Blog
Bryan Schivera - July 27, 2007
I can honestly say this last week leading up to the Heartland Values PAC Conference was a blur. I worked late every day and through the weekend to make sure everything was perfect. By the time Monday rolled around, all of the materials were ready, the speakers had been confirmed and we felt like every detail was in place. The Barbecue event Monday night at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) went just as planned. The new Senator from Wyoming, John Barrasso, was introduced by Senator Thune and spoke to the guests. Senator Coleman, Senator Corker, and Senator Ensign also stopped by to speak briefly. This was more than we initially expected, and all of the guests were very impressed. I was also able to meet and speak with Nick Ayers, who was scheduled to speak Tuesday morning. Ayers is from Georgia and was appointed Executive Director of the Republican Governors Association by Governor Sonny Perdue. He has been labeled as the next Karl Rove. After cleaning up from the Barbecue and finishing set up at the Hyatt, I was off to bed and a 5:30 am wake up call.
The following morning, everything was going great as guests began to funnel in, until we heard votes were scheduled for the morning. At that point we were panicking and trying to rearrange all of the Senators as they were calling to request time changes. We had some backup plans built in, but nothing for this much disruption. Some Senators were packed in tighter than initially planned, but as the morning progressed the votes were pushed back to 12:30pm and by the time 11:30am rolled around, we were back on schedule with Senator Gordon Smith. All in all, we heard Nick Ayers and Senators Alexander, Chambliss, Collins, Inhofe, Smith, Stevens, and Sununu in the morning. For lunch our headliner was former US Attorney General John Ashcroft. I took it upon myself to be his personal escort and was able to speak with him for a few minutes. After Ashcroft we heard from the RNC chairman, Mike Duncan. Finally, and by far my favorite speaker on the day was Ari Fleischer. He spoke on the war in Iraq and his general experiences in the White House.
Overall the Conference was an amazing success and the Senator would like to do it again next year. It's great to feel that my entire summer's work went towards such a great event. Thune is one of the few Senators that could pull off an event like this or has even attempted one, and it's truly a testament to his nation wide popularity. I'm essentially done with work now, aside from proofing a few mailings we have going out in the following weeks.
I took in a concert Wednesday, and tonight we are going to dinner at the Capitol Grill with the program founder, Bill Skipper. Our final planned event is a Marine One landing at the White House. I'll definitely be breaking out my seer sucker suit for W. In the next few days leading up to my departure I'll be visiting all of the Smithsonian museums, the Holocaust museum, the National Archives, and anything else I have time for. It has been an amazing summer and I'm sure it won't sink in until I'm back at home and out of the hustle of DC. I'm eternally thankful to KA, Senator Thune and his entire office, and everyone who helped me get here.
-Bryan Schivera (Gamma – Georgia ’04)
I can honestly say this last week leading up to the Heartland Values PAC Conference was a blur. I worked late every day and through the weekend to make sure everything was perfect. By the time Monday rolled around, all of the materials were ready, the speakers had been confirmed and we felt like every detail was in place. The Barbecue event Monday night at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) went just as planned. The new Senator from Wyoming, John Barrasso, was introduced by Senator Thune and spoke to the guests. Senator Coleman, Senator Corker, and Senator Ensign also stopped by to speak briefly. This was more than we initially expected, and all of the guests were very impressed. I was also able to meet and speak with Nick Ayers, who was scheduled to speak Tuesday morning. Ayers is from Georgia and was appointed Executive Director of the Republican Governors Association by Governor Sonny Perdue. He has been labeled as the next Karl Rove. After cleaning up from the Barbecue and finishing set up at the Hyatt, I was off to bed and a 5:30 am wake up call.
The following morning, everything was going great as guests began to funnel in, until we heard votes were scheduled for the morning. At that point we were panicking and trying to rearrange all of the Senators as they were calling to request time changes. We had some backup plans built in, but nothing for this much disruption. Some Senators were packed in tighter than initially planned, but as the morning progressed the votes were pushed back to 12:30pm and by the time 11:30am rolled around, we were back on schedule with Senator Gordon Smith. All in all, we heard Nick Ayers and Senators Alexander, Chambliss, Collins, Inhofe, Smith, Stevens, and Sununu in the morning. For lunch our headliner was former US Attorney General John Ashcroft. I took it upon myself to be his personal escort and was able to speak with him for a few minutes. After Ashcroft we heard from the RNC chairman, Mike Duncan. Finally, and by far my favorite speaker on the day was Ari Fleischer. He spoke on the war in Iraq and his general experiences in the White House.
Overall the Conference was an amazing success and the Senator would like to do it again next year. It's great to feel that my entire summer's work went towards such a great event. Thune is one of the few Senators that could pull off an event like this or has even attempted one, and it's truly a testament to his nation wide popularity. I'm essentially done with work now, aside from proofing a few mailings we have going out in the following weeks.
I took in a concert Wednesday, and tonight we are going to dinner at the Capitol Grill with the program founder, Bill Skipper. Our final planned event is a Marine One landing at the White House. I'll definitely be breaking out my seer sucker suit for W. In the next few days leading up to my departure I'll be visiting all of the Smithsonian museums, the Holocaust museum, the National Archives, and anything else I have time for. It has been an amazing summer and I'm sure it won't sink in until I'm back at home and out of the hustle of DC. I'm eternally thankful to KA, Senator Thune and his entire office, and everyone who helped me get here.
-Bryan Schivera (Gamma – Georgia ’04)
