6th Grader: Government can save $400 million by changing font

From Reason.com:

Sixth Grade Whiz Figures Out How to Save the Government
Almost $400 Million by Changing Fonts

Figuring out how to save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars on ink is so easy a sixth grader could do it. In fact, one did.

Suvir Mirchandani, a student at a Pittsburgh middle school, decided he wanted to look for ways to reduce waste at his school. So for a science project, he measured how much ink was used in creating enlarged versions of commonly used letters in his teachers' handouts. And then he measured how ink usage would be reduced by using different fonts.

Printer ink can be quite expensive—almost double the per ounce price of Chanel No. 5 perfume, as Mirchandani tells CNN, which first reported the story.

It turned out his school district could reduce its annual ink usage by 24 percent and save $21,000 a year by switching to Garamond, a lighter font with thinner, less ink-heavy strokes.

Suvir Mirchandani

After submitting his work to a journal for young researchers run by Harvard grad students, Mirchandani was encouraged to expand his research.

The task was tougher. But the potential savings were much, much bigger. CNN reports:

With an annual printing expenditure of $1.8 billion, the government was a much more challenging task than his school science project.

Suvir repeated his tests on five sample pages from documents on the Government Printing Office website and got similar results --change the font, save money.

Using the Government Services Administration's estimated annual cost of ink -- $467 million -- Suvir concluded that if the federal government used Garamond exclusively it could save nearly 30% -- or $136 million per year. An additional $234 million could be saved annually if state governments also jumped on board, he reported.

So will the Government Printing Office make a change? I wouldn't count on it:

Gary Somerset, media and public relations manager at the Government Printing Office, describes Suvir's work as "remarkable." But he was noncommittal on whether the GPO would introduce changes to typeface, saying the GPO's efforts to become more environmentally sustainable were focused on shifting content to the Web.

Sounds like Mirchandani may end up learning two lessons: With a little thought, a smart person can find simple ways for the government to save money—and the government doesn't seem terribly interested in pursuing them.

Peter Suderman is a senior editor at Reason magazine.

Senate Conservatives Fund picks T.W. Shannon

SCF Endorses T.W. Shannon for Senate in Oklahoma

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Today, the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) endorsed T.W. Shannon (R-OK) for U.S. Senate in Oklahoma. Shannon is seeking the Republican nomination to replace retiring U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK). SCF Executive Director Matt Hoskins made the following statement:

"T.W. Shannon is a constitutional conservative who will fight to stop the massive spending and debt that are bankrupting our country. T.W. Shannon believes in the principles of freedom that make this country great and will stand up to the big spenders in both parties to balance the budget and stop Obamacare. We're supporting T.W. Shannon because he's a principled conservative, he has strong grassroots support in Oklahoma, and he can win if Americans come together to support his campaign."

SCF launched a new website today so its members can donate directly to T.W. Shannon's campaign, and set a goal of raising $50,000 for Shannon before the end of the month.

ABOUT T.W. SHANNON

T. W. Shannon (R-OK)T.W. Shannon is the former Speaker of the House in Oklahoma. Chosen by his Republican colleagues, he was the state's youngest and first African American House Speaker.

T.W. Shannon has fought to shrink the size of state government and reduce the state's debt. He has worked to lower income tax rates and authored legislation to add work requirements for food stamp recipients.

T.W. Shannon believes that government programs create a cycle of dependency that robs people of their dignity and traps them in generational poverty. If elected, he will be a powerful voice for limited government in the Senate.

T.W. Shannon has been endorsed by conservatives such as former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, talk radio host Mark Levin, and RedState.com editor Erick Erickson.

T.W. and his wife, Devon, live in Lawton, Oklahoma and have two children.

The Senate Conservatives Fund is a grassroots organization that helps elect conservative leaders to the U.S. Senate. SCF often backs underdog candidates who are opposed by the Washington establishment. SCF has supported rising Republican stars like Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Marco Rubio (R-FL).

Recap: Current Candidates for Coburn's Senate seat

As of right now, there are eight Republicans planning to run for the U.S. Senate seat Dr. Tom Coburn is vacating. Yes, you read that right. Eight.

