Mark Harmsworth (R-44th District, Mill Creek) joined the state House of Representatives in 2014. He is a principled conservative who works with colleagues on both side of the aisle to support policies for economic growth, education, and relief for transportation congestion. He serves on the House committees on Transportation (Assistant Ranking Member), Technology and Economic Development, and Rules. Mark worked for over two decades in the technology industry, including a successful career at Microsoft. He is a former Mill Creek Mayor Pro-Tem having served two terms as a city council member. Currently he enjoys working as one of the directors for the Everett Community College Foundation and for the Boys and Girls Club of Snohomish County. Mark lives in Mill Creek with his wife of over twenty years, Sarah, and their three children. Rep. Harmsworth will report on the 2017 legislative session.
Dr. Gene Kopelson is president of the New England chapter of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, an active Churchillian, and a holocaust educator. As a historian, he has published works on Theodore Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet, Ronald Reagan’s 1966 campaign and Mexican American voters, the 1968 Nebraska and Oregon Republican primaries, and Washington State Republican politics in the 1960s. The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial featured his research on Robert F. Kennedy as an inspiration to Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal. His research on Reagan and Eisenhower was featured in 2015 at the 125th Commemoration of the Birth of Dwight Eisenhower at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. He and his wife Mindy educate about the resistance and update teacher-student book and video teaching trunks at the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Seattle.
When not researching and writing history, Dr. Kopelson is a cancer physician. He has published over forty medical articles, contributed chapters in medical textbooks, and lectured in the U.S. and abroad on radiation oncology. He graduated Princeton University with an A.B. Cum Laude in Biochemistry, obtained his M.D. at Columbia University, and completed his internship and residency at Harvard University’s Department of Radiation Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. For two decades, he was the director of a cancer center affiliated with the Yale University School of Medicine and was a practice accreditor for the American College of Radiation Oncology.
Dr. Kopelson will address the club on his book Reagan’s 1968 Dress Rehearsal: Ike, RFK, and Reagan’s Emergence as a World Statesman.
Eastside Republican Club monthly dinner meetings are held at Embassy Suites Bellevue. Dinner is served at 6:00PM, and the program begins at 6:30PM. Please RSVP online if you plan to attend the upcoming meeting. Monthly dinner meetings cost $20 per person.
Lt. Col. Roy White is a retired Air Force fighter pilot of 20 years service who is a native of North Carolina but now resides in the Texas Hill Country outside of San Antonio. In 2013 when Texas was considering new instructional materials, Roy, a former school teacher, began what has become the largest national grass-roots organization dedicated to returning truth to our children’s social studies textbooks. His organization, Truth in Textbooks (TNT), has grown from a Texas-only effort that now stretches from California to Florida to North Carolina to New York. Organizing and training over 150 volunteers from 20 states and disseminating their research has resulted in millions of children now having more historically-accurate information within their classroom walls. He will be addressing Truth in Textbooks, and the success which has come from dedicated citizens who do the tireless research.
Sharon Hanek is an accountant, community volunteer, wife, and mother who became active in the political arena when she became involved in education issues. Her “mother bear” instincts brought her into the political arena, where she has run for office and is the current Vice Chair of the Pierce County Republican Party. She now travels around the state presenting her findings and advising others on how to navigate through Olympia. Over the years, Sharon has been a guest on local and national radio programs. She believes that citizens getting involved can change our state, and is committed to helping others learn to be a strong voice in their community and in politics. Sharon will be addressing Truth and Deception in Washington schools.
We will also hear from Jinyoung Lee Englund, who is running for State Senate in the 45th District. A third-generation Washingtonian and married to an active-duty U.S. Marine, Jinyoung has ten years technology and public policy experience solving problems: securing funding for an NGO providing clean water in Africa; serving constituents in Congress as a staff member for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers; educating the public, government and law enforcement on Bitcoin and Blockchain; and Product Manager and Advisor on Technology and Innovation for the U.S. Marine Corps. Her campaign is focused on opposing an income tax, reducing car tab taxes, and prioritizing education. She will share her views on education funding among other important topics.
Michelle Darnell
Jeff Jared
Kreg Kendall
Dr. Roger Stark
Tim Eyman