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Monday, June 14, 2021
Special Guest: Alan Keyes
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Join Greater Columbus Right to Life as we welcome Dr. Alan Keyes to Columbus on Monday, June 14, 2021, for Greater Columbus Right to Life's annual banquet. There is no cost to attend the banquet. An opportunity to support the work of Greater Columbus Right to Life will be extended at the end of the evening.
We will be following the guidelines of our event venue and all public health orders. In order to do this, we are making a few changes. We will be seating at tables of eight, rather than ten. We are foregoing the VIP banquet to create more space, and we will be at a lower capacity. As permitted, we will add additional seats. For those who prefer to join us from home due to health or distance issues, there will be a streaming option. Advance registration is required for all participants. Alan Keyes has dedicated his life to defending, promoting, and fighting for liberty. He is particularly known for bringing the evil of abortion - which he considers our nation's "greatest moral challenge" into the national spotlight. During the Reagan years, Keyes was the highest-ranking black appointee in the Reagan Administration, serving as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations and as Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. He ran for president in 1996, 2000, and 2008, and was a Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from Maryland in 1988 and 1992, in addition to his 2004 candidacy for the U.S. Senate from Illinois. His underlying philosophy can best be described as "Declarationism" – since he relies on the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence to define the premises on which our country was founded and to which it must remain committed if it is to survive. To Dr. Keyes, the Constitution itself cannot be faithfully interpreted, understood, or applied apart from the divinely-premised principles of the Declaration. Dr. Keyes is a passionate and convincing orator who holds that the truths of Declaration of Independence define the premises on which the country was founded and to which it must remain committed. Dr. Keyes blogs at LoyaltoLiberty.com, and writes commentary for WorldNetDaily, BarbWire.com, and Daily Caller. We hope you can join us to welcome Dr. Alan Keyes to Columbus for a night that will inspire you in the fight for the dignity of the human person from conception until natural death. Once again our banquet will be at the Villa Milano restaurant on Schrock Rd. For additional event information, including registration information, meal selections, and sponsorships, please keep reading. Registration Information: Table Hosts: One way that we are able to make our banquet a success is to invite individuals to serve as table hosts. There is no cost to attend our banquet or be a table host, but we do encourage you to let your guests know that there will be a free-will offering at the event. A table host reserves a table of ten and works to invite others to join us at the banquet. It is important to fill every seat at your table or notify us that you will have unused seats - not only because our banquet regularly meets capacity and we do not want to turn anyone away, but also because we pay for every meal reserved. For this reason, we may fill any seats not filled by June 1st unless other arrangements have been made. If you would like to reserve a table but do not yet have all of your names and meal choices, simply fill in any additional seats with "Guest" as the first name and your last name. As you fill your table, make sure to ask your guests their meal choice. You can either update your guest names and meals online or you can call/email us with an update. Individual and Small Group Registration: There is no cost to attend our banquet. If you are attending as a single person, a couple, or as a group of less than ten, don't worry; we are happy to have you join us, and we think you'll meet some great people at our banquet. Registration for individual and small groups is fairly easy - just select the number of tickets that you need and reserve your seats. If you have a group of people that want to sit together, it is helpful to register together. If you need to add more later, just let us know. We can accommodate group seating changes until a few days before the banquet. After that, we cannot guarantee seating people together. While this can be a small inconvenience, the software and programs that many use to manage this issue is very expensive for the small number of events we have. Thank you for understanding! Banquet Sponsors: There is no cost to attend the banquet, although guests will be invited to make a tax-deductible donation in support of our work. Event sponsors help us to underwrite the costs of the banquet to ensure that every donation made the night of the banquet is tax deductible. If you wish to serve as a sponsor, you can either call us, make a donation online, or download the form to the right and mail in a check or credit card number. Streaming Guests: If you elect to stream from home (or if you are on a seating wait list and additional seats do not open up), you will receive information on how to access the livestream of the event. Please register if you think you want to participate this way. Due to the terms of our contract with Dr. Keyes, we will not be posting this live stream on social media; it will only be available to those who register in advance. Frequently Asked Questions: Q: What are the meal options? A: Each meal will consist of bread, salad, an entrée, a vegetable side, a dessert, and iced tea, water, and coffee. Our entrée selections will be a regular (meat) lasagna, a vegetarian pasta, and a grilled chicken (gluten free). Meal selection will be made at registration and can be updated until June 7th when our meal counts are due. We know that more people than ever are mindful of their meal choices. One way that we are able to provide complimentary registration for this fundraising event is to pre-select meals from a limited menu. If you have specific dietary needs, please feel free to contact our office for problem-solving! A cash bar will be available until the program starts in the main dining area. Q: Are my children welcome to attend? A: We are a pro-life organization. As such, we welcome children and babies. That said, we encourage parents to think about their child and the format of the evening. It can be a late night and there is not any space for little legs to run around if they need to stretch. This might be a great opportunity for a mom and dad "night out." If your child will be attending and will need his or her own seat, please register him or her for a seat and meal. The veggie pasta has been a great option for picky eaters in the past. If your child is an infant and is in a lap, do not register a seat for the infant. Q: Can you accommodate special needs? A: Villa Milano is handicap accessible and there are ramps for those who cannot navigate steps. We also have some accommodations for those with other needs, but we would ask that you let us know in advance so that we can work to accommodate them. If you have any questions or concerns, give us a call and we can try to accommodate. For example, we do not currently have hearing assistive devices, but we have moved individuals closer to the speakers or secured earpieces in the past. Q: Is there parking available? A: Yes. There is plenty of parking. Q: When do the doors open? When does the program start? A: The doors will open at 5:45 for general seating. Our meal will be served at 6:30 and begin with a blessing of the meal. Q: There was a long line to get in last year. Can you speed this up? A: We've had long lines a few times, mainly because our events often bring 650-800 people - which is a blessing to us as an organization. We generally try to have 8-10 volunteers at the check-in station and 6-8 assisting with seating. If you would like to help as a check-in volunteer, or as a volunteer in any capacity, please let us know during registration. Many hands make lighter work! Q: What does it cost to attend? A: Attending our banquet is complimentary. We do invite those attending to make a donation to support the work of GCRTL at the end of the evening. We are able to do this thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and those purchasing VIP Reception tickets who help us to underwrite the full costs of the banquet in advance. Sometimes we hear from individuals who work in state, local, or federal government positions or another job with similar requirements and are not permitted to attend a free event. While the exact amount will change from event to event, we estimate that it will cost us about $45 per person who attends. We will update that information as the event gets closer. If you or your ethics officer have any question about attending, please let us know. |
Meet Our SPeaker
Table Host and Registrant Tips Note: Posters can be downloaded and printed in your home or office on letter (8.5 x 11) or Tabloid (11x17) paper. If you are hosting a table, the custom options will allow space for you to write contact information (like for a table for your church). You can also get copies of posters that are already printed by emailing our office with the size, type, and number of posters that you would like. Bulletin Resources * If you need another size or would like these customized, please email us. |
