A Preview of September

A Preview of September
Lifetime Highlights Convention Women
Construction Begins on Minnesota Veteran's Home
2008 Platform Committee Launches Interactive Web Site
Join the 2008 Convention Online
Convention Countdown: 5-3 Good Guys
Go Online to Get Official GOP Convention Gear
American Neighbor Video Winner Announced
Another Chance to Come to the Convention
Lunchtime Chats: Eat. Ask. Watch.
High-Wired Act
ShadowTV Named Official Provider
Promote GOPConvention2008.com on your Blog or Website!
Host Committee Update
What's on the Venue?A Look at a Few More Convention Venues and Hotels
Convention Staff Spotlight Shines On... Guillermo "Billy" Godoy
Dear Friend of the Convention, Hello again from headquarters, where we are 47 days from gaveling to order the 2008 Republican National Convention! The convention is nearing full-staffing as we prepare to welcome 45,000 guests who will join together at the Xcel Energy Center for the most exciting and energetic convention in Party history and nominate Sen. John McCain as our party's candidate for President of the United States. Since our last newsletter, the convention has received praise from the media for our planning efforts, how we are organizing the most tech-savvy convention in Republican history, and our commitment to serve a cause greater than one's self interest through our American Neighbor Volunteer Program. Twice in the last month, Minneapolis-Saint Paul welcomed Sen. McCain. The first, for one of his famous town-hall meetings only steps from the Xcel Energy Center. The most recent came last week as Sen. and Mrs. McCain paid a surprise visit to his Saint Paul headquarters. Also this month, we were proud to have had our efforts to reach out to women highlighted over the Internet. Several of our staff, including yours truly, were recently featured in a Web video for the Lifetime television network. We announced the winner of our American Neighbor YouTube video contest which called on Americans to share with us their story of American Neighbors making a difference in their communities. We also announced a second YouTube contest, giving Americans another opportunity to join us at the convention. We look forward to welcoming the winners here in September. In July, the Republican Party also celebrated its 154th birthday. From our humble beginnings in Wisconsin and Michigan, our party has blazed a path of leadership and change that we continue to this day. We held the nation together and healed her after the Civil War, then led the way in granting women and minorities the vote, as well as granting all Americans equal protection before our laws. The path continued through the winning of the Cold War, and continues today as we protect our nation from the threat of terror. Today we stand for improving our economy by keeping taxes low, creating opportunities for small business, and creating jobs for Americans. Today we stand to protect our security, our prosperity, and our environment by leading the way to energy independence. Today we stand on 154 years of Republican Party history as we diligently work on the final 47 days before the Republican National Convention and the nomination of Sen. John McCain. I look forward to seeing you this September. Sincerely, Maria Cino, Convention President & CEO
A Preview of SeptemberMinneapolis-Saint Paul will be the center of the political universe beginning on Sept. 1, and Sen. John McCain has already gotten to know the cities. On June 20, he hosted one of his famous town hall meetings at the Landmark Center in downtown Saint Paul. To view our slideshow of the event, click here. You can also read and watch the coverage of the townhall meeting by clicking here for the report from KARE-TV (NBC).Last week, Sen. and Mrs. McCain made a surprise visit to his Saint Paul campaign headquarters to thank volunteers manning the phone banks, telling them: "Minnesota will be a battleground state and Minnesota may determine who is the next President of the United States." Sen. McCain's visit came the day before he hosted another town hall meeting in Hudson, Wisc., just 20 miles from the Xcel Energy Center. The visit by Sen. McCain generated significant local coverage. Here is a short rundown: McCain drops in to rally 125 volunteers in St. Paul campaign call center - Saint Paul Pioneer Press McCain thanks his troops in visit to St. Paul - Minneapolis Star Tribune McCain answers your questions - KSTP (ABC) McCain Rallies Supporters In St. Paul - WCCO (CBS) McCain rallies campaign workers in Saint Paul - KARE (NBC) Video: One-on-One with Sen. McCain - KARE (NBC) Video: Sen. and Mrs. McCain speak to St. Paul supporters - KARE (NBC) [Back to top]
