West Des Moines Independence Day Parade…

Urbandale Independence Day Parade…

Following is detailed information for Ankeny Summerfest volunteer participants:

ANKENY SUMMERFEST PARADE: Saturday, July 9  PARADE STARTS AT 9:00 a.m. Volunteers need to arrive by 8:30.

Staging will be at Ankeny High School in Lot C or D (both are together and it depends on where we are placed).  This is the lot that is closest to North Ankeny Boulevard.  

There isn’t any parking at Ankeny High School but there is a drop off area that is clearly marked off of North Ankeny Boulevard. 

Ankeny Summerfest Assembly Map - Click on Image for Large Version

  
 
RULES FROM THE ANKENY PARADE COORDINATORS:  

This year there is a concerted effort to enhance  the safety and community feel of the SummerFest Parade and therefore a few rules must be complied with

•       Items cannot be thrown from a vehicle and must be handed out or distributed close to the curb and the spectators.    
•       Drivers of vehicles may not talk or text while participating in the parade
•       Any entries with animals must have their own designated waste collection person walk behind the entry at all times.  All animals must be leashed or tethered appropriately for the animal.
•       All entries must represent the family oriented event that is the SummerFest Parade
•       You must keep pace with the parade flow; failure to do so may cause your entry to be removed.

OTHER NOTES:

We will have candy, tattoos and literature to hand out.  Throwing of any kind is not allowed in any of the parades.

Water will be provided for the walkers.

Transportation back to the starting point of the parade will be coordinated as best we can, but it may require several shuttle trips to get everyone back.  

For more information on volunteering for the parade, please contact Mary Whisenand at marywhisenand@mediacombb.net

The 2011 Story County GOP Dinner featuring Governor Tim Pawlenty to be held on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at Hickory’s Hall in Ames, Iowa!

Please note that reservations are required. Be sure to submit your RSVP no later than July 3, 2011 to the Story County GOP Treasurer (address below) or respond to this email.

Event Information:

Date: Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Location: Hickory’s Hall, 300 S. 17th St. Ames, Iowa.
Time: Doors Open at 5 p.m. (social hour) with Dinner at 6 p.m.

Featured Guest: 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate Governor Tim Pawlenty

Cost: $25 per ticket/ $45 per Couple/ $125 for a table of 6.

There will also be a silent auction with many autographed items.

Be sure to RSVP by July 3rd by sending your reservation to Story County GOP Treasurer:

Christian Charbonneaux
Story County GOP Treasurer
921 Delaware Ave.
Ames, IA 50014

Or email: Jeremy Davis

This will be a tremendous event as we prepare for the 2012 elections to help support and elect conservative candidates. If you have any questions, please contact Story County GOP Chairman, Cory Adams, at 515-460-2695.

We look forward to seeing you on July 6th!

On the second day of this legislative session, Republicans in the Iowa General Assembly passed legislation, House File 194, which gives every Iowan a 20% discount on his, her, or your businesses’ income tax. But the Democrat-controlled Senate buried the bill.

People need money and hope, right now. Tens of thousands are still struggling to recover from damages due to floods and tornadoes, with more at risk in northwest Iowa.

Nearly 100,000 Iowans are still out of work. According to research from The Beacon Hill Institute in Boston, up to 18,000 new jobs could be created in just the first year if taxes on income, property and sales were discounted by 15%, www.iowansfordiscountedtaxes.org.   So who’s against putting your friends and neighbors back to work?

Senators Gronstal, Bolkcom and McCoy, in particular, have kept the bill buried in the Senate Ways & Means Committee so they can work on more spending, and legislation that will favor teachers and other unionized constituents: but why? Democrats and Republicans in Washington worked together to discount payroll taxes by more than 30% and extended the current low tax rates to help as many people as possible get through this crisis.

Iowa’s Republicans have proposed and passed balanced legislation to solve critical problems by curtailing unnecessary spending and proposing discounts on Iowans’ income and property taxes, (the sales taxes need to be next to help the most disadvantaged among us). This legislation helps everyone and hurts no one. To get your discount you can contact:

Senator Matt McCoy at realmccoy@me.com or 274-0561 and
Senator Mike Gronstal mike.gronstal@legis.state.ia.us or 712-328-2808

Refer to Polk GOP House File 194 – Suggested Remarks for Elected Officials when writing to Senators.

Contacting these men should help get your discounts out of Committee for a vote. When it passes, Governor Branstad can be trusted to sign it so you, your family and business will have a more secure and brighter future.

