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In order to clarify some issues surrounding the Wisconsin State College Republican Convention this weekend, Chairwoman Mary Burke, recently highlighted in the Marquette Tribune for her great work, issued the following statement (posted on the WI College Republicans website):

April 19, 2007 OFFICIAL STATEMENT Mary Ellen Burke, WICR State Chair

The decision to host this year’s WICR State Convention in Stevens Point, Wis. was made on a conference call Jan. 5, 2007. John Connors did not announce his candidacy until Mar. 27, 2007, almost two months later. The decision was not political. The convention location has been at the home school of a chairman candidate for the last three years in a row, and Marquette hosted the convention last year. Two major factors were taken into consideration when deciding between the submitted convention bids from Marquette, UW-Madison and UW-Stevens Point.

1. Cost- When chapter chairs were asked at the Summer Leadership Conference in Madison last July how the state federation could assist chapters, the response was unanimous—reduce the cost of state convention. With hotel and registration fees, along with membership dues, state convention adds up for individual chapters, especially the smaller ones.

UW-Stevens Point offered the best financial package out of the three submitted bids with reduced hotel fees and quality facilities. The registration fee per person this year is $27, a significantly lower cost than previous years. As state chair, I have the responsibility to make prudent and responsible decisions regarding the financial security of the federation.

All funding from the UW-Stevens Point student government has been dedicated solely to paying for the convention. This funding has not come close to covering the total cost of convention; the UW-SP CR chapter has generously paid out of its individual chapter account for many of the expenses.

WICRs has not and will not fund the election campaigns of individual members running for a state e-board position.

2. Attendance- State Convention is one of the few opportunities throughout the year that every chapter is invited to come together, an experience that is vital to build a sense of unity in the federation. A few chapters in the northern part of the state had difficulty traveling to Marquette for convention last year.

UW-Stevens Point is centrally located in the state, providing equal opportunity for all chapters to attend. This year, I’m proud to report that there are almost 100 people attending from 15 different chapters. Last year’s attendance was half that number.

The Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans is proud to host this year’s state convention in Stevens Point and will continue to make decisions in the best interest of the federation now and in the future.

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