Minutes of the Republican Party of Benton County

Committee Meeting

January 22, 2013

Vice Chairman, John Carr called the Committee Meeting to order at 7:00 PM on January 22, 2013. The meeting was held at the Community Service Building in Bentonville. An invocation was given by Ken Wagner followed a moment of silence for the Troops followed by the Pledge of Alliegience. Leigh Nogy, Secretary, determined that a quorum was present. Vice ChairmanCarr welcomed everyone.

Guests that are Elected Officials: Justice of the Peace, Pat Adams, Election Commissioner Russ Anzalone, Constable Keith Brummett, Assessor Bear Chaney, County Judge Bob Clinard, Justice of the Peace Brent Meyers, Justice of the Peace Barry Moehring, Alderman Randy Noblett, Constable Sam Reyna
Guests: Jana DellaRosa, Eleanor Ciaravino, Janette Janacek, Connor Kleck, Carrie Perrien Smith, Fritz Steiger, Patrick Dillard, Paul Ammons, Fred Wanger, Mike Clifford, Donald Brashears, Teresa Warren, Tanya Corey, David Anezcua, Nicole Corey, Karly Freeman, Jon Huffman, Donnie Brashears, Tim Whitaker, Robin Lundstrum

Secretary’s Report: Quorum present. A motion was made to approve the November minutes by Johnny Dillard and seconded by Octavio Sanchez. The motion was approved unanimously.

Nominations for New Membership: Patrick Dillard, Donnie Brashears, Paul Ammons, and Jon Huffman were nominated for new membership.

Jana DellaRosa, Eleanor Ciaravino, Janette Janacek, Connor Kleck, Carrie Perrien Smith, Beverly Seielstad, Fritz Steiger, Damon Wallace were unanimously approved for membership.

(Previously, in June, John Hines was nominated for membership, in September Dawn Williams and James Smith were nominated for membership, in October Bethany Cradduck was nominated for membership. All have yet to be voted for membership.)

Allied Group Announcements:

Republican Women of Bentonville (RWB) - The Republican Women of Bentonville will have Sheriff Kelley Cradduck as their guest speaker. Meeting is Thursday, February 14th at 6:00p.m. at the Bentonville Public Library

Contact Olga Berg for more questions.
Visit our website...

Siloam Springs Republican Women(SSRW)-January 28th at the First Bank Community Room, 200 Progress Ave. Coffee time is 6:30 and the Program at 7 P.M. Siloam Springs’ new Mayor, John Turner will be featured as speaker.For further information contact Carrie Chastain, 479-524-3461 or email
Benton County Republican Women (BCRW)–meeting Tuesday, February 19th at 12 p.m. at Golden Corral Restaurant located at 2605 Pleasant Crossing, Exit 81. Our Feb meeting will feature Debbie Jo Harvey of Beehive Mercantile. She will share the basics of emergency planning and long-term food storage. Contact Leigh Nogy at 479-283-6365 or email

Republican Men of Benton County (RMBC) - Friday, January 25th, 12 p.m. at Golden Corral Restaurant located at 2605 Pleasant Crossing, Exit 81, State Senator Cecile Bledsoe, Chairman of the Public Health, Welfare & Labor Committee will update us on issues that will come before this committee in the upcoming legislative session. One of the primary issues that will be considered by this committee is the Medicaid funding shortfall. ContactDuane Neal....email: ...Cell - 479-903-5690.

Old Business: None.

New Business:

Election of Officers for 2013-2014:

The Nominating Committee, comprised of Duane Neal, Barbara Tillman and George Spence read all the applications and made recommendations for the Executive Committee. Nominations would also be taken from the floor. After that, candidates will be allotted 2 minutes to speak.

For Chairman, Tim Summers was recommended. Brent Meyers made the motion to suspend the rules to include Mike Sevak in the running for chairman. In discussion, Leon Caster commented on Mike’s good leadership for the past 4 years. Beverly Seielstad stated that she believes in term limits. Tom Leadabrand stated that rules should only be suspended in a special situation or an emergency if no one else can serve, but in this case the rules should not be suspended because someone else is willing to serve. Leon Caster seconded the motion. Vice Chairman Carr called for a vote on the motion to suspend the rules. The motion failed. There were no other nominations for chairman. Judy Friggon made a motion to elect Tim Summers, seconded by Ken Waggner. The motion was approved unanimously. Duane Neal read a letter of acceptance from Tim Summers that said he was happy to have been recommended to serve as chairman. He feels this is a good time to grow the Republican Party of Benton County and humbly asks for support.

For Vice Chairman, John Carr was recommended. No other nominations. Reta Hamilton made the motion to cease nominations and elect John Carrby acclamation. Barbara Tillman seconded the motion. All approved. John stated that he is happy to continue to serve and strive to keep the majority in the state houses in Little Rock.

For Second Vice Chairman, Barbara Tillman was recommended. No other nominations. Jodi McAnally made the motion to cease nominations and elect Barbara Tillmanby acclamation. Johnny Dillard seconded the motion. All approved. Barbara echoed John’s thoughts… the battle is not over.

For Third Vice Chairman, Octavio Sanchez was recommended. No other nominations. Sarah Ferguson made the motion to cease nominations and elect Octavio Sanchezby acclamation. Barbara Tillman seconded the motion. All approved. Octavio said he’s had a good reception from the RPBC even from before he was a citizen. He believes in respecting people and a government based on the Constitution.

For Secretary, Leigh Nogy was recommended. No other nominations. Chris Nogy made the motion to cease nominations and elect Leigh Nogyby acclamation. Scott Widen seconded the motion. All approved. Leigh said she was happy to see the support for her continued service and that we must continue to fight.

There were no recommendations for Treasurer. No other nominations. The Nominating Committee recommended to suspend the rules to elect Jim Kippen for a third term. Randy Noblett made the motion to suspend the rules to elect Jim Kippenby acclamation. Chris Nogy seconded the motion. All approved. Sarah Ferguson made a motion to elect Jim Kippen, seconded by Vickey Boozman. All approved. Jim stated he’s in there to keep struggling.

For Election Commissioner, Russ Anzalone was recommended. No other nominations. Mary Neal made the motion to cease nominations and elect Russ Anzalone by acclamation. Debbie Miller seconded the motion. All approved. Russ said that the election process will continue to improve.

Program: Arkansas Party Chairman, Doyle Webb was present to honor Reta Hamilton for her continued service to the Republican Party of Arkansas. Mrs. Reta was presented with an inscribed flower vase with the Arkansas State Seal and a writ from Secretary of State Mark Martin denoting her accomplishments and extensive service to the Republican Party locally, state and nationally. She was also presented with a Natural Citation writ from Lieutenant Governor Mark Darr. Reta spoke about her love for Arkansans and said that “Arkansas runs deep in me”.

Adjourn: Vice Chairman Carr adjourned the meeting at 8:05 p.m. Cake, lemonade and coffee were enjoyed by all.

Respectfully submitted,

Leigh Nogy, Secretary

RPBC Committee Meeting Minutes, January 22, 2013Page 1