Have you "recovered" yet from the Florida primary? Ready to refocus your efforts on winning BIG in 2012 like we did in 2010? Here are some great opportunities to get involved locally, meet fellow conservatives and make a difference.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez will be at Cafe Versailles this Saturday, February 11 at 10:00 am. The event is a breakfast being held by Cuban American Patriots & Friends. The event is open to the public.

Remember you can check www.youtube.com/miamiyrs for clips of our recent events featuring the congresswoman.

Also this Saturday, the Republican Party of Florida is taking to the streets to get new Republicans registered! Beginning at 10:30 am at the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County office (1460 NW 107th Ave, Suite P, in Doral, the RPOF is organizing a door-to-door voter registration initiative, working with a list of the most likely potential voters to join the party.

If you're interested in getting involved, please contact Alex Miles, RPOF Field Director, at 786-390-9307

South Florida Conservative, the premier local tea party organization, is hosting a special event on Thursday, February 23 at 7:00 pm. The event will feature Mr. Trevor Loudon, author of the new book Barack Obama and the Enemies Within. The book examines the radicals and ideologues surrounding the administration and Obama's camp. Mr. Loudon is an activist and political researcher from Christchurch, New Zealand.

The event takes place at Brasa Nova Grill, which is located at 9610 SW 8th Street in Miami.

The Florida Federation of Young Republicans, of which we are a proud longtime member, hosts its next quarterly meeting February 17-19, 2011 in Tampa.

If you're serious about campaigning and getting involved... or even if you're just "serious" about having some fun with fellow young conservatives from around the state... you should definitely consider attending this quarterly! Check out this link for information:

http://www.ffyr.org/2012/01/winter-quarterly-info/

As you'll see, the event is set to feature some political strategists and analysts who are in the thick of things with the top campaigns. This will be discussion of real world campaign experience. Then we'll head out to Tampa Bay for some real fun, including the Gasparilla Knight Parade!

Our next general meeting is Tuesday, February 28. As always, we're at The Globe Cafe & Bar in Coral Gables, and we'll start with a 6:30 happy hour and a 7:30 general meeting. Stay tuned for updates on the specifics of the meeting --- we hope to see you there!

Thanks to everyone who came out to our special movie night event. Special thanks to Mr. Kevin McGurgan, OBE, U.K. consul general for Miami and the Caribbean, who shared his insights on Margaret Thatcher, conservatives in the U.K. and the fight against the spread of socialism across Europe. It was a great evening!

The next meeting of the Miami Young Republicans is Tuesday, January 24.

We start with happy hour at 6:30 pm, and the business of the meeting at 7:30 pm.

We have quite a program lined up for Tuesday night. Our guests include:

• County Commissioner Lynda Bell joins us to shed light on the two ballot issues that are accompanying this primary for voters in Miami-Dade. True to Florida form, these ballot initiatives can be confusing when you first look at them, so Commissioner Bell will help "translate" and take questions!
• Coral Gables Mayor Jim Cason joins us to share a wealth of personal experience. This includes local government and unseating an incumbent Democrat mayor in "City Beautiful". He also previously served as head of the U.S. interests in Cuba and as ambassador to Paraguay. This gives him a unique perspective on the foreign policy proposals of the various Republican presidential candidates.

We're also expecting representatives from all the major GOP presidential campaigns to come out and share a few words about their candidates and why you should support them.

We'll also be giving away some Republican books from over time (they're free, but of course club donations are appreciated).

We're back at our regular location this month --- The Globe Cafe & Bar, which is located at 377 Alhambra Circle in Coral Gables, just east of LeJeune Road on the north side of the street. Try the chorizo quesadilla!

Remember that our meetings are free, and open to everybody (the "Young Republicans" part of our name only means that our board is made up entirely of volunteers aged 18-40). So come out, and bring a friend!

Our friends in the Hialeah-Miami Lakes Republican Club meet Monday night, January 23 at Chico's Restaurant, which is located at 4070 W 12th Ave. in Hialeah. Their special guest will be Vivian Casals-Muñoz, Hialeah councilwoman. Check out the Facebook page for their event here, https://www.facebook.com/events/333416713355638/, and get involved if you're interested in that area of town!