The Power of Satellite Clubs

        The Magic Valley Republican Women in Idaho is a new club – formed in 2012. They are located in a rural area in the southeast corner of Idaho. The club started working on forming NFRW satellite groups last winter when they realized that making club meetings was sometimes difficult for those women in rural areas. Targeting three communities, the first thing they did was download NFRW’s Ten-Step Guide to Forming a Satellite Group from the NFRW website.  They then put together a ring binder with the following: Magic Valley Republican Women by-laws and standing rules; contact info for Board Members and Committee Chairs; a membership list; the NFRW Vision and Mission Statement; NFRW Membership Committee’s “Ideas to Spark Membership” from the NFRW website; a Magic Valley Republican Women’s Club membership form, as well are their mission statement. They also included a video, “They Came to America.”

The first satellite group meeting was comprised of six women.  Club members explained what the role of the club would be. They stressed how the satellite group members would be members of the Magic Valley Republican Women club,  the Idaho FRW and the NFRW, and they assured them that the club would be there to mentor them.  Club members promised to attend two meetings a year with the satellite group and to be available to assist with local elections.

Magic Valley RW has now approached all three communities. Of the three, one community may set up a group and the other two are trying to get their women together. The Magic Valley RW members keep attending this area’s Central Committee Meetings to show their interest in having these satellite groups join their club.

Magic Valley RW is even contacting women in Elko, Nevada, not far over the state boundary, to help start a Nevada Federation satellite club. The Idaho club members had gone to Elko to help Nevada women during the November election and asked why there wasn’t a club in that area. Their goal is to get a club chartered for the Nevada FRW in an area which is very politically active but whose Federated club had become inactive.

Past President of the Magic Valley RW, Billie Dingus, explains, “Honestly, this is a slow process but our goal is to have small groups that will help us walk all the small communities during the next election cycle.”