This came over in the evening from the California Republican Party:

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PARTY NAMES KATHY TAVOULARIS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CA DELEGATION TO 2008 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION

(SACRAMENTO) - The California Republican Party (CRP) and Chairman Ron Nehring named Kathy Tavoularis as Executive Director of the California Delegation to the 2008 Republican National Convention (RNC), to be held in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota from September 1-4, 2008.

"Californians are proud to once again send the largest state delegation to Minnesota to take part in selecting the party's nominee to be the next President of the United States," said Chairman Ron Nehring. "A well organized delegation is extremely important for our candidates and delegates, and Kathy is uniquely qualified to take on this role."

New state party rules provide for the selection of convention delegates by each congressional district, rather than in a statewide 'winner-take-all' contest as in previous years. As a result, multiple candidates and campaigns will be represented within the California delegation.

State party bylaws were revised earlier this year to provide for the CRP to organize the national convention delegation.

Tavoularis will oversee and direct all programs and logistics for the California Delegation to the Convention including events, operations, communications, and accommodations for the nation's largest delegation. Tavoularis will also coordinate information and operations between all Presidential campaigns, including the eventual Republican Nominee for President and Vice President.

"Kathy is well respected in California Republican politics. Her work and political experience in managing large scale programs and her attention to detail are valuable assets and will make California's delegation proud," said state Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman. "California is definitely in play for the major Presidential candidates, so we are extremely pleased to have someone like Kathy taking the lead for our state," Ackerman added.

Tavoularis is President of Southern California-based Tavoularis Projects, which serves several high-profile clients, including the New Majority California. Previously, she served as statewide Field Director for Victory 2006 - a project of the California Republican Party. In the Victory program, Tavoularis managed a staff of 60 that executed the most comprehensive get-out-the-vote campaign in recent California history to re-elect Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the entire Republican ticket.

Tavoularis also served as Executive Director of the Republican Party of Orange County, California, where she directed the county party's day-to-day operations culminating in 2004, where she managed and implemented the get-out-the-vote effort in Orange County producing the highest vote margin of victory of any county in the United States. In that same year, Tavoularis served as a delegate to the RNC in New York City, where she reported live from the convention floor for CNN as their 'Delegate Diary'.

Convention organizers anticipate 45,000 delegates, alternate delegates, Party officials, volunteers, members of the media, and convention guests. The 2008 Presidential Election brings about the first time in 80 years in which neither the sitting President nor Vice President will seek the Party's nomination.