Executive Director Ryan Hnatiuk for February Meeting

Join us in February as Ryan will give us the local party’s view of the political events of the recent past and what to expect going forward.

We will also be inviting candidates for the March municipal elections to introduce themselves at this meeting.

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Ryan C. Hnatiuk is the Political and Executive Director of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County. He was born and raised outside of Flint, Michigan. He, and his wife of 13 years, have one son who is a very active toddler and is a full time job in his own right. Since coming to South Florida, Ryan has had the opportunity to work with various candidates, consultants and fundraisers primarily within Palm Beach County but has also consulted in the counties of Martin, Broward, and St. Lucie. He has worked in various sized campaigns from town council to congressional and county commission seats.
Ryan recently attained his master’s degree from Nova Southeastern University in Conflict Resolution and is also a certified mediator. Prior to getting his master’s degree he received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan and a minor in International Relations with primary focus being on Latin American governments and their emerging markets. He is looking to use the skills he has attained to strengthen friendships, build lasting coalitions and open dialogue to attract new people to the Republican Party.

Committeeman Joe Budd Highlights January Lunch

Our January meeting was anchored by newly elected state committeeman Joe Budd.

Recently returned from Washington after having witnessed the swearing in of our new President, Joe related some anecdotes from a day filled with exuberance (like standing in line next to Diamond and Silk), and interpreted Donald Trump’s inauguration speech for us.

No one should be surprised at how Trump proceeds as President, as he has been remarkably consistent from the day of his announcement in June of 2015 right up to the executive orders he signed today. Joe was an early believer, jumping on the “Trump Train” in the summer of 2015 and serving as county Vice-Chair through the campaign.

Joe broke down the inaugural speech into five themes.

First, was an indictment of the DC establishment. He took direct aim at those seated around him and didn’t pull any punches.

Second, was the intention to transfer power to the people.

Third, a list of the policies he intends to enact – improve our schools, make neighborhoods safer, create jobs, stop the flow of drugs, insure fair trade and secure our borders. Anyone who is paying attention should note the progress on these fronts in the first days of the administration.

Fourth, a “New Vision”. Joe saw biblical references in this part, specifically from the book of Haggai, which deals with the rebuilding of the temple after a period when the people had lost their way (2:18 – “Consider now from this day forward..”).

And fifth, for all Americans, the beginnings of a national pride, where “we all bleed the same red blood of patriots”.

Joe also spoke about the state party and that he has secured a seat on the board, which along with County Chair (and state vice-chair) Michael Barnett, Peter Feaman and Cindy Tindall, gives the county 4 votes out of 33.

At the conclusion of Joe’s talk, past President Melissa Nash auctioned off some Inaugural paraphernalia that she brought back to raise money for the scholarship fund.

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Next month’s meeting on Februrary 22 will feature County GOP Political Director Ryan Hnatiuk.

For those that live in Palm Beach Gardens, the club is co-sponsoring a candidate forum for the 9 city council candidates at the Gardens branch of the county library. The meeting will start at 6:15 on Tuesday, February 28 and will be moderated by WJNO radio host Brian Mudd.

Committeeman Joe Budd in January

Help us kick off the new year with a thoughtful discussion of the political environment under a Trump administration, and its effect on our Congressional delegation and the state party.

Can we trust Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell to follow through on the Trump agenda other than perhaps repealing Obamacare and some tax reform? If we want to really Make America Great Again, it is going to take constant pressure by the grassroots on our members of Congress to keep them on the path.

Newly elected State Committeeman Joe Budd, who campaigned against the status quo in the recent contest, is uniquely positioned to help us stay focused as the grassroots.

Besides a quick overview of what to expect from RPOF in 2017, we will hear Joe’s views on why he supported Donald Trump from the beginning (and served as county co-chair), what he expects in the first 100 days, and what we need to do as Republican activists to help our new President achieve real change in our government.

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Joe Budd is our newly elected State Committeeman and a member of the Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee Board of Directors. He is the immediate past President of the Boca Raton Regional Republican Club and has been locally active in politics since his run for Congress in 2009. Joe served as a vice chair of the Palm Beach County Trump campaign helping President-Elect Trump win a decisive primary victory with 52% of the vote in our county.

Joe has been married to his wife Sherry for 31 years and has three children and one grandchild. Joe operates a successful Financial Planning firm in Boca Raton as well as an Insurance Brokerage firm.

Dimension Harmony at December Lunch

Join us at the Holiday Inn, Airport on Wednesday, December 14th for Holiday Music from Boynton Beach High School’s phenomenal “Dimensional Harmony, as they dance, sing and harmonize their way through another great and successful year! Their outstanding performance in London led to an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall in April 2017! This group is on the move and shows what creativity is all about!

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Dimensional Harmony is a sensational choral group of 50 extraordinarily talented Boynton Beach High School students that has received state and nationwide acclaim for its amazing singing ability!

