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WRLC

October 18-21, 2011

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Venetian® | The Palazzo®

 

WRLC Sessions*

WRLC BREAKOUT SESSIONS

 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 19


GOP Report Card: How Are the Candidates Fairing Among Voters?

Frank Luntz
Political Consultant & Pollster

Kellyanne Conway
The Polling Company & WomanTrend

Glen Bolger
Public Opinion Strategies

Introduction: Rep. Jon Porter (Ret.), WRLC


Jobs Frontier

Rep. Steve Pearce
Chairman, Western Congressional Caucus


The Failure of the Obama Agenda: Are You Better off Than You Were 3 Years Ago?

David Bossie
Citizens United


Reaching Your Vote Goal: Building a Political Operation

GOPAC University
Candidates & Campaign Staffers Track


It's Not Free: Raising Money for Get-Out-The-Vote

GOPAC University
State, Local Leaders & Activists Track


Fakes, Frauds & Phonies: Voter Fraud in Elections

David Norcross
Blank Rome Government Relations

David O'Mara
O'Mara Law

John Fund
Wall Street Journal


What to Do and When to Do It - Campaign Planning

GOPAC University
Candidates & Campaign Staffers Track


Giving Voters a Choice - Candidate Recruitment

GOPAC University
State, Local Leaders & Activists Track


The Impact of Absentee & Early Voters in Close Elections

Billy Kirkland
Faith & Freedom Coalition

Bryan Watkins
New Mexico Republican Party

Robert Arnakis
Leadership Institute

Moderator: Adam Jones
Red Rock Strategies


How to Ask for Money Even If You Hate To

GOPAC University
Candidates & Campaign Staffers Track


Election Day is Not Nov. 6th - Realities to Early Voting

GOPAC University
State, Local Leaders & Activists Track


Message Matters: Communicating Effectively

GOPAC University

 

THURSDAY, OCT. 20


Energy's Influence on the Economy & National Security


Face to Face vs. Facebook

Rick Arnold
National Voter Outreach

Keith Goodman
Modern Postcard


Conservatives & the Latino Vote


Maximizing Mobile Applications for Political Campaigns

Niall McSheffrey
Elementz Interactive


Advance Fundraising: How to Close the Deal

Sean McGrath
YourGreatestChampion.com


TV and Online Ads that Move Opinion

Tim Kay
NCC Media

Kyle Roberts
Smart Media Group

Brian Donahue
Craft DC

Moderator: John Peschong
Meridian Pacific


Fundraising in Rural Areas

Tricia Korcheck
Advantage Direct, Inc.


Translating Social Media to Dollars Raised, Calls Made & Voter's Reached

Jordan Raynor
Engage DC


Social Media Matters in the 2012 Election

Katie Harbath
Facebook

Adam Sharp
Twitter

Jordan Raynor
Engage DC

Niall McSheffrey
Elementz Interactive

Moderator: Rob Saliterman
Google


 

FRIDAY, OCT. 21


Tools for Managing your Online Presence

Katie Harbath
Facebook


Taking Name Recognition into Account

Sean McGrath
YourGreatestChampion.com


County Chair Training

Mark Pruner
California Republican Party Chairman's Association


Monetizing the "Like": Using Digital Data

Becki Donatelli
Campaign Solutions


We Need a Balanced Budget Amendment, But What Kind?

