Dorchester is only 33 days away!

The Dorchester Board of Directors would like to invite you to Dorchester XLII to be held March 3-5, 2006 in Seaside, Oregon where you will hear insightful speakers, discuss hot issues affecting us today, meet elected officials and candidates, and enjoy the famous and irreverent Tent Show. To kick off the unique annual gathering of grassroots political activists from throughout Oregon, the Conference will host a gubernatorial debate on March 3rd between the individuals vying to challenge Governor Ted Kulongoski in next November. Republicans Jason Atkinson, Kevin Mannix, and Ron Saxton will all participate in the debate.

This is an exciting opportunity for Oregonians to hear these candidates make their case to lead our state,” said Dorchester Conference President Rick Thomas. “We are looking forward to an engaging and thoughtful discussion about the issues facing Oregon’s families, economy and future.”

The Dorchester Conference is America’s oldest annual political conference and the 2006 conference will be held on March 3, 4 and 5. It has garnered national attention for both its issue discussion and notable speakers. Dorchester has welcomed an array of notable national and local speakers over its 42 year history. (Past Keynote Speakers at the conference include President Ronald Reagan, President George H.W. Bush, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole, Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Karl Rove, California Governor Pete Wilson.)

Stay tuned to OregonCatalyst for the latest information on the conference.

Registration for the conference is filling up quickly “¦ so register and reserve your hotel room today!

Dorchester Board of Directors: Mark Burles — Director, GCR Research, Grace Ishida — Resource Coordinator, Kaiser Permanente, Delna Jones — Public Relations Consultant, Marla Rae — Communications Consultant , Angela Wilhelms — Press Secretary, Congressman Greg Walden

Officers for 2005/2006 are: President — Rick Thomas, Vice President — Jim Parker, Secretary — Linda Flores, Treasurer — Dierdre Molander, Past President — Pam Leavitt

Returning members of the board are: Scott Bruun, Becky Tymchuk, Annette Price, Tim Bernasek, Jerry Keene, Bill Lesh, Matt Lowe, Gail Wilhelms and John Patterson