Kevin McLaughlin, President
Iowans for Discounted Taxes,

Steve Forbes, Honorary Chairman

Additional information regarding Iowans for Discounted Taxes can be found by going to Iowans for Discounted Taxes Strategy Meeting with Assns. and Elected Officials 3-04-10.

Your Polk County Republican Party will have a presence at the Ankeny Summerfest Parade.  Help us make our presence known, solicit volunteers, and increase our voter base by volunteering to be walkers, collect contact information or with the distribution of literature.

Date of Parade:  July 9, 2011

Time of Parade:  9:00 am (assembly for the parade will be between 8:00 and 8:30 am)

Parade Beginning:  Ankeny High School.

Volunteer Contact:  Mary Whisenand, marywhisenand@mediacombb.net

The following statement is from Polk County Republican Chair Kevin McLaughlin:

MAKING MORE MONEY AND GETTING JOBS… JUST BY VOTING

Democrats always want to increase spending and raise taxes.  Republicans want you to keep more of your money by getting discounts on your property and income taxes, and we would like to discount your sales taxes, too.  Here’s how.  

If taxes are discounted, like the prices you pay for groceries at Hy-Vee, Dahl’s and Fairway, then you get more value and keep more of your money at the same time.  No one is hurt and everyone benefits. So Iowa’s government needs to be like Hy-Vee in that respect. And we get 18,000 new jobs as the economy grows.

Right now, Republicans are trying to discount commercial property taxes because they are set to rise, which will drive up the taxes on your home. If Republicans can discount property taxes, then it will be easier for everyone to move up to better homes in better neighborhoods, with better schools. Again, no one is hurt by discounts on taxes.

If you want more income, did you know that the Republicans passed House File 194, which will give you a 20% discount on your state income taxes?  If you pay $2,000.00 in state income taxes, you could save $400.00.

The problem is that the Senate Democrats control the committee that has this bill bottled up and won’t let it out for a vote.  The important senators are Mike Gronstal, Joe Bolkcom and our own Matt McCoy here in Des Moines. 

They say that discounting your taxes will cause government to run a big deficit.  But isn’t that what they are doing when they spend so much? How is it fair to everyone trying to get a better home, or live better, if Democrats spend more and won’t discount income taxes so we get more money, too?

Lastly, Republicans want everyone to be able to send their children to the school of their choice.  Single parents make huge sacrifices for necessities, in many cases, just to raise their families.  If that’s your situation, Republicans want you to keep your own money so you can send your children to good schools instead of the warehouses they may be in now.  Don’t you agree?  After all, your children’s future depends on what they learn.

Kevin 

Polk County GOP/www.polkgop.org/ 515-280-6438 for info

Following is the participation information for those volunteering to help with the West Des Moines Independence Day Parade on July 3, 2011.

Assembly:  We are lining up in the RED staging area which is EAST of Valley High School.  It is EAST of the school and walkers need to be there no later than 5:00 for the 5:30 start.  The theme of the parade this year is All Star Fun!  This is a long parade so please be confident that you are physically able to walk the route from Valley High School to Valley Junction.  We want our volunteers to be safe and not “over tax” themselves!

West Des Moines Parade Staging

A full size version of the above staging map is available by clicking here

Highlights of the Rules governing participation, from organizers in West Des Moines, in the parade:

 Assembly and Entry

If you are entering as a group (scouts, church group, school group, car, club, etc.), you must assemble your group some place other than the staging area. Once you are all together,  walk/ride or drive to the parade line-up location noted above. This year we are putting entries into order as they arrive and we are not using entry numbers. The only vehicles allowed in the line up area will be the vehicles that are going to be in the parade. Parking for non-parade vehicles is in the parking lot on the northeast side of Valley High School. (corner of Valley West Drive and Woodland Ave.)

Polk County Republicans NOTE:  There is VERY limited parking anywhere near the high school.  Last year we coordinated having the float/Jeep in place and every volunteer walked in to the parking lot from their parking spaces closer to parade time.  Volunteers will be given specific information regarding assembly point prior to Parade time and we will attempt to have the assembly point posted here at PolkGop.com as well.

Candy and Other Handouts

Candy and other items to distribute are welcome; however we STRONGLY recommend having people walking next to your vehicle throwing the candy!! Watch the crowd and have people designated with your unit to do nothing but make sure no one is in the path of your vehicle. SQUIRT GUNS OR WATER REALTED ITEMS ARE NOT ALLOWED!!! Be for warned that you will not be allowed back in the parade if you engage in unsafe behavior that encourages spectators and participants to act in an unsafe manner.

Pace and Length

Complete information on the guidelines and rules can be found by clicking here…

Information on volunteering for participation in the parade is provided below or accessed by clicking here..