Sen. Mike Lee
Utah Senator

Rep. David Schweikert
Arizona Congressman

Moderator: Alex Cortes
Let Freedom Ring


         
About the Speakers

Dr. Frank Luntz - Luntz Global

Frank Luntz is one of the most honored communication professionals in America today. Time magazine named him one of “50 of America’s most promising leaders aged 40 and under” and he was named one of the four “Top Research Minds” by Business Week and was a winner of the coveted Washington Post “Crystal Ball” award for being the most accurate pundit. The “Instant Response” focus group technique pioneered by Dr. Luntz has been profiled on 60 Minutes, Good Morning America (on Election Day 2008) and on the award-winning PBS show Frontline. He has been a guest on virtually every talk show in America, including Meet the Press, Nightline, The Today Show, Charlie Rose, The Jim Lehrer News Hour, The O’Reilly Factor, Tavis Smiley, Montel Williams, and Hardball. He also served as a consultant to the award-winning NBC hit show “The West Wing.” More media outlets have turned to Dr. Luntz to understand the hopes and fears of Americans than to any other political pollster. In 2008, Frank was the “Focus Group Czar” for Fox News, conducting over 40 sessions in 14 states, as well as co-hosting four live hour-long prime time specials and dial sessions during every debate. He was a primary night and election night commentator for The News with Brian Williams on MSNBC in 2000 and for Hardball in 2004. His reoccurring segments on MSNBC/CNBC, “100 Days, 1000 Voices” won the coveted Emmy Award in 2001. Frank has conducted focus group sessions for all three major television networks, two of the three cable news channels, PBS and the BBC, as well as for The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The New Yorker, and U.S. News & World Report.
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GOPAC University

GOPAC is the Republican Party's premier center for educating and electing Republicans at the state and local level. The organization provides issue education, campaign training and financial support to up and coming elected officials and promising candidates in competitive races. Since 1978, GOPAC has been searching ranks of state and local governments for promising Republican leaders, with solid principles, and giving them the education and financial support they need to lead America.
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Katie Harbath - Facebook

Katie Harbath is the Associate Manager for Policy at Facebook, where she focuses on political outreach. Prior to Facebook, Katie was the Chief Digital Strategist at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. She previously led digital strategy in positions at DCI Group, the Rudy Giuliani for President campaign and the Republican National Committee. Katie holds a BA in journalism and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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Rob Saliterman - Google

Rob Saliterman runs the Google advertising team’s sales and outreach efforts to Republican political campaigns, building relationships with campaign managers, digital agencies, and advocacy groups to drive adoption of online advertising. He previously served as Communications Director to former President George W. Bush in Dallas, Texas. From 2008 to 2009, he was Spokesman for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and earlier served as Director of Rapid Response in the White House Office of Communications. His political experience includes working at the Republican National Committee and on the Bush-Cheney ’04 Presidential Campaign. Saliterman received a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Adam Jones - Red Rock Strategies

Adam Jones has achieved success at some of the most challenging jobs in politics. Since entering the political arena 10 years ago, Adam has become a well-respected political strategist across the nation. Having worked on local, state, and federal elections, Adam brings a keen understanding of obstacles facing campaigns at every level.

In 2008, Adam served as the Western States Director of Events and Surrogate Operations for the McCain for President Campaign. In this role, Adam advanced the national campaign strategy by planning and coordinating fundraising events, town hall meetings, rallies, and media opportunities for the candidates and top surrogate spokespeople.

In 2009, Adam was recruited to be the Chief of Staff to the North Dakota Senate Majority Leader and also as the Executive Director of the State Republican Party. As the Executive Director of the State Republican Party, Adam implemented political strategies during the 2010 cycle that led to the largest legislative gains in North Dakota’s history. In addition, Republicans in North Dakota won two seats in congress that had been held by Democrats for over 30 years. North Dakota was praised by national leaders for being the only state in 2010 to organize and fund a statewide victory operation.

Coming from a family of educators, Adam enjoys volunteering as a teacher of political education to several organizations across the county. During his free time, he enjoys reading, golfing, and spending time with his family.

Adam studied at the University of Utah and resides in Las Vegas, NV.
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Tricia (Pearson) Korcheck - Advantage Direct, Inc.

Tricia (Pearson) Korcheck currently serves as Director of Business Development for Advantage, Inc., a premier telemarketing services firm. Tricia joined Advantage in 2009 and brings over 15 years of extensive political experience to the Advantage, Inc. team. She has done work ranging from campaign management and general consulting to fundraising for candidates and state parties throughout the western United States.

Tricia most recently served as the Northwest Regional Political Director for the Republican National Committee (RNC) in 2008. Prior to joining the staff at the RNC, Tricia served as a political appointee within the Administration of President George W. Bush at the Small Business Administration.

Previously, Tricia had served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff to Senator George Allen (R-VA). Tricia came to the official Senate office of George Allen after serving as the Western Region Political Director during the 2003-2004 election cycle and playing a pivotal role in electing five Republican Senators to the United States Senate in 2004.

