By Pat Lawrence
Beverly Lockhart, President of the Wood County Republican Women's
Service League and a few of her other faithful supporters. |
Beverly Lockhart has always been a party person. She has been active
in the Republican Party since the 80’s. A past state secretary,
and local Treasurer and Vice President, she is the current President
of the Republican Women’s Service League in Parkersburg. Appointed
to fill a vacant position on the Republican Executive Committee of
the district, two years ago, she was elected to the position.
She says, “The Republican Women are into issues that relate
to women and supporting women who are involved in politics. We also
work closely with the Republican Executive Committee.”
Born and raised in Vienna, Beverly’s father was a city councilman
and she got involved in politics at an early age. She says, “
The important thing is to not to let other people make laws that will
affect your life without at least knowing about it.” Beverly
says her mother gave her a book about Auschwitz when she was a young
girl. “It made me decide to never be a lamb to slaughter, to
never just ‘go along’.” She says, “Being involved
gives me a line to people who can make a difference.”
Presently undergoing chemotherapy for a serious kidney disorder,
Beverly isn’t always able to perform her duties as usual. But,
she says, “I have an awesome team backing me up – Sherry
Ellem, Anna Border and Linda Rabatin.” Vice President Sherry
Ellem, says Beverly has been responsible for increasing membership
in their Women’s League to 60 members and that Beverly was responsible
for initiating the joint effort by women of both parties to serve
refreshments together at the courthouse on election night.
Sherry, who took early retirement so that she could get active in
community activities, says, “Beverly is an example of what Dwight
Eisenhower meant when he said ‘Politics should be the part-time
profession of every citizen.’ And, if there’s anything
you want to know about the Republican Women’s League, Beverly
knows it!”
Beverly is glad to share the history of the group, noting that three
clubs operated in Wood County from 1933-1957 – one in Parkersburg,
one in Williamstown and one listed as Colored Republican Women. But,
it’s the future that holds her interest. “In any group,
there is a nucleus of ‘do-bees’. We want to increase that
nucleus. We look for young women who are inclined to leadership and
adults who want to hold office. We foster our people through the ranks,
offering scholarships for undergraduate women and building a future
by supporting outstanding women of the Republican Party.”
She is dedicated to building bridges – between the Republican
Women’s League and the Republican Executive Committee and to
other groups that share their beliefs.
She says, “Politics can be interesting. It can be demanding.
But it should be fun. If it becomes ugly, it’s not fun, so we
want to stay focused on issues, not personalities or personal attacks.”
Beverly, who was a registered Democrat when she was young, appreciates
women who are undecided or Independent and regularly invites them
to join their League. “We encourage them to express their views
by voting in the Republican primary. We have people from all walks
of life – it’s a very diverse groups. We work closely
and we get along. We want women who are interested in good laws and
good lawmakers.”
She won’t run for office herself, but Beverly was campaign
manager for a successful legislative candidate last year and has often
worked on up to six campaigns at a time going into the primary. “The
year gets hectic fast! There are fundraisers and dozens of events
where the candidate needs to be represented. I walked all the precincts
with my candidate. It is people, people and more people. And, it’s
all volunteer work.”
Despite her illness and the unpleasant medication side effects, Beverly
is gearing up for an election year. She takes comfort from her family
(and five German Shepherds) and inspiration from the women she considers
herself fortunate to lead. She says, “You have to give up time
to do this. But, you know you make a difference.”
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