Welcome the new State Board of the CR's!

For those of you who were not aware, the Minnesota State College Republicans convention was held on campus at the Bell Museum on Saturday, and the new state executive board was elected as well. The convention was a gathering of CR's from around the state, including ten delegates from your U of M chapter. Keynote speakers included U.S. Representatives John Kline and Erik Paulsen, as well as state GOP chairman Ron Carey.

The convention was a great place to meet our fellow CR's from around the state and to develop relationships with other chapters as well. Chapters in attendance included the U of M Twin Cities, UMD, UM Morris, St. Thomas, St. Johns/St. Bens, Bemidji State, Gustavus, St. Cloud State, Normandale CC, Hamline, and St. Olaf, among others. Each school was well represented by their chapter leaders.

Former U of M chapter chairman Abdul Magba-Kamara ran a very well organized campaign for the position of State Chairman and was elected at convention on Saturday. Abdul surrounded himself with a team of talented individuals to serve on his state board, as well. Aly Gunstrom (Bemidji State Chair) was elected as Abdul's co-chair. David McCarthy (Hamline University Chair) was elected as Treasurer, and Tom Brudzinski (St. Thomas) as Secretary.

In addition to the executive board, three members of Team Magba-Kamara were elected as the state's Vice Chairs. Tyler Verry, chariman of the University of Minnesota Duluth was elected as Vice Chair North, Bobby Benson of Winona State was elected as Vice Chair South, and I (Drew Post) was elected as Vice Chair Metro. Vice Chairs are charged with the task of starting CR chapters at schools without, and bolstering chapters which have dwindling numbers. In addition, they are responsible for interaction between chapters in their area.

Abdul has also made his appointments for allocated positions, including Erica McGregor of St. Thomas as Executive Director and Rhianna George of the U of M as political director. Ray Molter (Normandale CC), Evan Paskach (U of M) and Lauren Carlson (St. Thomas) were appointed as Deputy Vice Chairs of the Metro area. Deputy Vice Chairs of the South region include Sean Paskach (MNSU Mankato) and Carrie Zimmerman (St. Olaf), while Kerry Fredrich (U of M Crookston) and Becca Peichel (College of St. Benedict) were appointed in the North region.

Abdul Magba-Kamara and his team have what it takes to effectively lead the Minnesota College Republicans onto the political field of battle and successfully reinstate the Republican party and the conservative ideal to its rightful place in representative government. His goals are set and his vision is clear: "We must rebuild the Minnesota College Republican grassroots network, re-focus on the College Republican mission, and re-light the conservative fire that drives all of us, so we are able to show students at campuses across this state why conservatism matters so we can be successful in the 2010 elections."

Congratulations to Abdul and the rest of Team Magba-Kamara, and best of luck in the coming year!