Photo courtesy of Republican Women of Prescott
by Barbara Ernst, RWOP Media Chair
The Eagles Nest at Prescott Resort was packed with Republican Women of Prescott (RWOP) members, guests and community leaders for the October celebration of their 80th anniversary.
Founded in 1942 by Dora Heap, RWOP currently boasts of 1,000-plus members and is the largest Republican Federated Women’s Club in the nation.
Joan Bigley, 97 years young, was the oldest RWOP member attending, and she charmed the guests with her stories of RWOP many years ago. Another event highlight was a tribute to Sen. Karen Fann, who retired at the end of 2022.
Fann has been a faithful member of RWOP for nearly a decade. During her term of office, she has been praised over and over for her many personal accomplishments as our long-time representative. She is a great mentor, adviser and is very accessible to her constituents.
Among her great attributes are her devotion to her rural community roots, always fighting to protect our rural way of life and her unwavering allegiance to the Republican Women of Prescott and the Republican Party.
Decorations of red, white and blue balloons and flowers complemented the Eagles Nest décor for the anniversary. The RWOP singers entertained the attendees while Reva Fredericks played background piano for
the event.
Nine former RWOP presidents were honored with rose corsages. Memorabilia from past years was on display throughout the room including scrapbooks, awards, trophies and poster boards mounted with published articles.