June 19, 2001 – The Republican Party of the Virgin Islands will host a pre-Independence Day celebration and fundraiser at the Wyndham Sugar Bay Beach Resort on St. Thomas on Friday, June 29, with two prominent Washington, D.C., personalities as special guests.
Attendees will have an opportunity to meet and greet network television commentator and syndicated newspaper columnist Tony Blankley and his wife, Lynda Davis, president of a Washington lobbying firm, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the "casual-elegant" cocktail gathering at the Smith Bay resort.
Blankley, known for his sharp wit, is a regular participant in the public affairs talk show "The McLaughlin Group" and on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" and CNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews." He was former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's press secretary for seven years and later wrote the "Between the Lines" column, an insiders' look at Washington, in George magazine, which was started by the late John F. Kennedy Jr. and recently discontinued publication.
Davis is president of Davis/O'Connell, a government relations firm specializing in educational work force and high-technology issues. She has worked with the U.S. Senate Budget and Appropriations Committees, the federal Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Education. She was formerly Florida's state-federal liaison under Gov. Jeb Bush and his predecessor, Bob Martinez.
The event is a "non-partisan Independence Day celebration," according to a release, and the public is invited. Donations are $50. Tickets may be reserved by calling Frank Davis at 774-5764.