Here they are, in alphabetical order, along with a link to their respective campaign websites:

Randy Brogdon

Andy Craig

Kevin Crow

James Lankford

Eric McCray

Evelyn Rogers

T.W. Shannon

Jason Weger

You can keep track of the latest candidate listings, for federal and statewide office, by clicking this link. I have posted a shortcut to the post at the top-left of the blog, and list the date of the most recent update.

Senate Education Committee to hear anti-Common Core bill

Senate Ed Committee to hear bill assuring higher standards/complete state control
(link)

The Senate Education Committee will consider House Bill 3399 on Monday. The measure provides for the development and adoption of new English and math standards and assessments while prohibiting the State Board of Education from entering into any contract or agreement with any federal agency or private entity that would cede or limit state control.

Sen. Josh Brecheen, R- Coalgate, and Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, are Senate co-authors of the measure.

"Governor Fallin and Superintendent Barresi are to be commended for their leadership and insistence in higher standards,” Brecheen said. “With the committee substitute to HB 3399 we are ensuring Oklahoma's standards can exceed those of Common Core without surrendering state control through a well-written firewall that safeguards our students.”

Brecheen said the goal is to reduce the need for remedial classes after high school, helping more students successfully complete a college degree or Career-Tech certification.

"I am glad that we are responding to the people and moving forward on this issue. It is time we put Oklahomans back in charge of educating our children,” Sykes said.

Under the committee substitute for HB 3399, the State Board of Education would work with higher education and Career-Tech officials to adopt new English and mathematics standards by August 1, 2015.

House Speaker Jeff Hickman is the principal author of HB 3399.

“It is essential that we create standards that push our children to achieve in the 21st Century," said Hickman, R-Fairview. “This option gives Oklahoma the flexibility to establish quality standards aimed at success and resist any overbearing federal intrusion into decisions that should be made by the states. We have proven Oklahoma can be an economic leader, and we can prove that Oklahoma can also lead the way in student achievement.”

House co-author of the measure is Rep. Jason Nelson.

“This respects local control by placing decision making authority regarding curriculum, textbooks, learning materials, and reading lists with local school districts,” said Nelson, R-Oklahoma City. “We all want high standards which are developed and controlled by Oklahomans and that prepare our students for active citizenship.”

Under the legislation, school districts will have the exclusive right to determine instructional materials, curriculum, reading lists and textbooks.

Jenni White is the president of Restore Oklahoma Public Education.

“We are thankful to the bill's authors for their tireless work on HB 3399, and are truly grateful to House and Senate leadership for soliciting our input,” White said. “It will be a great relief to finally repeal the Common Core State Standards from Oklahoma law.”

Carolyn L. McLarty, Republican National Committeewoman for Oklahoma, joined White in her support of the legislation.

“In supporting the Senate committee substitute to HB 3399, I am very pleased that our legislators have found a constructive way to come together, listen to input from the people, follow the intentions of the Governor’s executive order, and act to help protect Oklahoma students, teachers and parents from federal control of education,” McLarty said.

The Senate Education Committee is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 24, in room 535 of the state Capitol. The Senate live-streams all floor sessions and committee meetings at www.oksenate.gov.

Erick Erickson endorses T.W. Shannon for Senate

This morning, RedState.com's Erick Erickson endorsed T.W. Shannon's Senate bid:

T.W. Shannon for Senate

I was genuinely disappointed that Jim Bridenstine did not get into the race in Oklahoma. He would have been the best candidate hands down. But we must take the race as it is, not as we wish it to be. That leaves a potential rock star and a congressman.

Count me with T.W. Shannon in Oklahoma. Sarah Palin has already endorsed him. I’m sure others will join in soon.

T.W. Shannon is the Speaker of the House in Oklahoma. He is a small government conservative and he has shown he can learn from his mistakes. Shannon was, at first, willing to consider health care exchanges in Oklahoma. But he listened to the voters and turned his back on the idea. His opponent seems to march to the beat of Washington.

T.W. Shannon is going to become a rockstar within not just the GOP, but the conservative movement. I believe he will also be more consistently conservative in his votes than his opponent. I hope you will join me in supporting T.W. Shannon for the U.S. Senate in Oklahoma.

Shannon was endorsed last week by Sarah Palin, and a recent poll released by a pro-Shannon group shows Shannon gaining ground against front-runner James Lankford.

