Edmond Life and Leisure - February 13, 2025

Edmond GOP Women’s Club to meet Feb. 18

By Tonya Cofffman

GOP Women’s Club

Monday, February 17th, is Presidents Day and Oklahoma Christian University is closed in observance of the Holiday. Therefore, our February meeting will be Tuesday, February 18th. As always, the doors open at 11:15 a.m., with the buffet lunch served at 11:30.

This month we are so pleased to have Ryan Haynie, Criminal Justice Reform Fellow & General Counsel

with OCPA, back with us. Ryan's topic will be "Open Primaries", an initiative now being introduced in the State of Oklahoma.

Prior to joining OCPA, Ryan practiced law in Oklahoma City. In 2024, he created the first-of-a-kind Judicial Scorecard which scored Oklahoma

Supreme Court Justices based on how they adhered to conservative principles of judicial review. Ryan is active in the Federalist Society, serving as the Programming Director for the Oklahoma City Lawyer's Chapter. He holds a B.B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He and his wife, Jaclyn, live in Oklahoma City with their three children.

We are also pleased to have Senator Kristen Thompson as our sponsor for the month of February. Senator Thompson was elected in 2022 to represent District 22, which includes areas of Oklahoma and Canadian counties. A fourth generation Oklahoman, Thompson grew up in Fort Gibson and is a proud graduate of The University of Oklahoma.

Over the last decade, Kristen and her husband, Bryce, have started and grown multiple small businesses in the commercial construction and hospitality industries. Cumulatively, their businesses provide over 200 quality jobs for Oklahomans in the Oklahoma City metro area. Prior to joining the Senate, Senator Thompson served her community in various ways. In addition to volunteering in her children's public schools for years, she was a member of the Visit Edmond Tourism Board, representing the restaurant industry. While on the visit Edmond Board, Kristen also served on the youth sports and event growth strategies subcommittees, identifying opportunities to increase tourism revenue.

Currently, she serves on the Tri Delta Childrens Foundation, a 501c(3) that focuses on supporting Oklahoma's pediatric cancer organizations. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Bryce, and together they have three children. The Thompson family has attended Frontline Church since 2012. The ERWC club has been very active in both national and local elections. Two important local elections coming up are the Edmond Mayoral race runoff and Edmond Public Schools District 5 (north of Danforth) coming up on April 1st.

If you would like to join us on February 18th, we need your reservation asap. Please contact us at ERWC1787@gmail.com indicating whether or not you would like to have lunch. The cost for meeting and lunch is $23, and meeting only is $5.

Our meeting location is Oklahoma Christian University, 2501 E Memorial Rd., Edmond 73013, in the Gaylord Event Center. The doors open at 11:15, with buffet served at 11:30, and meeting starting at approximately 11:45 a.m.