Grand Old Party...Brand New Generation

Adapted From Chairman Kevin Sulc's Acceptance Speech Delivered on March 3, 2001

If Jim King had told me ten years ago, when he came by our house, that he was there to recruit me to become a County Chairman of the Republican Party, I would have said, "To become a what??" But that is not why he came of course... then again, it was. What do I mean by that? Well, you see, he was there to find out if we were Republicans and if we wanted to register to vote; doing the very basic job of any activist of any group... "Will you join us"? That is where it all starts. But what did that visit ten years ago have to do with today? You see, that contact naturally led to a later call to see if my wife Lauri was willing to help on an election board, which led to yet another call to see if I would do the same and another call to see if I would help with polling his precinct. This developing relationship led to invitations to become more involved and to attend Republican events. And then there was that call on a February morning in 1998 about a certain County Council race. Well, most of you probably know most of the rest of the story. And here we are today. One committeeman reaching out to one potential voter. That, my friends is what grassroot political activism is all about and that is nothing but a nutshell view of my vision for us as we build our party in the 21st century. It is now with great humility and deep gratitude to Jim King and other like-minded volunteers, that I come before you as your Chairman.

I am convinced that we have entered a time of great opportunity in Madison County to share and promote the Republican philosophy and message with a success we have long wanted and have made varied attempts over the last decade to acheive. These attempts have brought some acheivements, acheivements which must be appreciated if we are to build upon them: Five county office holders instead of one; control of the County Council; control of several town and township boards; the Mayor and City Judge of Elwood; State Representative Jack Lutz, and most recently, the election of our Congressman Mike Pence, who won even in the very home county of his Democrat opponent. But, there are so many more victories to be won! Is it just a dream to speak of all three city halls being lead by Republican leadership?... Or every town hall?... Or the entire courthouse? I say, "No!" Why am I so convinced that we stand on the brink of a Republican revival? There two main reasons here locally: 1) We should not underestimate the significance of Mike Pence carrying our county and the means through which that was accomplished. There is a strong message just waiting to be heard and built upon. Are we paying attention? 2) Through my community involvement, I see bubbling just under the surface, a brand new group of voters and volunteers just waiting--with a great yearning--to be given a reason to either enter into the political arena for the first time or to change their life-long politics and become Republicans. Many have already surfaced and should be enthusiastically welcomed to our party. Even more are at the door. To shut the doors of our party to new blood is to open the door of defeat.

But new victories and new friends will not happen while we just sit and watch. We must be ready to be good stewards and hard workers so that our dreams become reality. Our committeemen have entrusted me with a great task. They have asked me today to lead us on an obstacle-filled course over the next four years that will take our party to a new finish line. What are we facing? I have a list of 9 challenges, most of which contain several difficult tasks. I will mention only the top two now: 1) Grassroots--If we do not reach out to ALL our neighbors, communicate the ACCURATE Republican message, identify those who share the values and ideas that bring us together, get them to the polls, and develop their further involvement, we are destined to fail. But, if we do these things--and do them well, as my personal political background testifies--we will lay a foundation which can be built upon in ways we cannot even begin to see while we actually do them. Our principles must be preached so that they are heard and understood without the opposition's spin corrupting the message. Our methods must adapt to the 21st century as we bring the Grand Old Party to a brand new generation. Some would call what I am talking about now as the creation of a "machine." So be it... And so we will build a machine. We must. And every machine needs WORKING parts. Great leadership, efficient organization, new methods, money, technology, etc., as much as these are needed... none of these can take the place of individual involvement. And is this not one of our core GOP principles? So, I invite... no... I insist each of you be a working part. Please volunteer in some way! 2) Finances--For as much as you will continue to hear me preach and see me practice the importance of grassroot activism, the necessity of money cannot be ignored. As much as most, if not all of us, don't like it, the need for money to run a viable campaign on any level is a reality we must accept in our time. As a party, we are in debt. I am happy to report we have cut that debt more than in half in the last year. It goes without saying that this must be totally erased. But our goal must be greater. A total reversal of the financial trend of the last decade is a challenge we must accept and I ask you to join me in this quest. Please join our 21st Century Club today. See details on page three. The next three elections have already begun. Because of the above challenges and others, I cannot do it alone. I have the utmost confidence in my three fellow officers. We have already begun working as a team and have hit the ground running. To help with the specific challenges I have identified, I have appointed individuals to oversee certain tasks and appointed committees to assist with grassroots and finances. You continue to see familiar faces, but there are new ones as well. We have a big task and we must utilize every real, honest, Republican who is really ready to work. I have promised to be a dedicated and honest leader of the Republican Party. I look forward to continuing to work with you for the advancement of our Grand Old Party and the principles we hold dear. The Chairmanship is obviously looked upon with high importance. But remember what Jim King did ten years ago as a precinct committeeman was a foundation of what is happening today. Don't ever take lightly your role in the party, whatever it may be... a committeeman, delegate, candidate, office holder, or "just" a volunteer. What you do today, or what you fail to do today, has a certain impact on tomorrow. May God be with all of us in 2002 and beyond!

Madison County GOP
P.O. Box 765
Anderson, IN 46015
(765) 642-8074

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