"Not Well-Suited" for public office? Mike McCarville's platform

Mike McCarville, author of Oklahoma's premier political blog, has no intention of running for office, but his campaign platform has the makings of a winner.

The 73-year old political media veteran says that his platform "likely will offend many", but "so be it."  McCarville says he's "not well-suited", but I'll let you decide.

Here are Mike's first three planks:

1 – Elimination of the Internal Revenue Service and thus, the federal income tax.
2 – Elimination of the Oklahoma personal income tax.
3 – Removal of the federal government from the operation and/or oversight of public schools.

Sounds pretty good, huh? Read the rest here.

Who is behind 'Oklahomans for a Conservative Future'?

The Sunlight Foundation, a non-partisan (though left-leaning) transparency/openness organization, has tackled the issue of who is behind Oklahomans for a Conservative Future, the new group that is throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars behind T.W. Shannon's Senate campaign.

From SunlightFoundation.com:

An Oklahoma City construction executive and two state lobbyists with ties to a federal political action committee may have found the latest wrinkle in spending big on elections without revealing the source of their funds: registering as a for-profit corporation. Oklahomans for a Conservative Future Inc., a freshly-minted business in the Sooner State, has already spent $300,000 supporting the underdog campaign of T.W. Shannon in the Republican special primary this June. Because it's not organized as a political committee, the company won't have to disclose the source of its funds to the Federal Election Commission. And because it's not a 501(c)4 social welfare nonprofit, it doesn't face the limits on how much of its income it can spend on politics that tax law puts on groups like Crossroads GPS or the League of Conservation Voters.

They continue:

Paul Ryan of the Campaign Legal Center tells Sunlight in an e-mail that avoiding political disclosure is not as simple as registering a for-profit corporation: "Regardless of the corporate form or tax status this group chooses, the federal law definition of “political committee” applies the same way—(1) has the group made expenditures and/or received contributions exceeding $1,000 in a calendar year?  And (2) does it have as its major purpose influencing federal elections?  If the answer to both of these questions is yes, then Oklahomans for a Conservative Future Inc. is a “political committee” under federal law and must register with the FEC and disclose its contributors." As of publication, OCF has not registered as a political committee with the FEC. It is not clear what type of business the corporation — which lists its address at an Oklahoma City UPS Store — engages in. 

According to paperwork filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State, the three individuals behind OCF are Xavier Neira (vice-president of Manhattan Construction), Chad Alexander (longtime political consultant/lobbyist), and Stephanie Milligan (PAC administrative director and lobbyist).

Neira, Alexander, and Milligan have (or have had) ties to T.W. Shannon's campaign consultant, Fount Holland. In fact, Alexander and Holland have been partners in the firm Majority Designs.

That certainly puts an interesting twist into things.

Pro-Shannon group's poll has Lankford 37%, Shannon 28%

Oklahomans for a Conservative Future, the new group that has poured over $300,000 into supporting T.W. Shannon's Senate bid, issued a memo detailing new polling data that shows early movement in the U.S. Senate race.

Public Opinion Strategies Oklahoma Senate Republican Primary (link)

• James Lankford - 37%
• T.W. Shannon - 28%
• Randy Brogdon - 7%
• Other - 3%
• Undecided - 25%

Poll of  500 likely Republican primary voters, taken March 16-17, MoE of +/-4.38%

(conducted via telephone survey, 100 interviews being cell phones respondents)

Read the memo at this link.

I'll be posting more information on Oklahomans for a Conservative Future soon.

Christian Alternative to ObamaCare: Samaritan Ministries

With ObamaCare's March 31st deadline to purchase health insurance fast approaching, I'm re-posting an article I put up some time back about Samaritan Ministries, the health-care sharing ministry my wife and I are members of (along with a rapidly growing number of Christian families).

As healthcare costs continue to skyrocket, many families are struggling with the high price of health insurance. With the onset of ObamaCare, other issues with health insurance have come to the forefront as well, such as religious organizations being forced to cover birth control in their insurance plans. Is there another alternative to the health insurance industry? Is there another option that fits your family's moral values, and doesn't support abortion?

My wife and I joined Samaritan Ministries at the end of 2012. Samaritan Ministries is a not-for-profit religious organization classified as a health-care sharing ministry, and is not considered to be traditional "health insurance". HCSMs are exempt from the individual mandate in ObamaCare.

