Democrats of Indian River Honor Rita Chanfrau
Remarks by Chair Adriana de Kanter at the Blue Gala honoring Rita Chanfrau on Sunday, February 23, 2020.
Thank you for this incredible turnout to the Indian River County blue gala. We all know why we are here. We are here for one reason–to save our democracy. It is that dire. Just as our forbearers fought an evil despot with muskets and canons to free this country from tyranny so, too, are we waging an on the ground war to save our constitution and our republic. However, today our weapon is the ballot box. Our ammunition is voter registration and vote by mail registrations. Democratic vote, by democratic vote, we will elect a democrat to the white house in 2020. We will turn the senate blue. We will hold the house.
Each of us has a role in making this happen. We have a role in bringing back decency, humanity, empathy, truth, and leadership. And many of you are already are one of our blue heroes doing the hard work to flip Florida blue. There is one person, in particular, I would like to recognize tonight.
Would Rita Chanfrau please join me at the podium?
When I first met Rita, I was struck by her cool, classic beauty and gracious elegance. However, this was quickly displaced by my growing awareness of her keen intellect and linguistic abilities. I noticed that quietly and immediately, Rita can sum up a situation and determine what is needed to be a success. She is a businesswoman. So, just as she can determine success, she can spot failure.
A bit enigmatic, Rita is quiet but you know she is listening, analyzing, making decisions. And, so it was with us—the Democrats of Indian River—when we met with her and gave her the statistics for what was needed to even begin turning this county purple. Was she going to consider us a smart investment? Rita did not hesitate. She went to the heart of what our “business” needed to prosper and survive. Rita donated to the Democrats of Indian River one year’s worth of rent for our headquarters office so we did not need to worry about raising money for infrastructure but could dedicate ourselves to our mission–boots on the ground, recruiting volunteers to register democrats to vote and vote by mail.
Therefore, it is with immense gratitude and admiration that I give this tiffany vase to Rita Chanfrau for her dedication to the democratic cause and her willingness to make her giving matter in our own Indian River County community.
Please join me in a round of applause as we thank Rita.
