WASHINGTON, DC – The Ripon Society held its first GOP Women breakfast discussion of the year last Thursday morning. The event is a continuation from the largely successful 2022 series. The widely attended event is the first in a series of luncheons and other events that are planned for this year and are intended to bring together GOP women who are interested not only in policy and politics, but learning from and building relationships with other women who are pursuing similar careers.

“One of the goals of our series is to promote and foster relationships of Republican women both on and off the Hill,” stated Jim Conzelman, the President & CEO of The Ripon Society, which is hosting the series. “And as we all know, relationships are one of the most important things in life. I think it’s especially true in politics and other high-pressured, competitive environments. As one who spent thirty years, eight months, twenty-three days and four hours on Capitol Hill – and I realize there are some people that go, ‘Gosh, you’ve spent more time on Capitol Hill than the number of years I’ve been on earth’ – but, you know, it’s all about relationships.”

According to Conzelman, the featured speaker at Thursday’s breakfast was U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow (LA-5). In her remarks, Letlow – who won re-election this past November after coming into Congress through a special election in 2020 – discussed motherhood, education, and her new role on the influential House Appropriations Committee. In a fireside chat format, she also talked about her call to serve the people of the state of Louisiana. 

“It’s amazing – the good, salt of the earth, hardworking people that really don’t want anything. They want the government to stay out of their lives for the most part. They captured my heart from day one. It is an absolute honor to serve them,” Letlow said about her constituents when asked for her latest thoughts on life in Congress. “That is really what I believe my role is here to do. My role is not to be on television.  It’s not to be famous. It’s to serve other people. A lot of people ask me, ‘How do you balance it all?’ I think it’s so important for our children to see us serve. You might see me with two little ducklings behind me, but they are a part of this. They get to see their mom wake up every day and after a tragedy choose hope. The people in the Fifth District are what make my life so incredibly whole.”

“My role is not to be on television.  It’s not to be famous. It’s to serve other people.”

Conzelman said last Thursday’s breakfast follows up on a series of papers and policy events The Ripon Society has published and hosted over the years geared toward increasing the number of Republican women. He further noted that the next event for GOP women policy and political professionals is scheduled to be held this summer.

“The response to Thursday’s breakfast has been overwhelmingly positive,” he stated, “and we look forward to holding more events in this series this year.”

The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.

For more information on The Ripon Society, please visit www.riponsociety.org.

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