The IowaFRW will host the Suffrage Centennial Gala on Saturday, June 22, at the magnificent World Food Prize Hall of Laureates, beginning at 5 p.m. Our Suffrage Centennial Committee is planning a fabulous event befitting the 100th anniversary of Iowa’s ratification of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. Many of Iowa’s female firsts and other trailblazers are supporting our event that honors those brave Suffragettes who soldiered on through generations of opposition, indignities and imprisonment. The Suffrage Centennial Gala will take us all back to that time and celebrate how far we’ve come. There will be food, speakers, entertainment, costumes (invited, but not required) and the opportunity to stroll the gardens and experience the stunning and historically significant Hall of Laureates. The Honorable Rebecca Kleefisch, former Lt. Governor of Wisconsin and the executive director of the National Suffrage Centennial Commission, has confirmed her participation and expects to be bringing a “surprise” guest from the White House. Mark your calendars and save the date. More details coming soon.
Senator Grassley has this to say about IowaFRW and our Suffrage Centennial: “The century celebration for the ratification of the 19th amendment hits close to home for my family. My mother, Ruth Corwin Grassley, was one of the first women in Iowa to cast a vote in Grundy County just hours after ratification. I didn’t realize what a trailblazer my mother was while I was growing up. The Iowa Federation of Republican Women empowers the next generation of trailblazers. Barbara and I appreciate your advocacy.”