Blake began his involvement with College Republicans during the fall of his freshman year and has been actively involved with the Republican Party since. He started school at Harding University, and then transferred to Auburn University in Alabama in 2005 where he became the Political Director for the College Republican Federation of Alabama. He was elected State Chairman the following year.
During the elections of 2006, Blake and Alabama College Republicans lead Students for Riley which helped to successfully re-elect Republican Governor Bob Riley. They also played a key role in other statewide campaigns as well as many campaigns for the state legislature.
Blake coordinated Students for John McCain in the spring of 2007 and played an important role in bringing together support for the New CRNC team leading up to their election. After the New CRNC Team took office, Blake was appointed Political Director. Blake will graduate in May 2008 and attend law school next fall. Aside from politics Blake is a passionate follower of Auburn football.
Justin served as chairman of the Missouri College Republicans for a year and a half. He has also served in College Republicans as a chapter chairman, state executive director, state vice-chairman, member of the CRNC Credentials Committee and as a key architect of important amendments to the national constitution.
Despite all the titles, Justin is proudest when he is involved as a regular College Republican, making a difference with many others on campus and in the community to help win America's future.
Justin Smith is from Blue Springs, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Missouri - Kansas City with a degree in political science in May 2007. Justin anticipates graduating from the University of Missouri School of Law in May 2010.
Michael Keough began his involvement in high school as a page for the U.S. House of Representatives and as student campaign manager for a bond issue to support local schools. He joined the George Washington University College Republicans in the fall of 2004 and served as their freshman representative and treasurer when they were named "National Best Chapter" in 2005.
During the 2005-2006 academic year he served as secretary of the "DC Fed." Under his leadership as chairman in 2006,the federation expanded to new schools for the first time in many years and set new records for campaign involvement. Michael was re-elected for a second term in April 2007.
In July 2007, he was unanimously elected as the first vice-chairman for the Northeast Region. Michael is originally from Wildwood, Missouri. He will graduate from George Washington University with dual bachelor's degrees in political science and history in May 2008. He plans to pursue a career in law.
Kristy Cottrell is currently a senior at Auburn University. She began her involvement in the Republican Party during President George Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. Her dedication caused her to drop more than half of her classes to campaign for President Bush full-time in Alabama.
Immediately after the election she served as secretary of Auburn University's College Republican chapter and then was unanimously elected to chairman of the Auburn University College Republicans. In the spring of 2007, she was unanimously elected state chairman of the College Republican Federation of Alabama. She has worked since then to strengthen the reputation of the CRFA with the Alabama Republican Party and fund raise to support local chapters.
Kristy is proud to be a CRNC officer and looks forward to bringing respect and productivity to the CRNC and a strong voice for the Southern region.
John Swanson grew up in Northern California and Southern Oregon before attending Willamette University. In the spring of 2005, John was elected state chairman of the Oregon Federation of College Republicans. The leadership of John and his team produced stellar results, growing the federation from six chapters to 22 and generating more than 110,000 voter contacts recorded by College Republicans during the 2006 election cycle.
In addition to this organizational output success, John made his mark as a persistent fund raiser during his term,raising an unprecedented net total of $93,000 for the OFCR through individual solicitation and the implementation of an effective direct mail program, all without an existing house list of donors prior to his term. In light of such fund raising success, John was asked by Chairman Charlie Smith to become the finance director of the CRNC.
John intends on raising money for the CRNC and providing fund raising advice to state federations.
College Republicans is the nation's oldest, largest, and most active youthpolitical organization. Founded in 1892, there are currently over 250,000 CR's around the country on 1,800+ campuses in every state and DC.
Every year, CR's from all across America come together to help elect Republican candidates, support the Republican agenda, and become the future leaders of the conservative movement. College Republicans are the grassroots arm of the Republican Party - the counterbalance to the unions and leftist interest groups.
Our national organization runs three cornerstone programs: our FieldProgram sends full-time representatives to recruit, train, register,and mobilize our membership nationwide, our Wildfire activism programengages students in social-mobilization efforts to capture our demographic's energy online, and a sophisticated training program to ensure we are always on the cutting edge.
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