Tricia started in politics with Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) in 1994. Tricia's responsibilities included fundraising, communications, and special projects as well as managing Senator Burns' successful 2000 re-election campaign. Tricia is also proud to have been Executive Director of the Montana Republican Party from 1997-1999. Tricia holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from the University of Montana. She is a native of Billings, MT and currently resides in Reno, NV with her husband Kevin.
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Tim Kay - NCC Media

Kay, NCC Media’s Director of Political Strategy, is an integral part of the effort to help the cable industry understand and adapt to the needs of the political community. NCC Media is a leader in advertising sales, marketing, and research for all multi-channel program providers. Kay is an expert in cable usage, paid media, and the new fragmented media landscape. He has experience in integrating voter, consumer and viewer data to optimize a paid media schedule to identify what audiences are consuming. This experience helps political organizations develop integrated media strategies and target key geographic and demographic areas to better effectively reach voters.

Kay has over 15 years of experience in political advertising and media planning/ purchasing. He has wide experience planning and purchasing all different types of media for strategic media campaigns throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Kay has worked on a variety of races ranging from President down to County Commissioner. Kay was a Principal/Media Director at Buying Time, LLC, where he developed strategic spot market and national media plans for commercial, political and issue clients utilizing traditional and alternative/new media advertising. He started his career as a media buyer and account assistant at Squier Knapp Ochs during the 1996 Clinton/Gore re-election campaign.

Kay is a frequent presenter who has appeared on XM Radio and in a variety of publications, including Roll Call, The Washington Post, and Ad Age. Kay is a graduate of the University of Kansas and currently resides in Silver Spring with his wife, Deborah Beck, and his two daughters.
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Billy Kirkland - Faith & Freedom Coalition

Billy Kirkland is the National Field Director for the Faith & Freedom Coalition. As the director, he is responsible for building a national network of social conservative common sense voters and activist to positively affect legislation and electoral outcomes. In the 2010 election cycle the Faith & Freedom Coalition was active in over 65 Congressional, Senate and Gubernatorial races and a number of target State House and Senate races. Of the races the Faith & Freedom Coalition was involved in their candidates won 80% of the time. Over all the Faith & Freedom Coalition made 60 million voter contacts, produced radio ads in 18 targeted congressional districts, contacted 500,000 voters through door to door canvassing, and sent over 10 million pieces of mail to micro targeted social conservative voters. In April of 2007 Mr. Kirkland was recruited by VA Speaker of the House, Bill Howell and VA House Republican Campaign Caucus to serve as campaign manager of one of Northern Virginia’s targeted house races.

During the 2006 election Mr. Kirkland served as a regional field director for the GA GOP. Mr. Kirkland directed the grassroots reelection efforts of Governor Sonny Perdue in the South Metro Atlanta counties. During the campaign Mr. Kirkland also managed a GA GOP/Governor Perdue regional headquarters and was responsible for staffing and planning all political events in his designated counties. While in College Mr. Kirkland combined his traditional textbook studies at the University of Georgia with practical hands on training in the Office of Governor Sonny Perdue where he worked in Governor Perdue’s office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Mr. Kirkland attended the University of Georgia receiving B.A. in Political Science. He is also a graduate of the RNC Campaign Field School and Campaign Management College. In his spare time he loves supporting Atlanta sports franchises and volunteering for the Georgia Special Olympics.
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Niall McSheffrey - Elementz Interactive

With over 25-years of experience in creating marketing strategies, business development, project management and web development, Niall McSheffrey brings a diverse background of skill and proficiency. He is also a recent graduate from the Thunderbird School of Management with a global MBA.

In addition to creating stellar digital marketing strategy, Niall has been at the forefront of leveraging new technologies including mobile and social media marketing to better serve his clients’ business needs. His analytical background allows him to articulate technical services and marketing metrics in a clear, concise way. Niall is the founder and co-owner of Elementz Interactive which provides Mobile (iPhone, iPad and Android) and web application solutions to clients.
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Robert Arnakis - Leadership Institute

Robert Arnakis is the Senior Director of Domestic and International Programs for the Leadership Institute, the nation’s premier conservative public policy training organization. Founded in 1979, The Leadership Institute has provided training to over 98,000 people. Robert oversees a division which provides political education and training to thousands elected officials, campaign staffers, and activists each year.