Under the direction of innovative director, Mr. Sterling Frederick, Dimensional Harmony has been widely recognized nationwide over the past few years, winning first place gold in several competitions in New York and Atlanta; and also winning the prestigious National Show Choir Title. Members have performed their creative interpretations of inspirational songs, ballads, and popular hits live on the “Today Show,” as well as at numerous theaters. Other venues for Dimensional Harmony’s accomplishments include the Florida Music Educators Association Music Conference, openings for renowned gospel singers, and at events held at Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Resort.

Dimensional Harmony members are a proven example of the positive impact dedicated students, their dedicated leader, and the Performing Arts can have on the local community and on developing future successful, well rounded, and responsible, young individuals and citizens! With their incredible talent, grace, harmony, and unlimited enthusiasm, they deserve the opportunity to become our ambassadors and compete at the highest level.

State and Local Ballot Questions at October Lunch

– Should the county raise the sales tax to 7%?
– Should marijuana be legalized for those with certain medical conditions?
– Should solar energy be enshrined in the Florida constitution?

All of these and more at the October lunch. We will have an overview of all the questions, with pro/con speakers on some of them, as well as a few words about the 9 judicial retention elections we are asked to decide and the local judge races.

After a brief description of the ballot questions and the implications of a “yes” or “no” vote on each from moderator Fred Scheibl, we will have a set of speakers present their arguments in favor or opposed to some of the issues.

Solar		Speaking in favor of Amendment 1 (Solar Energy) will be Cindy Tindell, Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions at NextEra Energy, the parent company of Florida Power and Light. She has deep regulated utility experience having led Florida Power & Light utility’s development and construction planning. Cindy is also the PBCGOP Committeewoman to the Republican Party of Florida and a member of this club.
		Speaking against Amendment 1 will be Richard Pinsky, Public Policy Manager at Akerman, LLP. Richard has over 30 years of government affairs experience in Florida and Washington, D.C. He has an extensive background representing clients before the legislature as well as local government from helping to navigate the budget and appropriation process to issue advocacy. In the 1980s he was a campaign consultant to the RNC, the NRSC and the NRCC, and has served as general consultant to several statewide candidate campaigns and ballot initiatives.
Marijuana		Speaking in favor of Amendment 2 (Medical Marijuana) will be Raymer Maguire IV, Deputy Campaign Manager for People United for Medical Marijuana, a part of United for Care, the national organization that advocates for the issue in all the states. Raymer was a founding partner of Millenium Partners, LLC, advancing the millennial agenda by providing data focused consulting and project management, where he organized community leaders in South Florida to lobby on behalf of underprivileged students.
		Speaking against Amendment 2 will be Virginia Brooks, a founder of the PBC Faith and Freedom Coalition. Virginia is active in local grassroots organizations, retired from being an associate professor of English at Palm Beach State College, and an interpreter for the deaf at her church. Virginia is also a member of this club.
Sales Tax		Speaking in favor of the county sales tax question will be Bill Perry, CEO of the Gunster Law Firm and incoming chairman of the PBC Economic Council which is campaigning for the tax increase. Bill practices real estate and business law, specializing in complex commercial and financial transactions. As a member of the Florida Chamber Foundation, he helped launch the Six Pillar Initiative and worked with the Economic Council to introduce it to Palm Beach County, resulting in a PBC strategic plan in 2013.
		Speaking against the county sales tax will be Fred Scheibl, co-founder of the county budget watchdog PBC Taxpayer Action Board, which has been providing analysis of the county budget to its coalition partners since 2010, advocating for fiscal responsibility by county leaders. Fred is a founding member of the Palm Beach County Tea Party and a member of this club.

Peter Feaman on September 28

Peter will speak about getting everybody behind our Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

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Peter Feaman was unanimously elected in 2012 by the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Florida to be its National Committeeman to represent Florida Republicans at the Republican National Committee in Washington, DC. He currently sits on the Rules Committee of the RNC.

As a practicing trial attorney, Mr. Feaman was recognized by the Florida Trend magazine as one of Florida’s “Elite Lawyers” in the field of business and commercial litigation in 2011.

In 2007, Mr. Feaman published his first book entitled “WAKE UP, AMERICA!” subtitled, “Understanding Jihad for Dummies!” His second book “THE NEXT NIGHTMARE” with a forward by former Congressman Allen West, was published in 2012. Mr. Feaman has appeared on Fox News and numerous radio talk shows throughout the United States to discuss the threat of radical Islam, current political issues and how political correctness will destroy America.

Christine Spain on July 27

Christine will speak about the current operation of the PBC Supervisor of Elections Office and how we can do better.

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Christine Spain is a former Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Broward Republican Party and served as Chair and Alternate Chair of the 23rd Congressional District Caucus of the State Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Florida.

Christine is an Attorney and a Certified Public Accountant in private practice in Boca Raton, concentrating in the areas of corporate law and business transactions. She has more than thirty years of experience in law, accounting and business, including 14 years working with national law and accounting firms in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

Christine has also served on Boards of non-profit organizations serving the needs of children at risk and works with and supports veteran’s organizations. Over the years, she has also been active in numerous political federal, state and local political campaigns and political causes and volunteered as an election pollwatcher. She is passionate about electoral integrity and preventing voter fraud.

