. Mike has three kids in the Redding school system and Laura said the Vacancy Committee "whole-heartedly recommends" Mike for a position on the RTC. WM noted that under the RTC bylaws, a motion would be voted on next month regarding Mike's candidacy. A motion was then made to approve the nomination of Paul Degener to the RTC, which was seconded. The motion passed unanimously. WM then welcomed Paul to the RTC. Joel Barlow Awards WM noted that the book awards would be given out on June 4th. Julie Gorman and WM agreed to coordinate RTC's participation in the awards prior to the 4th. Toni Boucher Convention WM reported on Toni Boucher's nominating convention where he acted as temporary chair. WM described it as a "bittersweet event". WM noted that everyone was excited about Toni's candidacy but expressed a great deal of appreciation for the work Sen. Freedman had done and noted that all would miss her very much. Miscellaneous David Lewson made a brief presentation on the upcoming budget referendum set for May 28th. Dave asked anyone with questions to give him a call and encouraged all to vote on the 28th. Joan DeSalvo asked if there would be goodies to hand out at the Georgetown Day booth. WM noted that candidates usually have various things to distribute and Julie Gorman said she'd bring things for kids as she had in past years. Urs Furrer mentioned that Michael Blount, who had attended the Georgetown Day event in 2006 as a representative of the military, had been sent back to Iraq. Urs promised to get his address and coordinate a care package to send to him. WM noted that Burdin Hickok was now in Iraq and we should send him something as well. Tom Derderian noted that our banner for Georgetown Day was "missing in action" the last time he looked and offered to get another if it could not be found this year. WM thanked him for his offer and said he would look again as well. WM noted that Toni Boucher had planned to join our meeting this evening but that she had not arrived and he was unsuccessful in reaching her. He said he would check with her to arrange a future appearance. Next Meeting WM announced there will be no meeting in June and noted the next meeting will be held on July 7, 2008. Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made and seconded. The motion unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.
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