Over the past seven years, Robert has provided campaign, activism, communications, and fundraising training for dozens of influential members from the Republican National Committee. Robert has 15 years of experience in grassroots organizing, campaign strategy, fundraising, and communications. This experience has helped to establish him as one the country's top political trainers.

In 2010, 179 first time candidates Robert worked with were elected to office, including seven freshmen members of the United States Congress. To date, Robert’s favorite campaign was in 2004, were he helped U.S. Senator John Thune defeat the former Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle. Robert has also previously served on campaign staff for U.S. Senator George Allen and President George Bush.

Leading public policy organizations such as Tea Party Patriots, Americans for Prosperity, Focus on the Family, State Policy Network, and National Right to Life Committee and the American Legislative Exchange Council have benefited through Robert’s training.
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Sean McGrath - YourGreatestChampion.com

A master marketing & communications strategist, he specializes in the development and implementation of advanced strategic and tactical marketing and communication techniques. As a 20-plus year political advisor he provides winning marketing, communications and fundraising strategies for his clients, and draws upon a broad spectrum of experience in both the public and private sectors.

Mr. McGrath began marketing high tech environmental products for a premier U.S. manufacturer in December 1996 and quickly became a nationally recognized sales leader. He was invited to participate with the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) at the US-Asia Clean Air Technologies Conference in Hong Kong working with the U.S. Environmental Partnership (USAEP) Technology Partners and the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) to identify and introduce Indoor Air Technologies in eleven targeted Asian economies. Since then he has successfully researched, identified and launched strategically integrated marketing and public awareness campaigns for brand awareness & market dominance strategies for the distribution of high-tech air and water purification products in Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Clients who utilize Mr. McGrath’s services also benefit from his more than 20 years experience as a political advisor to candidates running for all levels of political office - and his unique insight that comes from serving as a political advisor to a U.S. Presidential candidate. A recognized authority on campaigns and elections, he is the author of How To Win: The Complete Strategic Guide To Winning An Election (ETC Press, 2010), and is a regularly featured radio and television expert on election nights. He holds a Masters degree in Diplomacy (International Conflict Resolution) and has lectured for private and non-profit organizations throughout North America. A 15 year veteran of Toastmasters International, Mr. McGrath is an accomplished speaker who has received numerous awards acknowledging his excellence in the speaking profession. Mr. McGrath resides in Kennewick, Washington with his wife and two kids, and their well-heeled Cavalier King Charles, Noel.
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Mark Pruner - California Republican Party Chairman's Association

Mark Pruner was re-elected to serve as the President of the California Republican County Chairmen’s Association, and also serves as the Chair of the Yolo County Republican Committee. From December 2005 until September 2008 Mark served the California Republican Party as the Northwest Regional Vice Chair.

During the 2004 Presidential election, Mark went to the battleground state of New Mexico where, as an attorney, he co-authored an election procedures manual for poll workers, trained elections volunteers, and assisted in the operations of a voter anti-fraud task force. Providing close support to the President during a visit to California added another major high point to Mark's life.

A fifth generation Californian, Mark serves his community as the chair the Fire Commission for the local volunteer fire department, and formerly served as a member of the school district bond oversight committee. Mark also leads a non-profit corporation dedicated to representing the interests of the residents and businesses of the northern Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in relation to efforts to transfer water within the State. Mark's past service includes work to bring the first charter school in the school district to the community, participation with the local farmers land use group, and contribution to forming his community's 20-year general plan amendment.

Since 1997 Mark has been a Judge Pro Tempore of the Sacramento County Superior Court, and is a member of various federal and local bar associations.
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Jordan Raynor - Engage

Jordan Raynor is an online communication strategist, passionate about the democratization of information and building brands online.

Jordan currently serves as the Vice President of Media and Public Affairs at Engage – a full-service interactive agency with a track record of winning the toughest battles in politics and public policy. Jordan, based in Tampa, Florida, works with a variety of corporate, issue advocacy and political clients, helping them develop clear objectives to their online communication efforts and implementing winning strategies to help achieve their goals.