Lifetime Highlights Convention Women Earlier this year, the convention agreed to work with the Lifetime television network on its "Every Woman Counts" online program to engage women in the political process as voters and future candidates. As part of our participation, the Lifetime cameras came to our Minneapolis-Saint Paul offices to interview several of the women working at the 2008 Republican National Convention, including our senior leadership: Convention Chairman Jo Ann Davidson, President and CEO Maria Cino and Vice President Mel Raines. All of the interviews were compiled into a three-minute package. Click here to watch the video, and meet some of the women planning the 2008 Republican National Convention. [Back to top]
Construction Begins on Minnesota Veteran's Home Convention staff, led by President and CEO Maria Cino, joined local volunteers as part of a three-day "build brigade" at the site where Homes for Our Troops is building a new home for Minnesota National Guard SGT Marcus Kuboy, who was wounded in Iraq. "Sen. John McCain has called on all Americans to serve a cause greater than one's self-interest, and we are proud to honor SGT Kuboy and the many sacrifices he has made for our country with this new, specially adapted home," Cino said. Click here to read more, and see a slideshow of the "build brigade." [Back to top]
2008 Platform Committee Launches Interactive Web Site The Republican National Committee unveiled a new Web site, www.GOPPlatform2008.com, which will give Americans an interactive opportunity to share their thoughts, and even submit videos, as the Republican Party develops its platform in advance of 2008 Republican National Convention. Here is a round-up of "What They're Saying" about opening up our platform to the Internet:GOP opens another front in the campaign to win the Web - McClatchy NewspapersParties open insider process - PoliticoRNC Seeks Platform Suggestions - The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder blogRNC Launches New Online Platform Discussion Site - Washington Post's "The Trail" blogRNC to Solicit Online Suggestions for Party Platform - ABC's "Political Radar" blog [Back to top]
Join the 2008 Convention Online To build excitement and get more people involved in the 2008 Republican National Convention, we have developed official pages on serveral online social networks.Watch our YouTube videos, follow our Twitter updates, become a supporter of our Facebook page, and friend of our MySpace page so you can stay involved. [Back to top]
Convention Countdown: 5-3 Good Guys The Saint Paul Pioneer Press recently compared preparations for the Republican and Democratic National Conventions in eight categories and determined that Republican convention organizers hold "the upper hand." According to the newspaper, Republican National Convention planners in Saint Paul hold advantages in fundraising, media relations, and civic engagement, among others. The score: The GOP leads 5-3. The money quote: "Convention officials [in Denver] rescheduled a spring media 'walk through,' where media organizations have a chance to set up their operations. The move was widely seen as a sign of disarray and forced airline reservations to be canceled or switched. Advantage: St. Paul. At an event largely designed to use the media to send a message, upsetting the media is not good strategy." Read more here. [Back to top]
Go Online to Get Official GOP Convention Gear Click here to purchase apparel and accessories emblazoned with the official logo of the 2008 Republican National Convention. Order now so you'll have your gear before arriving in Saint Paul! [Back to top]
American Neighbor Video Winner Announced Many across the nation took to heart the call of Sen. John McCain to "serve a cause greater than one's own self-interest," and shared with us their video stories of American Neighbors making a difference in their communities for the chance to attend the 2008 Republican National Convention. Out of all the submissions, five finalists emerged. The finalists were voted on by users of the convention's YouTube channel. Thanks to the YouTube voters, we now have a winner. Congratulations to John Merguerian from Van Nuys, Calif. whose video of Jason Gilde was chosen the best example of being a good American Neighbor. Both John and Jason will be invited to attend the 2008 Republican National Convention, and John's video will be shown during the convention's official proceedings. Click here to watch the winning video! [Back to top]