Who Can Join?

To be a member of Samaritan Ministries, you must be a professing Christian, agree to the Samaritan Ministries Statement of Faith, be a regular member of a church, agree to certain moral standards dealing with alcohol, tobacco, sexual activity, and have your pastor or church leader sign a testimonial form. You can view the Application Form here, and the Guidelines here.

How It Works

Members of Samaritan Ministries commit to sending a set "Share" each month (equivalent to an insurance premium) directly to fellow members with "Needs". Monthly "Shares" are not run through a central administration office, where funds could be diverted to office costs.

From SM, here’s how the Need Process works in a little more detail:

Samaritan Ministries publishes a monthly newsletter mailing that reports the total Shares and Needs and includes an individualized Share Notice for each member household. The Share Notice tells each household how to pray for a specific member with a Need and what his address is, so the Share can be sent to him. Typically less than 10 percent of the members have a Need in a given month and are receiving Shares.

When a member has a health care “Need” he receives health care treatment from a provider of his choice, collects the bills, and sends them to Samaritan Ministries. Samaritan Ministries verifies that the Need meets the Guidelines. Then, in the monthly newsletter mailing, Samaritan Ministries directs some members to send their Shares to the member with the Need. The member with the need receives the shares to pay his health care bills.

When a member has a medical need, the first $300 of the bill is the member's responsibility (similar to an insurance deductible). After the first $300, any other expense on up to $250,000 can be shared (click here for the Guidelines). Members can join SM's Save To Share program for an additional $15 a month to cover expenses over $250,000.

Members cover the first $300 on three Needs per year; if they have any additional Needs, the entire amount is shared. Members are encouraged to negotiate for bill reductions; any bill reduction is applied to their $300 responsibility amount, making it possible to entirely eliminate that amount.

What Does It Cost?

Members of Samaritan Ministries agree to share the following amounts per month, based on household size:

• Singles - $165 8/2016 figure: $220
• Couples - $315 8/2016 figure: $440
• Single-Parent Family - $230 8/2016 figure: $305
• Two-Parent Family - $370 8/2016 figure: $495

When one or both of the heads of household are under 26 years old, there is a discount:

• Singles - $125 ($40 discount) 8/2016 figure: $180
• Couples - $235 ($80 discount) 8/2016 figure: $360
• Single-Parent Family - $180 ($50 discount) 8/2016 figure: $255
• Two-Parent Family - $320 ($50 discount) 8/2016 figure: $445

Any changes to Share amounts is subject to a vote of the entire membership, and has to have 60% in order to pass.

More Information

For more information, visit Samaritan Ministries website at SamaritanMinistries.org. You can view videos, testimonials, Frequently Asked Questions, the Guidelines, the Application Form, and much more.

If you are interested in joining, I'd be more than happy to talk with you. You can call me at (918) 869-6000, or email me at JamisonFaught@MuskogeePolitico.com. When a member refers someone who then becomes a member, Samaritan Ministries gives the referring member a $180 credit. Obviously, that's some incentive, but regardless of that, Samaritan Ministries is a great organization.

Internal Poll: Lankford 47%, Shannon 17%, Crow 3%

According to an internal poll released by the Lankford campaign, James Lankford continues to hold a formidable lead in the Republican primary to replace Sen. Tom Coburn.

Tarrance Group Oklahoma Senate Republican Primary

James Lankford - 47%
T.W. Shannon - 17%
Kevin Crow - 3%
Other/Undecided - 33%

Poll of 500 likely Republican voters, taken February 10-12, with a MoE of +/- 4.9%

Randy Brogdon was not included because at the time of the poll, he was not in the race.

The only other publicly released poll on the race was conducted January 30th-February 1st, and had Lankford at 54%, Shannon at 18%, and Jason Weger at 1%.

OK House votes to stop Common Core

The Oklahoma House of Representatives just voted 78-12 to approve HB3399, which stops Common Core in Oklahoma.

This comes the day that State Senate leadership essentially killed SB1764, the Senate version of HB3399. At the same time, the same Senate leadership says they will hear any House bill that makes it over to the Senate regarding Common Core.

