Buncombe GOP to hold convention March 6

Press release from the Buncombe County Republican Party:

You are invited to attend the BCGOP County Convention on Saturday, March 6, starting at 8 a.m. at Brookstone Church, 283 Merrimon Avenue. The County Convention is open to all Buncombe County registered Republicans as of Jan. 31. Due to COVID-19, temperatures will be taken upon entering the building. We will have masks for those who want to wear a mask as well as disinfectant.

What happens at a County Convention? In odd years, we elect officers and at-large members for two-year terms. There will be elections for Chair, 1st Vice Chair, 2nd Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Five (5) At-Large Members.

If you would be interested in serving on the BCGOP Board, you must contact Glenda Weinert at 828-230-1444 or glenda.weinert@gmail.com; Betty Budd at 828-707-4373 or bbudd2@charter.net; or Eric Burns at 828-483-2089 or eric@novacorgroup.com. These people will be able to give you information on each position.

When you arrive at the convention, you will be directed to the Credentials Table to register. Registration is only available 8-9 a.m. If you come in after 9 a.m., you will not be able to be seated at the convention. The Credentials Table is where it is verified that you are a registered Republican living in Buncombe County as of Jan. 31.

At the Credentials Table a volunteer will look up your name on the registered voter printout log. Your signature will be required on a sign in sheet in order to be seated. The sign in sheet verifies that you attended the convention so that you may attend the District and/or State Conventions. Everyone is asked to donate at least $5 to Brookstone Church for the for use of their facilities. You will be given a special name tag to wear to the convention. You must wear the name tag given to you or you will not be able to vote.

While at the Credential Table you will be asked if you would like to attend the 11th District Convention in April. This Convention is for all 17 counties in the 11th District (Western NC). The District Convention will be virtual. You will also be asked if you would like to attend the NCGOP State Convention, Friday-Sunday, June 4-6, in Greenville, NC. We must know your intentions of attending this convention the day of our County Convention. The BCGOP has to pay $2 per person to attend the State Convention. You cannot attend the State Convention without attending the County Convention. You do not have to attend the District Convention to attend the State Convention, but you do have to attend the County Convention.

After leaving the Credential Table, you will be directed to the Precinct meetings. There will be signs showing where all nine (9) teams are located. Each precinct number within a team will also be listed on the signage. When you arrive at the Precinct Meetings, you will congregate with your precinct and vote on for Chair and Vice Chair. A Secretary and Treasurer may also be elected, but is not required. There will be a form with your precinct name and precinct number. You must PRINT your name, address (If you receive your mail at the post office box, you must also list your street address.), email address and phone number (preferably your cell phone). The precinct meetings will be held from 9 am to 9:45 a.m. So please get to your designated area and be prepared to sign the precinct sheets and elect your Chair and Vice Chair.

At 10 a.m. the County Convention will be opened by Jerry Green, Chair. You will be given an agenda for the convention at the Credential Table along with the minutes of the 2020 BCGOP Convention, a copy of the convention rules and the current BCGOP Plan of Organization.

We cannot begin voting until the Credential Team counts the people who signed in and reports to the convention. While we are waiting for this report, we will have our prayer, pledge, introductions of the current board members. Once the Credential Team provides the number of seated delegates, voting may begin.

We have nine positions to vote for. We will start with the Chairman position and work our way down to the At-Large Members. We will individually vote for Chair, First Vice Chair, Second Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and finally the At-Large members. During each tallying of ballots, the agenda will continue.  There will be special invited speakers, the candidates for the 11th District Chair and possibly other candidates will speak. Since there will be so many speakers, time limits will be given for each presenter.

After each county candidate’s vote has been determined, the next vote will start. During the tallying, we will have speakers. After each vote is taken, there will be an announcement of winners.

At the end of the meeting, all elected BCGOP Board will be introduced. The elected County Chair will speak briefly before adjournment.

There are many volunteers needed to have this convention run smoothly. We need people to direct convention attendees to the Credential Table and Precinct Meetings. The Credential Table will need volunteers. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Robin Ramsey at 828-230-2665 or robin.ramsey@icloud.com.

A timekeeper is needed to keep the speakers within their time frames. This person will need to sit on the front row so that the speakers can see the time running out. Two minutes warning signs have already been prepared to keep the speakers within their allotted time.

We need at least three (3) tellers (people to hand out ballots and to take completed ballots up and count ballots).

If you would like to volunteer to take temperatures, make signage, be a teller, or just direct people where they need to be, please contact Loretta Reynolds at 828-273-4620 or at lorettawr1208@gmail.com by Sunday, Feb. 28.

We would like to honor Republicans who passed away in 2020 up to the present. Please contact Loretta Reynolds at 828-273-4620 or lorettawr1208@gmail.com with names and date of death and if they had a political role.

We need volunteers to clean up after the convention by collecting signage and any papers/trash left behind. Hopefully, if everyone will take the papers they receive with them along with their trash, we will have an easy cleanup.

Special Notes
For individuals that will not be able to attend the County Convention but want to attend the District and State Convention, you must provide a written request to be excused from attendance at the County Convention to Jerry Green, County Chair, prior to the County Convention by email or in person (with a written statement). There will be no proxy voting.

We are still working on whether refreshments will be sold. With COVID-19, we may just provide bottles of water. An announcement about refreshments will be made as soon as we know.