The It Factor

Over the weekend we sent a full delegation of 5 to the FFYR Annual Convention in Boca Raton. That Delegation included: our President, Jason Brodeur, our Vice President, Clay Archey, Past President, Alex Setzer, Webmaster, Jennifer S. Wilson, and member Michael Patterson.

The convention started off with a bang when we attended the Lincoln Day Gala and saw perhaps the most powerful man in Washington, Mr. Karl Rove. I was moved by his speech and it was an honor just to be in his presence. But the best part of the evening for me wasright before we went in to the dinner. We had just finished standing for a picture with him when I turned around he was shaking hands and greeting several people in our group. I reached out my hand and said Hi. He greeted me with a smile and shook my hand. His grip was indicative of his personality powerful and firm and something that we all as Republicans should strive for.

In Rove’s speech he referred to the It Factor: When you’re it everyone wants to be it and talk to it. And that night Karl was it.

But while Rove was the biggest dignitary we met, he was not the only one. Over the weekend, the YRs met, and talked to some very powerful people in Florida as well. Some of the candidates that we rubbed shoulders with included: Peter Monroe, Joe Negron, Randy Johnson, and Tom Lee.

Joe Negron, candidate for Attorney General gave a great speech at lunch on Saturday. His name was on everyone’s mind when we voted in the straw poll. And thus he beat out Bill McCollum in the poll almost 2:1.

The Senate Race was a statistical dead heat with McBride receiving 37.1% of the vote and Harris receiving 35.5%. These two candidates were only separated by one vote.

In the CFO race, Tom Lee edged out over Randy Johnson. This was mostly a comment on the candidates style.

The weekend was full and informative. Besides shaking hands and going to dinners, we got some recognition for our club. Jason attended the New Executive Committee Meeting and was elected to office. The Tropical Gala was fun but not all we hoped for. While we did not win any awards, we did bring home a consellation prize, the first annual FFYR Softball Tournament Trophy.

We did not let that get our spirit down. We resolved to come back to Miami next year in force and sweep the awards. But there was one award that we won hands down: Best After Parties. We were it. Our place was the the place to be. And everyone who was anyone was in our room.