experienced, talented, and dedicated members of our team whose wisdom, insight, and sensitivity are invaluable. Doing the right thing at the right time with the right people is always a formula for success, and that is what they bring to the benefit of the Shelby County Republican Party, and ultimately every candidate that appears on the general election ballot. Those members of the Dinner Committee include: Susan Todt (Chairman), Matt Fridy (Event Producer/Director), Cindy Dickson, Judy Flannery, Charles Knight, Jane Mardis, Kathy Peterson, Andrew Plaster, and Joan Reynolds. While it is difficult to offer commentary on each volunteer, it is essential and advisable to do so for the following: Matt Fridy – One person is absolutely indispensable in the production of this special event, and it is Matt. The 2011 annual dinner was by no means Matt’s “first rodeo”. He has served previously as county chairman, and uniquely understands and grasps every nuance of these special events, the corresponding social function, and the political interaction distinctively characteristic of such occasions, along with, naturally, the purely financial aspects. Consequently, I take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to him for lending his expertise, judgment, guidance, diligence, and tenacity in service to our party and specifically this fundraiser. With a keen attention to every detail associated with this fundraiser, as event producer, Matt Fridy is deservedly commended for the outstanding success and the impressive nature of this highly-visible representation of our county party. Susan Todt – In her normal role (if there is any such thing) is the Treasurer of SCGOP. Additionally, Susan assumed the chairmanship of the Dinner Committee, which meant she took on an enormous task and a multitude of details. While, she didn’t do them all herself, she certainly did a lot of them. The details she didn’t handle personally, she diligently saw that they were completed. In the midst of all that, she had to keep all the money straight, constantly making trips to the bank for deposits, and maintaining accurate records of all that came in and was spent. She recruited an outstanding team of event day volunteers, then
assigned and directed this outstanding team with a host of assignments. Charles Knight – As Finance Director, Charles was always in the loop for each decision related to the dinner. However, his professional expertise produced a fully-staffed security and logistics team that concentrated solely on our guest speaker, Mr. Cain, that were to our great benefit on event day. Complicating that tremendously was an itinerary that included multiple stops in the Tuscaloosa area before making their way to Birmingham for the first of our jampacked sequence of events. Charles and his team of specialists mobilized quickly and constantly adjusted to the fluid and complicated circumstances that confronted them the entire day, all in a truly professional, diplomatic, and unobtrusive fashion. A huge “thank you” is due to Chris McDuff, Michael Odom, Derek Purifoy, and their fantastic staff at The Cahaba Grand Conference Center, who provided our guests and our organizers with exceptional service and attention to every detail. While this was all “paid for” from our dinner budget, we all know you can pay for something and still not be satisfied. Amie Beth Shaver was simply outstanding as our master of ceremonies. For obvious reasons, we usually are very cautious and protective of this role, almost always defaulting to the chairman. Amie Beth, however, is one of our own executive
committee members with the experience, demeanor, presence, and most importantly, someone whom I trusted completely to do this with excellence. She elevated this critical aspect of our program, and we were indeed fortunate that she accepted our invitation. Although not on the dinner program, Representative (and soon to be Director of Alabama Development Office) Greg Canfield filled another extremely critical responsibility. He served as moderator for the Round Table Session with Herman Cain. As with Amie Beth, I was fully confident of Greg’s capability, integrity, and temperament for any role, and particularly as moderator. Both aforementioned functions ideally require the best, and that is what we got for the 2011 Reagan-Lincoln Dinner. Pianist Jon Michael Ogletree was highly recommended to the dinner committee to provide the musical ambiance for this occasion, and his extraordinary talent rounded out the “upgrades” for this year’s occasion. Going back to the beginning of this process, selecting and securing a speaker for these events is a most difficult challenge. Many ideas come forth, and some confidently “think” they can bring big names.While others –myself included- made vain attempts at this, Dale and Kathy Peterson delivered when they secured Herman Cain as our featured speaker. This was a huge development in the success of our event, and they are to be congratulated and commended for this continued, page 6
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