Breaking: Sarah Palin endorses T.W. Shannon

From Sarah Palin's Facebook page:

T.W. SHANNON FOR U.S. SENATE FROM OKLAHOMA

Tom Coburn leaves large conservative shoes to fill as he retires from the U.S. Senate. At 6’5 feet tall, T.W. Shannon is just the leader to fill them. T.W. is the underdog in his race, but that’s not a position he’s unfamiliar with. He’s had to beat the odds all of his life. He became the first Republican to ever win his district’s seat in the Oklahoma state legislature even though the naysayers said it couldn't be done. When he sought to be Speaker of the House, the naysayers said he was too young and too conservative to win. But his colleagues chose him anyway, and he became the youngest Speaker in Oklahoma history!

T.W.’s opponent has the backing of Beltway insiders, but T.W. has the passion and experience We the People need in Washington. As the former Speaker he can stand proud on his record of fighting for conservative legislation that directly benefited the lives of Oklahomans by lowering taxes, cutting government waste, and breaking the cycle of poverty by encouraging entrepreneurial self-reliance as the proven path to prosperity. T.W. understands that we need real leaders with vision and a steel spine to get things done. As he told me: “We are suffering from a lack of conservative vision. I believe we desperately need leaders with deep convictions who will fight—and win—the battles for conservative policies.”

We can also rest assured that T.W. will bring to D.C. the integrity and moral compass he acquired growing up attending Bethlehem Baptist Church and teaching Sunday School. T.W. Shannon is exactly the kind of dynamic young conservative leader we need in Washington!

To learn more about T.W. Shannon and lend him your support, please visit his website at www.twshannon.com.

- Sarah Palin

Costello blasts Common Core

Commissioner Mark Costello Condemns Nationalized Common Core Takeover of Education

Carl Albert, Oklahoma’s Little Giant, credits much of his success to a schoolteacher from Bugtussle, Oklahoma. Albert was a National debate champion, Rhodes Scholar and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. His uncommon success is hard to imagine coming from today’s latest educational fad, Common Core. Excellence may be achieved from the factory floor; however, classrooms are not factories and children are not economic units.

Common Core is to education what Obamacare is to health, a centralized government process that strips local control away from parents, teachers, and school boards. Why the push by large non-profits to establish national education standards? Some have asserted the concept of “mass production” will lower per unit costs. In other words, the God given individual qualities and talents of each child will be restructured by a nationalized production process guided from a top down political structure.

George Will writes, the “timeline for adoption and implementation has been driven by the Obama administration’s Race to the Top program and its approach to No Child Left Behind waivers.”

Common Core is an assault on local control of education. In any of the fifty states and 19,429 local communities I would rather defer to a parent, who loves their child, to protect the interests of their child than to an elitist bureaucrat.

The large non-profit organizations pushing Common Core are reminiscent of the manufacture of the first mass produced automobile. Henry Ford said, “You can have any color of car that you want as long as it’s black.” Parental choice is eliminated as schools are pushed to have the same curriculum and textbooks.

Some have argued Common Core resembles the failed “No Child Left Behind” initiative that incentivizes teachers to teach to the test. In other words, students are taught to memorize rather than learn and develop critical thinking skills. As a founder of Oklahoma companies, I was most interested in those prospective employees who displayed critical thinking skills, not necessarily the ability to pass a test.

In Common Core the progress of the classroom teacher is measured by student performance on national standardized tests. Worst yet, Sandra Stotsky, a professor at the University of Arkansas, who served on the committee to validate Common Core standards said, “The standards dumb American education down by about two grades worth.”

William F. Buckley, Jr. once stated that he would rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than the faculty of Harvard University. I have full trust and confidence in the parents of Oklahoman that they will exercise better judgment than the large non-profits and the elites of Washington.

Oklahoma’s elected officials have no greater duty than protect the next generation of Oklahomans from this sweeping top-down federally centered power grab over local control of education. Eliminate Common Core lock, stock, and barrel. Eliminate Common Core under any name. Eliminate Common Core now.

Two new Republicans running for 5th Congressional District: Turner and Sparks

The Oklahoma 5th Congressional District's GOP primary just got a lot more crowded: state rep. Mike Turner and pastor Harvey Sparks have thrown their respective hats into the ring for the Republican  nomination.

State Rep. Mike Turner is 26 years old, and was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2012.