Another Chance to Come to the Convention The 2008 Republican National Convention has again joined with our partners at YouTube to offer another chance for Americans to come to Minneapolis-Saint Paul and join us at the Xcel Energy Center. All you need to do is put together a video on "Why are you a Republican in 2008?" The creator of the winning video will come to the convention and have their video shown during an official session. Republican National Committee Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan announced the contest with his own YouTube video. The contest runs through Aug. 1. To learn more, click here. [Back to top]
Lunchtime Chats: Eat. Ask. Watch. As part of our efforts to engage the blogosphere and reach out to those interested in the 2008 Republican National Convention, Director of Communications Matt Burns hosted our first in a series of online "Lunchtime Chats" using the technology of UStream.TV - our Official Live Video Streaming Provider. Our efforts caught the eye of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press' Julio Ojeda-Zapata, who writes: "Visitors to the Republican National Convention's Web site probably aren't expecting to see a GOP staffer munching on a jumbo meatball sandwich while joking with fellow party members..." You can read the full article by clicking here. In case you missed the chat, you can watch it by visiting our Ustream page here. [Back to top]
High-Wired Act From the start, the organizers of the 2008 Republican National Convention have promised to make it the most "tech-savvy" in party history - and now the wired world is noticing. First-up: a June 29 story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune detailing the technical demands of hosting a crowd of 45,000 guests for four days in September - comparing the effort to that of a Super Bowl. Convention Chief Information Officer Max Everett spoke to the Star Tribune about our plans for streaming video: "While much of the video will be commercial TV broadcasts -- including unedited footage that will take up substantial bandwidth -- the convention itself will be adding to the load by providing streaming video from the convention floor through its Web page, www.GOPConvention2008.com. The convention's video crew will focus on conveying a "you-are-there" feeling via gavel-to-gavel coverage and backstage conversations with convention speakers, Everett said. Big-screen monitors in the convention complex also will be able to display the streaming video." Next: the National Journal's Congress Daily PM reports on the "exponential jump for technology" for the 2008 conventions, including the unprecedented number of bloggers and partnerships with major technology companies, such as Google and Microsoft. The story also highlights our work with UStream.TV to stream video live during the convention and provide behind-the-scenes access. [Back to top]
ShadowTV Named Official Provider To help us monitor what is expected to be a massive amount of media coverage of the 2008 Republican National Convention, ShadowTV has been named the convention's Official Broadcast Monitoring Provider. ShadowTV will provide the convention with digital, continuous access to live and archived television coverage of the convention. If any of the 250 local television stations ShadowTV monitors has a story about the GOP Convention, we will be notified about it in real-time and be able to spread the word just as fast. "The digital technology will go a long way toward our promise of a greener convention as we avoid the necessity of using non-recyclable video tapes," convention President & CEO Maria Cino said. To read the full story, click here. [Back to top]
Promote GOPConvention2008.com on your Blog or Website! Visit this page to learn how to add a GOPConvention2008.com button to your own website or blog. [Back to top]
Host Committee Update Our friends at the Minneapolis Saint Paul 2008 Host Committee continue their preparations to welcome visitors and delegates, while promoting the convention and its host cities:
As of Mid-July, the Host Committee had met its goal of 10,000 local volunteers to assist during the convention. Now that it has reached its goal, the Host Committee will continue to sign-up local volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, go to www.MSP2008.com.
Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak declared the last week of June "Convention Volunteer Sign-Up Week" in both cities to encourage Minneapolis-Saint Paul residents to participate in the "once-in-a-lifetime" experience.
Also, as part of the local push for volunteers, the Host Committee secured the services of Minnesota Viking All-Pro Center (and Saint Paul-native) Matt Birk to highlight a PSA campaign encouraging local turnout. Click here to view the video.
