The History of the Concho Valley Republican Women
The Concho Valley Republican Women’s Club was organized in June 1980 by eleven Charter Members. Its purpose was to increase the effectiveness of women in government, and by so doing, to elect the best possible candidate, both men and women, to political office. From 11 members in 1980, the Concho Valley Republican Women increased in membership to 231 in 2005 with 96 associate members and 4 young associates, thanks to the membership chairman, Gloria Robertson’s guidance and hard work.
The first political phone bank in the Concho Valley was held in 1980 for Ronald Reagan and George H. Bush. At that time over 100 women and men volunteered to help with the campaign. The second phone bank was for Texas State candidates, including Governor William P. Clements. On a Saturday in the summer of 1984, CVRW participated in the “Reagan Round Up” (nation-wide effort to register voters). The third phone bank was for Reagan-Bush and Phil Gramm. Since 1984 the CVRW has conducted a phone bank every two years for State and Federal Candidates. In 1982 the CVRW helped Mary Burke win county commissioner as the first Republican woman elected in Tom Green County. CVRW has, also, been actively involved in voter registration and community service projects which include education.
Since 1987, the CVRW has won the State John Tower Award and the National Diamond Award for exemplary dedication to the Republican Party. The CVRW has been honored twice with the National Caring for America Award – thanks to Leanorah Henry and Debbie Olive.
Since 1995 CVRW is proud that three of our members have been selected to the TOP TEN Outstanding Republican Women of the state. They are Lou Brown (1995), Annette Hopkins (1999) and JoAnne Powell (2003).
The CVRW members are also members of the Texas Federation of Republican Women (TFRW) with a membership of 12,550 and over two hundred clubs. The CVRW members are also members of the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW).
CVRW will continue to grow and provide strength and unity for political action because of the commitment to the Republican philosophy and the dedication of dependable, hard-working women of Tom Green County.