In his news release, Turner said “After surveying the current field of candidates, many people approached me about running. There simply wasn’t a true, ‘across the board’ conservative on issues ranging from taxes and spending, social issues, economic growth issues like tort reform, and immigration.”  The 'tort reform' comment is likely aimed at fellow candidate Steve Russell, who was a very conservative state senator but opposed tort reform legislation.

News9 reports that Turner is willing to spend $500,000 of his own money on the race.

Harvey Sparks is a Baptist pastor, former missionary, and recent staffer for 1st District Congressman Jim Bridenstine. In his news release, Sparks pledged to serve only three terms, to "never vote for a debt limit increase, budget or continuing resolution that doesn’t include a plan to get us back on the road to fiscal solvency", and said that he "will not support anyone for House leadership, current or future, who doesn’t have a track record of taking seriously the fiscal situation that we are in."

"Oklahomans for a Conservative Future" makes large Shannon support buy

T.W. Shannon's run for U.S. Senate recently received help in the form of a significant independent expenditure campaign. A new group called Oklahomans for a Conservative Future, Inc, has launched statewide television ads and direct mail urging Oklahoma Republican voters to support the former State House Speaker.

The group filed organizational paperwork with the Oklahoma Secretary of State on February 5th, 2014, the week after Shannon officially announced his Senate candidacy. Bloomberg.com has excerpts of the television commercial narration.

Shannon is one of seven Republicans seeking to replace retiring Sen. Tom Coburn.

Fallin to keynote Muskogee County GOP dinner in April

The Muskogee County Republican Party has announced that Gov. Mary Fallin will be speaking at their main fundraising event of the year, on April 24th:

Gov. Fallin to keynote 2014 Lincoln-Reagan Dinner

Muskogee, OK --  Governor Mary Fallin will be the keynote speaker at this year's Lincoln Reagan Dinner on the evening of April 24th, 2014.  Tickets are $30 per person if prepaid or $40 at the door.  Sponsorships are available for $250 which entitles you and one guest to a pre-dinner private reception and picture with the Governor, tickets and preferred seating for the dinner, as well as a listing in the program as a sponsor.

Candidate tables just outside the dinner venue will be available for $25.  Since this is such an important election year, we expect to see many of the candidates at this event.

To register as a sponsor or to purchase dinner tickets and candidate tables, please call Jerry Huffer at 918-360-7228 or Melanie Grayson at 918-441-6250.

Candidate forms are available for download on our Downloads page.

Inhofe draws his first GOP challenger: Iraq vet Erick Wyatt

Republican Erick Wyatt wants to be your next United States Senator, and thinks he can beat incumbent Sen. Jim Inhofe.

Wyatt, an Army and Coast Guard veteran, was born in Tulsa and resides in Norman with his wife and two children. His website is EricWyattForOK.com, and according to a post on Facebook, announced his candidacy against Inhofe on February 25th.

In 2013, Wyatt had launched a campaign for Senate in Texas, against incumbent John Cornyn, but then withdrew in November.

Muskogee County GOP announces 2014 scholarship application deadline

Muskogee County GOP Offers Scholarships

The Muskogee County Republican Party is accepting scholarship applications from graduating high school seniors residing in Muskogee County. Over the years, the MCRP has bestowed more than a dozen area students this monetary award. Several $500 scholarships will be given to students who meet the following criteria:

• Have at least a 3 point grade average their senior year.
• If 18 years of age, be a registered Republican.
• If student is not 18, one parent must currently be a registered Republican.
• Must be a first year freshman Fall 2014 semester.
• Must be a resident of Muskogee County.

Students meeting the above criteria may email muskogeerepublicans@gmail.com or mail a completed application to P.O. Box 2278, Muskogee, OK 74402, no later than Thursday, April 3rd. An appointment will then be set for an interview with the MCRP Scholarship Committee prior to April 17th.

Public announcement of scholarship winners will be made at the 2014 Lincoln-Reagan Dinner hosted by the Muskogee County Republican Party on Thursday, April 24th , at the Muskogee Civic Center. The keynote speaker will be Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin. Scholarship recipients are requested to attend and will receive free admission, plus one complimentary ticket.

Applications are available at every Muskogee County highschool or online at MuskogeeRepublicans.org/downloads.