Condoleezza Rice to speak at luncheon in Vestavia Hills tomorrow

Former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice will be in Vestavia Hills tomorrow speaking at a Christmas luncheon being hosted by the Republican Women of the South.

The event will take place at 400 Beaumont Circle in Vestavia Hills. A handful of tickets are still available and can be obtained by contacting Cindy Douglas at 205-585-5854.

Yellowhammer caught up with Mrs. Douglas this week to get her thoughts on Dr. Rice and the upcoming event.

YELLOWHAMMER: What compelled Republican Women of the South to invite Dr. Rice to this event?

CINDY DOUGLAS: Republican Women of the South is one of the oldest Republican clubs in the state of Alabama. Our club goal is to promote an electorate informed of the principles of constitutional government and the Republican party. We do this through many venues, but one of our venues is community service. Our club literacy chairman is Ms. Genoa McPhatter, Dr. Rice’s aunt. For several years we have distributed Dr. Rice’s autobiographies, both the one of her years growing up as well as the more recent book of her years in Washington, to school children and young professionals here in Birmingham. We are very honored that Dr. Rice’s schedule would allow her to attend our Christmas luncheon this year where we will highlight the importance of not only “political action” but community service at the grassroots level to help people better understand principles of good government.

YELLOWHAMMER: What is it about Dr. Rice that makes her a great role model for Republicans women — and Republicans in general — around the country?

CINDY DOUGLAS: Dr. Rice is such an accomplished person, both in academics and the arts, and one of Birmingham’s finest daughters. She is just a couple of years younger than I, so we’ve seen the same “political landscape” through the years; I really enjoyed reading her books and I am so happy she’s coming back to Birmingham so often now. I believe her life has been characterized by years of even tempered diplomacy as she has faced hard issues and conflict, growing up in Birmingham during our tumultuous years of civil rights challenges as well as in her work in Washington. She is an excellent role model not just for Republican women but for men and women of all segments of life, I think she is such, primarily because of her lively faith and heartfelt commitment to making the world around you a better place.

YELLOWHAMMER: How are ticket sales going, do you have more tickets available?

CINDY DOUGLAS: Ticket sales are going great. We haven’t had to do a lot of publicity, just let people know she’s speaking and they want to come! We do have more tickets available so if anyone is interested, they can call 205-822-7813 or 205-967-4510 for more information.