Christine has resided in South Florida for more than 40 years and is a graduate of Florida universities, including the University of Miami School of Law, where she served on Law Review, Florida International University and University of Florida. She currently resides in Palm Beach Gardens with her husband Paul Spain, a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, Congressional District 21.

Dr. Wes Borucki to present the 2016 Ann Roberts Scholarship Awards

Presenting the awards for the club will be our featured speaker, Dr. Wes Borucki.

Dr. Borucki will discuss the Supreme Court and its assumption of more power over time, how the stakes for the Court’s nominations are so important in the coming election, and why we need to pay attention to these issues.

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Dr. Borucki, who has taught at PBA since 2003, specializes in the antebellum South, the Civil War and Reconstruction, Colonial America, and presidential history. He teaches undergraduate history and humanities and also serves as a faculty member in the Frederick M. Supper Honors Program. Dr. Borucki’s first book, George H.W. Bush: In Defense of Principle, was published in early 2011 by Nova Science Publishers as part of its First Men: America’s Presidents series. His second book, Ronald Reagan: Heroic Dreamer, was published as part of the same series in 2014.

The history of sports is one of his side interests: his article “Moving on Up?: Whether Leaps to Division I-A in American College Football Benefit Universities” was published in June 2015 in The Journal of Sports Management and Commercialization; and in 2003, his article, “You’re Dixie’s Football Pride: American College Football and the Resurgence of Southern Nationalism,” was published in the journal Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power.

Dr. Borucki has written book reviews for The Journal of Southern History, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, and The Alabama Review. He had the honor of serving as both a junior fellow and senior fellow in The University of Alabama’s Blount Undergraduate Initiative, in which he taught the freshman sequence of this interdisciplinary studies program that is similar to PBA’s humanities core program in its subject matter. At Alabama, he served as editor-in-chief of the journal Southern Historian in 1998-1999. He is a contributor to Oxford University Press’s Encyclopedia of African American History, Macmillan Press’ multi-volume Civil Rights in the United States, and the Gale Group’s Women in World History. His dissertation, “Yankees in King Cotton’s Court: Northerners in Antebellum and Wartime Alabama,” was the basis of presentations at the Families at War Conference at the University of Richmond, the Alabama Studies Symposium in Montgomery, and local historical group meetings for the Alabama Humanities Foundation’s Speakers Bureau. Dr. Borucki is a long-standing member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and is currently the secretary of the vestry of Redeemer Lutheran Church in West Palm Beach. He served as a lay delegate to the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s convention in St. Louis in 1998 and to the LCMS’s Florida-Georgia District Conventions in 2006 and 2015.

Dr. Borucki has a B.A from Michigan State, an M.A from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, and a Ph.D. from the Univerity of Alabama.

RCPB Hosts Dan Bongino in May

United States Secret Service
Dan proudly joined the ranks of the U.S. Secret Service in 1999 as a Special Agent where he graduated the Secret Service training academy with academic honors. Beginning his career in the New York Field Office, he was assigned to investigate federal crimes including but not limited to protective intelligence, computer crimes, bank fraud, credit card fraud and counterfeiting. His early career was marked by a number of investigative successes. Although the details of his signature investigation are still for official use only, it involved over 300 million dollars in potential financial fraud and a nexus to international terrorism. This joint investigation in cooperation with the FBI, IRS, SSA and a number of local police agencies, was responsible for shutting down a major international fraud ring. The investigation earned Dan the Department of Justice recognition award, along with other agency specific awards, for excellence in investigations.

Dan left the New York Field Office in 2002 to become an instructor at the Secret Service Training Academy in Beltsville, Maryland. He was the project manager for the re-design of the investigative tactics training program which he subsequently taught to incoming trainees. Dan was awarded a number of commendations for his work in researching and re-designing the investigative curriculum to reflect current trends crime trends.

Presidential Protection Division
In 2006, Dan entered into duty on the elite Presidential Protection Division in the administration of President George W. Bush, graduating at the top of his class in the difficult detail training program. Dan distinguished himself early by becoming one of the earliest tenured Special Agents to be given responsibility for an operational section of the protective detail. Dan remained on protective duty during the change in administration to President Barack Obama and again distinguished himself by quickly becoming the highest ranking member of his operational shift of agents. With this distinction came greater responsibility and Dan quickly rose to the challenge. He was designated as the lead agent responsible for the coordination of the President’s trip to Prague for the signing of the START treaty, his trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, amongst a myriad of terror threats, and finally as the lead agent responsible for the President’s visit to an active war zone in Afghanistan. With the successful coordination of these historic events, Dan was awarded a series of commendations and left the protective detail as one of the most distinguished agents in their history.

Learn More:

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Florida Legislative Update at April Lunch

Join us in April as Representative Pat Rooney (FH85) brings us up to date on the legislative session that has just concluded.

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