Citizens Advisory Board

Michele Bachmann, U.S. House of Representatives, Minnesota 6th Congressional District

M_ Bachmann official resized and cropped.jpgCongresswoman Michele Bachmann is a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Financial Services Committee. She has taken the opportunity of serving on the Intelligence Committee to regularly advocate for peace through strength to ensure America’s national security.

In 2006, Congresswoman Bachmann became the first Republican woman to be elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives. A self-proclaimed “Constitutional Conservative,” Bachmann is committed to fixing Washington’s broken ways by advocating for America’s adherence to the Constitution. Bachmann champions tax reform, works to cut wasteful government spending and supports limiting the size of our government. She also is devoted to the repeal of Obamacare. As a believer in the traditional values upon which this country was founded, she consistently defends America’s religious liberties and the importance of the family as the first unit of government. She has worked continuously to defend the right to life for all Americans, including the unborn.

In July 2010, Bachmann established the Tea Party Caucus. She is proud to stand with the Tea Party to call for lower taxes, renewed focus on the Constitution and smaller government.  In 2011, Bachmann entered the Republican primary race as a candidate for President of the United States.

Prior to serving in the U.S. Congress, Bachmann served in the Minnesota State Senate from 2000-2006. Before holding elected office, Bachmann worked on hundreds of civil and criminal cases as a federal tax litigation attorney.

Bachmann is a graduate of Anoka High School and Winona State University. After receiving her J.D. at the O.W. Coburn School of Law at Oral Roberts University and an L.L.M. in Tax Law at the College of William and Mary, she along with her husband, Marcus moved their young family to Stillwater, Minnesota. There they opened a small business, healthcare practice that employs nearly fifty people. The Bachmann’s, who have been married over thirty years, have five children: Lucas, Harrison, Elisa, Caroline and Sophia. The Bachmann’s have also cared for 23 foster children, inspiring Bachmann’s tireless efforts in Congress on behalf of America’s foster and adopted children, a role that has earned her bipartisan praise.

She is proud to represent Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District, a district which contains parts of six counties, stretching from Stillwater past Saint Cloud, including several suburbs of the Twin Cities.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Allen West, USA, Retired, Former Congressman for Florida 22nd Congressional District

Congressman Allen West official photo (1)Congressman Allen West proudly and humbly serves the constituents of Florida’s 22nd district, encompassing parts of beautiful Broward and Palm Beach Counties along South Florida’s coastline.  Born and raised in the inner city of Atlanta, in the same neighborhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached, patriotism is in Congressman West’s blood. His father was a Corporal in the U.S. Army and served in the European theater of operations in WW II, and his mother, the outspoken and lovable “Snooks” West, worked as a civilian on a local Military Installation.  Congressman West’s nephew currently serves in the Army. Before retiring as an Army Lieutenant Colonel, West served as a Field Artillery Officer in several combat zones: in Operation Desert Storm, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was battalion commander for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, and in Afghanistan, where he trained Afghan officers to take on the responsibility of securing their own country.

“My father was proud of his own service, and believed that serving your country was the greatest of all honors,” West said.  “Both of my parents taught me that it was not necessary to rely on a government handout to achieve my goals. They wanted me to believe in myself and told me that in America, with hard work, all things are possible.”

In 2004, after serving 22 years in the Army, West retired from the Military, and brought his wife, Angela, and two daughters, Aubrey and Austen, to South Florida, to be closer to his wife’s family. Congressman West taught high school for one year and then returned to Afghanistan as a civilian advisor to the Afghan army.

A proud conservative and American patriot, and with the encouragement of friends and neighbors, Congressman West decided to make a bid for Congress.  With a purely grassroots movement, that ignited support across the country, West’s fresh, no nonsense approach launched him from being a virtual unknown to raising the second highest amount of money for a Congressional candidate in the entire country.  Almost all of the donations pouring in to Congressman West’s 2010 campaign were from individual donors.

In November of 2010, Congressman West was honored to be able to continue his oath of service to his country when he was elected to be a Representative in the United States Congress.

“I have traded in my camouflage uniform for a suit,” West said.  “But the commitment to protect the people of the United States is still my mission.”

Congressman West received his Bachelor’s degree while on an ROTC scholarship at the University of Tennessee and later went on to get a Master’s degree from Kansas State University, both in political science. He also holds a Master of Military Arts and Sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer College in political theory and military operations.

