Candidate for
Member, Republican Party County Central Committee; County of Sacramento; Supervisorial District 3

A Quick Autobiography of Elizabeth Varin

I was born January 6, 1949 the second daughter and a twin (I was born 5 min before my sister Ruth). We were born in a log cabin in Spearfish South Dakota. It was a real log cabin -- but not exactly primitive; it was two stories high and boasted a "music room" where we were born. Born premature in the midst of the famous blizzard of 1949, we weighted around 4 lbs each. Our incubator was a man's boot box with warmth provided by hot water in mason jars wrapped in a towel. Mom says we only survived because penicillin had just been discovered and the doctor was willing to make house calls day and night.

I and my sisters Ruth, Patricia (1 year and 9 months younger), and Shirley (eleven months older) grew up in Spearfish South Dakota, in many ways having the idea childhood. We, or at least Ruth and I, spent a lot of time roaming the Black Hills, rappelling off the cliffs with clothes line rope, sled riding, tubing down the creek, horseback riding; it was great. In the summers starting quite young we would spend a month or two at "the ranch," horseback riding, playing in the dirt with trucks, learning to milk the cows, feeding the milk calf with a bottle, swimming in the cattle ponds (eeww!, eating cow cake (yuck) and lots of other fun kid stuff.

I started babysitting for money when I was 10, and worked as a car-hop for A&W in the summer when I was 11 (before child labor laws). Before that summer and after, I worked on my uncle's ranch. I got paid $.50 an hour and at the end of each summer I had about $250 to buy school clothes. My primary job was driving tractor to cut, rake and stack the hay. A secondary job was to help train the registered quarter horses. I loved to ride, so this was a joy. I had two favorite horses: Katy-Dee-Dee, a black quarter horse that was part Arabian -- she ran like the wind and pranced like a queen; and Baggy Britches a fast, fun pinto pony I rode in barrel-races at rodeos.

When I moved to California in January 1969, I went to work at a bank to get my residency so I could pay in-state tuition + which in those days was about $5.00 a semester (compared to Black Hills State where I paid about $50.00 a credit). I moved to California in part because I had walking pneumonia and was working about 60 hours a week to pay my tuition, rent etc. About the third day I was in California, my mom (who lived in California and taught Business at a High School) wanted me to pick-her up at school and meet the other teachers. On the way I stopped at a bank to cash a check from my work-study job at Black Hills state. I had slept all day, quickly taken a shower and put my long hair in rollers. Thinking, "no one knows me anyway," I left the curlers in when I went into the bank. The teller sent me to talk to the bank president to get my check approved. He asked me about my work, and offered me a job. The other employees were scandalized thinking I had come in for a job interview with curlers in my hair!

On November, 1, 1992 I was baptized. God was always calling me + but I wasn't paying much attention. Then, I sent my son Brian to a Christian school and he came home talking about Jesus this and Jesus that. Having gone as a child to a church that never talked about Jesus + just God + I thought what Brian was saying was blasphemy. So we got out our bibles and began to research. It took awhile + but after "church hunting" for about a year we went to a church where the first 6 sermons spoke directly into our lives. Since then I have grown a lot spiritually. (Brian went on to be a missionary for YWAM). I believe that God's number one teaching about human relationships is that we are to love and not judge (that is his job). In addition, we are to hold each other (those who profess belief in Jesus Christ) accountable to God's word.

I have had the opportunity to go on multiple need-oriented mission trips: for example, I helped build a church in a small village in Guatemala, helped refurbish a house in Watts (Los Angeles area), taught accounting in Malawi and Mozambique (Africa), and English in China (July 2008). The accounting was supposed to be computerized accounting + but when I got there, the electricity wasn't really regular and the computers were very, very old, so for the most part I taught basic paper bookkeeping instead. I have been asked to go back to Mozambique later this summer, again to teach accounting.

I met Robert Daniel Varin in Sunday school in 1992 and we got married in August 1996 + after 12 years it still gets better every year.

Along the way, I got my BS in accounting, my masters in Human Resource Management and am currently working on my PhD in Transformational Leadership.

I had many different jobs prior to graduation with my BS degree: while in college I worked as a janitor, an analyst for the Department of Veterans Affairs, a teaching assistant, a tutor, a cooks assistant, a pizza parlor manager, an assistant chef, a bank credit checker, a cashier, and a waitress just to name a few (though not necessarily in this order). After getting my BS I went to work for the state of California + primarily because Brian was sick and I needed medical benefits. I worked there for 31 years and had a large variety of fantastic opportunities. I retired at 50 because I was ready; having been working since I eleven! Now, as owner of Varin & Company I am a consultant and facilitator for Appreciative Inquiry as a management style, a consultant on QuickBooks. In addition, I do the company books for (Robert Varin Construction) and our rental company. I also have a real estate license.

Other adventures in life have included: riding my bike from California (the corner of Sunrise and Sunset) to Spearfish So Dakota ; jumping out of an airplane(tandem with a parachute that qualified as "experimental aircraft") ; walking 100+ miles on the Pacific Crest Trail from Chelan Washington to Manning Canada + an "extreme" backpacking trip in 1998; many other backpack trips mostly in California but also in the Bitterroot National Forest (Montana) and the Gila National Forest (New Mexico); working as a volunteer building trails for the forest service for two weeks in the summer for 5 years; starting a women's soccer league and playing for about 12 years; running a half marathon (the Black Hills Marathon in 2004); coaching youth soccer for 10 years; riding my bike in many century and double century rides ; scuba diving in Mexico + almost every year for the past 10 or so years.

I have had some tragedy: I had a daughter Melinda Maria who died shortly after birth; I hit a woman with my car and killed her; and a sister's husband was killed in a car accident. The accident where I killed the woman was late in the evening on a dark night. It was my 30th, birthday and Doug (my then husband), Brian and I had celebrated with them fixing me dinner. As president of the soccer league, I took a quick trip after dinner to take postage stamps to some women who were getting ready to mail our newsletter. The woman was walking in the street and I hit her with my car. The accident was ruled unavoidable -- but it haunts me still today. She was 57 years old; slightly younger than I am today. The husband and kids sued me in civil court, but the suit was dropped when someone came forward to say the husband had pushed her in front of my car.

And I have had some blessings: My first child, Alison, was born before I was married and I gave her up-for adoption. In February 1997, after years of prayer and looking, I received a phone call from a young woman who said, "I think I am your daughter," and she was! We now have a great relationship - and she brought two fantastic grandchildren.

I have two pets: a dog and a cat. Razzle Dazzle is a West Highland terrier. My cat, named "Cat" was inherited from my Mom. Mom had Cat while she was traveling in her fifth wheel, so Cat was trained to walk on a leash. Every night around 11:00 Raz and Cat go and sit by the door until I take them on a walk. We go wind, rain, calm and clear. Though not on a lease, they stay within about four feet of each other most of the time. The Cat talking away and Raz stopping once and awhile to sniff her, I guess to make sure it is still her!

I am married, have two children Brian and Alison, and four wonderful grandchildren.

So, this is a quick summary of who I am. I am running for the Republican Central Committee because I believe the party is losing its central focus and seems willing to give up its core values to be the party everyone can endorse, regardless of their beliefs. And because I belief that the answer is to take action, rather than complain.