Jenna Ridgeway
Our first meeting of the year on Jan. 2 came in with a bang as two very dynamic speakers addressed our PebbleCreek Republican Club (PCRC) to an enthusiastic full ballroom of members and guests. The 2025 PCRC Executive Board was introduced. Vice President Vicki Streeter read the names of members who had passed away in 2024. She also announced that members had donated $5,035 to U.S. Vets-Phoenix during our club’s holiday project. Membership Chair Camille Grabb revealed that the club finished the year with 833 members including 155 vets and 189 new members. Social Chair Linda Sweet reminded members to sign up for the Inauguration Party, which will be held in the Chianti Room on Jan. 20.
Incoming Maricopa Sheriff Jerry Sheridan spoke of his plans to change many of the policies of the previous sheriff’s department. These included replacing attorneys, improving interdepartmental communication as well as communication with the FBI in DC. His plans include upgrading recruitment and retention within his department and reestablishing the posse program. Sheridan plans to play a key role in the deportation of illegal criminals and in cleaning up the jail system, stating that there were 40 drug–related deaths in the jails in 2024. He hopes to get deputies out into the desert to confront the cartels who are making child molestation and sex trafficking rampant in Arizona. Jerry introduced a new program working with an international expert on threat assessment for identifying perpetrators of crimes and then having them jailed. Hiring more deputies can help with this plan. We look forward to his return to report back on this progress.
Loren Spivack is a nationally recognized author and promoter of free market capitalism. His lighthearted and humorous approach to pointing out the differences between capitalism and socialism helped everyone be both entertained and informed. Spivack began his crusade as the “Free Market Warrior” after his store was expelled from the Concord Mills Mall in North Carolina for selling material critical of the Obama Administration. He has spoken to over 200 groups about free market economics and the differences between capitalism and socialism. Examples of his parodies are throughout his seven books: The New Democrat, The Gorax, To Think I Saw It On CNN Live, The Wizard of Iz, Motley Clique, Fisherman’s Husband, and Kamalat.