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What's on the Venue?A Look at a Few More Convention Venues and HotelsLoTo380 Jackson Street Saint Paul, MNDelightfully situated, LoTo (the quirky moniker derived from Lowertown, a downtown district in Saint Paul) overlooks the enchanting oasis that is Mears Park. An intimate open-air patio overlooks the trees, flowers, and rocky stream traversing the park space. The interior of LoTo leads into a huge atrium area with soaring ceilings and a handsome courtyard adorned with leafy plants. Travertine marble flagstone tiles give the space a textural vibrancy and enhance the natural light that floods the restaurant. A streamlined modern bar floats in the middle of the space; polished steel counters and comfortable stools make an inviting perch for an evening cocktail.For more information, go to: www.lotolifecafe.com. Mancini's 531 West Seventh Street Saint Paul, MN Open since 1948, Mancini's Char House has become a Saint Paul tradition for the past 60 years. As a steak house carrying on the Italian custom of preparing carefully raised and aged beef over charcoal, you are sure to find fine food and service with a personal touch. Mancini's classic supper club ambiance offers more than just food, with a 250-person capacity lounge reminiscent of the 1960's Vegas Rat Pack-era featuring a stage area great for live entertainment. The restaurant also offers banquet seating for up to 300 people among retro 1960's décor, complete with vintage lighting. A visit to the restaurant's celebrity photo wall is evidence that many outside of the city limits know of the eatery's superb atmosphere, and Mancini's Sports Hall of Fame has plaques honoring Saint Paul athletes, including "Miracle on Ice" coach Herb Brooks. For steak lovers looking for a great night of dinner and entertainment, Mancini's is the place to be. For more information, go to: www.mancinis.com. Orchestra Hall 1111 Nicollet MallMinneapolis, MN This acoustically-acclaimed concert hall delights visitors and is one of the major performance centers of downtown Minneapolis. The sophisticated and modern landmark has been refreshed and beautifully enhanced since its debut, with additional seating in the performance areas, luxurious carpeting in public spaces, additional elevator and restroom facilities, recessed lighting, added service bars, and subdued, elegant paint choices. Since its founding in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra has hosted some of the greatest musical performers in history and has thrilled thousands with its inspired presentations of classical and orchestral music. The spacious Orchestra Hall Lobby is a landmark of contemporary architecture, designed to generate enormous thrills with sophisticated color decoration and flying bridges. Superb views of Peavey Plaza and the downtown Minneapolis skyline can be viewed from magnificent floor-to-ceiling windows, and creative uses for this dynamic space are endless. Superbly suited for world-class musical performances, the Auditorium is one of the largest and most glamorous of Minneapolis' downtown venue spaces. Other exciting features of Orchestra Hall are two smaller entertainment spots: the Tier Drop on the upper level of the lobby is a modern and intimate dining or entertainment space with a bird's-eye view of the lovely Peavey Plaza, and the Green Room offers a wall-to-wall view of an exterior reflecting pool. For more information, go to: www.minnesotaorchestra.org. [Back to top]
Convention Staff Spotlight Shines On... Guillermo "Billy" Godoy Position: Associate Director of External AffairsAge: 30 Hometown: Tuscaloosa, Alabama Q: What got you interested in politics? A: I have to say it was my 11th grade civics teacher Mrs. Kohl. She taught that class in a manner that challenged us and always made you feel comfortable in expressing your views. She nominated me for Boys' State, where I was blown away and I found what I loved to do. Q: What is your favorite thing about working for the 2008 Republican National Convention? A: The camaraderie of the staff is awesome. I worked on the convention in 2004 in NYC and that is what brought me back this time. I have to say we might even have a closer-knit staff. Q: What is your most memorable moment in Republican politics? A: The 2004 Inauguration. All our hard work finally paid off and we really enjoyed the fruits of our labor. Q: Where did you move here from? A: I moved from Washington D.C. Q: What do you like about your Blackberry? A: Being able to Google anything at a drop of a hat. It is great when you want to prove yourself correct in an argument. Q: What do most people not know about you? A: I was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and my first language is Spanish. People really look surprised when I speak with my southern drawl and then switch to Spanish. It usually gets a rise out of them. Q: If you had to choose: Minnesota Twins baseball game or concert by Minnesota native Prince? A: Twins baseball all the way. I am a big fan of Joe Mauer. I am a huge college football fan and follow high school recruiting religiously and I remember when he was the #1 quarterback in the country out of Cretin-Derham High School here in Saint Paul. It broke my heart when he committed to Florida State because I was hoping he would go to Alabama. [Back to top]
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