In his Army career, Congressman West has been honored many times, including a Bronze Star, three Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals (one with Valor), and a Valorous Unit Award. He received his valor award as a Captain in Desert Shield/Storm, was the US Army ROTC Instructor of the Year in 1993, and was a Distinguished Honor Graduate III Corps Assault School. He proudly wears the Army Master parachutist badge, Air Assault badge, Navy/Marine Corps parachutist insignia, Italian parachutist wings, and German proficiency badge.

In his free time, Congressman West enjoys cheering on his beloved Tennessee Volunteers, is an avid distance runner, a certified SCUBA diver, motorcyclist, and attends Community Christian Church in Tamarac, Florida.

Ambassador Alan Keyes 

imag54Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Social and Economic Council, Reagan Administration Official, and three-time U.S. Presidential Candidate. He has served as President of Citizens Against Government Waste, and is the Founder and Chairman of the Declaration Foundation. He is the author of ‘Our Character, Our Future (1996), and ‘Masters of the Dream’ (1995). He received his Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University, and has served as Interim President of Alabama A&M University. Dr. Keyes is nationally recognized for his intellectual and articulate defense of human life.

 

Richard Campbell

imag57Richard Campbell is a graduate of the University of Denver School of Law. He served as a Special Agent in the FBI and in legal department at United Airlines as the Director of Government Affairs. In 1995, he formed Campbell Bohn Killin Brittan & Ray, LLC, where he currently serves as its managing partner. He has served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for St. Joseph’s Hospital, on the executive board of the Boy Scouts of America, as a trustee of both Regis University and the Seeds of Hope Foundation. He has also served as the Chair of the Finance Council for the Archdiocese of Denver and provided legal counsel for World Youth Day. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Police Activities League, Commerce Bank, Project C.U.R.E., and the Smithsonian Institution. He is also the director of Exempla Saint Joseph/Lutheran Hospitals. Mr. Campbell has received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Catholic Lawyers Guild; the Award of Excellence for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America; Founder of the Society of Jesus; and an Honorary Degree – Doctorate of Public Service from Regis University.

 

Past Chairman of the Citizen’s Advisory Board

 

Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr., Rear Admiral USN, (1924-2014)

imag49Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr. first came to the attention of the American public during a television interview arranged by his North Vietnamese captors in 1966. Expected to give “proper responses” to a journalist’s recitation of alleged American war atrocities, Denton responded that he believed in the position of his government and that “I will support it as long as I live.” Throughout the interview while responding to questions, Denton blinked his eyes in Morse Code repeatedly spelling out the covert message “TORTURE.” His message was the first confirmation that American POWs were being mistreated. Jeremiah Denton was subjected to severe torture during his nearly eight years as a POW. He became the first American military captive to be subjected to four years of solitary confinement. Denton’s extraordinary account of endurance and religious faith while imprisoned in Vietnam was told in his 1976 book “When Hell Was in Session.”

After his release in 1973, Denton continued his military career ultimately achieving the rank of Rear Admiral. Upon retirement from the Navy, Denton was elected to the U.S. Senate, the first Republican ever elected by the popular vote to represent Alabama. Denton has spoken widely on the need to restore America’s founding principles by adopting laws and policies that reflect obedience to the will of God.

Bowie Kuhn, (1926 – 2007)  

imag49Bowie K. Kuhn was born in Takoma Park, Md., and grew up in Washington. A graduate of Princeton University in New Jersey, he earned a law degree from the University of Virginia. His first job out of school was with a law firm that represented the National Baseball League.

Beginning in 1989, Kuhn served as chairman of the Greenwood Foundation, a nonprofit organization formed by lay Catholics in 1985 to support agencies that help women with problem pregnancies.

Mr. Kuhn also served on the board of the Catholic Campaign for America which focuses on religious freedom, defending the family, protecting human life and ensuring peace and social justice.

Kuhn was also a member of the advisory board for the Ave Maria Foundation. 

In addition, Kuhn served as Chairman of the Catholic Advisory Board and a Member of Catholic Advisory Board of Ave Maria Bond Fund as well as serving as Director of Marshall College.

Kuhn also served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1984.

One of Mr. Kuhn’s favorite post-baseball activities was serving as what he called “an itinerant preacher,” speaking at Catholic men’s conferences throughout the country.

Kuhn once said he wanted to be remembered simply “as a good Catholic man.”