Jordan has spent his career working for major political and non-political brands such as The Boeing Company, Nathan Deal for Governor, BlueAnt Wireless, University of South Florida Athletics, HCA, foursquare’s “I Voted” badge and Google/Pew’s Voting Information Project. Prior to joining Engage, Jordan headed up his own online communications firm – Direct Media Strategies. Jordan started his career as the Executive Editor of Sayfie Media, an online news aggregation service widely regarded as a staple in Florida politics. During his tenure at Sayfie Media, Jordan’s work earned SayfieReview.com the title of Best Florida Political Blog by the Washington Post as well as ITFlorida’s first-ever Excellence in Web 2.0 Award. The site is now the most widely read political publication in the State of Florida, read by every living Governor of the State.

In 2010, Jordan was selected as a Google Fellow at the Personal Democracy Forum for his work at the intersection of politics, media and technology. Respected as a leading online communication strategist, Jordan’s work has been featured in Mashable, TechCrunch, CNN, BBC, Wired Magazine, the St. Petersburg Times, Real Clear Politics and The Hill. Jordan also regularly serves as a university guest lecturer.
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Adam Sharp - Twitter

Adam Sharp joined Twitter in November 2010 as the company’s first hire in Washington, DC. As Manager, Government and Political Partnerships, he works with government officials, agencies and candidates to make better use of Twitter’s real time information network for civic engagement.

Called "the human embodiment of Twitter" by the New York Times, Sharp was named one of Washingtonian magazine's "People to Watch" in its 2011 "Tech Titans" listing. He came to Twitter from C-SPAN, where as Executive Producer, Digital Services, he oversaw the editorial development of C-SPAN.org and enhancements to daily public affairs coverage on C-SPAN 3 on cable.

From 2004 to 2009, Sharp served U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., as Director of Communications and Technology, and later, Deputy Chief of Staff. A principal strategic advisor through Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the senator’s 2008 reelection campaign, Sharp was elected President of the bipartisan Senate Press Secretaries Association for a 2007-2008 term.

Previously, as Manager of eBusiness & Digitization for NBC News, he led a multi-divisional effort to streamline the newsgathering process through technology modernization. Over nine years in different roles with the network, Sharp took part in NBC's coverage of the 1993 through 2000 elections, the 2000 Summer Olympic Games and the September 11th attacks. In late 2001, Sharp joined New York-based Alan Weiss Productions and spent eight months at Ground Zero, documenting the World Trade Center recovery process for the Port Authority and City of New York.

A Trustees’ Scholar and National Awards and National Scholarship Committee Member of the National Television Academy, he has also worked as a television reporter, magazine columnist and interactive media entrepreneur.
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Rick Arnold - National Voter Outreach

Richard L. “Rick” Arnold is the founder and CEO of National Voter Outreach, Inc. (NVO). NVO is a political consulting firm specializing in qualifying initiative and referendum campaigns, conducting door to door campaigns, and GOTV. Rick and NVO have a rich history in the field of direct voter contact. Rick has been at the forefront of the industry for more than 30 years. The Company has organized the collection of more than 36 million signatures across the country. He and NVO have developed proven systems and techniques for successful door to door campaigns involving a few hundred contacts to a Senate Campaigns involving tens of thousands of contacts

Acknowledged as an authority in the field of Initiative and Referendum, Rick frequently speaks on the process to local and national groups, and he has been called upon to give expert testimony by various state panels and commissions. NVO’s 1998 amicus brief to the US Supreme Court in the Buckley case was instrumental in the historic decision, affirming the rights of petition circulators.

Rick has served America in Vietnam, earning the Silver Star and three Bronze Stars for Valor. For the past several years, he has taught a class on American Constitutional government at Western Nevada College.


Keith Goodman - Modern Postcard

Keith is the vice president of corporate solutions for Modern Postcard. He has over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing management with his primary focus in marketing technology solutions supporting the channel sales structure. Keith has helped create and implement programs for a large number of international companies including Microsoft, Avery Dennison, The USPS, IBM and others.

In addition he has provided marketing services to various political campaigns and national associations, including the National Restaurant Association and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Agents.

*Sessions subject to change.



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