Washington State Republican Convention

Friday morning was crazy hectic because of all the things we needed to do before the convention offically convened at 9:00AM. The logistics and timing of this morning were mind-boggling because we needed to set up the Eagle Forum booth, register to receive our delegate credentials and I was needed at a 7:00AM meeting for John McCain delegates. But before we could do any of this we had to swing by Kinkos to pick up all the documents we had emailed for printing prior to our arrival. This saved us having to lug them all on the airplane. As soon as we got everything taken care of we raced off to the airport to pick up Charlie and Anne and our luggage. We were all so glad to see each other again! They had the great pleasure of traveling on the same flight as Dino Rossi (next GOV for WA) and Rob McKenna (attn. general) so their mood was festive and they were ready to get started.

We needed to get Chas. and Anne back to the convention center ASAP so they could register before the 9:00AM deadline. As it turned out they were both elevated to delegates which was a real answer to prayer. Whoop! Whoop!

Speechifying, introductions, motions, and votes took up the majority of the morning and then we moved into individual caucus meeting where the voting for National Delegates was to take place. Here's where it got fun for me as I had the opportunity to do a bit of personal campaigning before the meeting. Before we left for Spokane I came up with this great idea for endearing myself to the voting delegates of the 2nd CD. I bought mini chocolate crunch bars that were packaged smartly in red, white and blue wrappers and I attached stickers that said, "Vote Luanne Van Werven for National Delegate". The candy was a hit and so was Anne as she worked the room for me asking people to vote for her friend Luanne.

Doug Roulstone was the first to be elected, deservedly so, as he has campaigned tirelessly for John McCain and the Republican Party. He has earned great respect in our district. It was a dramatic moment when the next round of ballots were counted and my name was announced as the 2nd of the two national delegates from our congressional district. I could hardly believe it, my dream had been realized!