Calcasieu Parish delegates recently helped fuel an electrifying mood at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee where Donald Trump — speaking in public for the first time since an assassination attempt just days earlier — officially accepted the nomination as candidate for president of the United States.

Lake Charles’ Roby Dyer, president of the Louisiana Federation of Republican Women and chairman of the Calcasieu Parish Republican Executive Committee, attended as one of three voting delegates for the parish.

“It was incredible,” Dyer said. “For the first time we had three delegates from Lake Charles that attended. We actually got to sit on the floor and cast our vote for the next president of the United States.”

The excitement was palpable with an overwhelming spirit of unity and patriotism that was energizing, she said.

“The room had almost 120,000 people; it was packed,” she said. “People were happy, laughing, the bands were playing, it was almost like an incredible party.”

When Trump took the stage for the first time, the crowd roared.

“Everyone in the arena stood and applauded,” she said. “He was incredible.”

She said it was evident Trump was visibly moved by the reaction.

“You could see it on his face,” she said. “His family was moved.”

Trump called for unity and resilience during the event and in a post on his social media site said: “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win.”

The FBI would later identify the gunman in the assassination attempt as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Penn. He had used his father’s AR-style rifle and was perched atop a nearby roof when some rally-goers pointed him out to local law enforcement. A law enforcement officer said he climbed to the roof and found Crooks, who pointed the rifle at him. The officer retreated down the ladder, and the gunman quickly fired toward Trump, officials testified. That’s when U.S. Secret Service gunmen shot him

“We were so shocked, I guess is the best word I can use,” Dyer said of the shooting. “We grow up thinking that we have faith in the system and the Secret Service and at that time, we just had none. There were so many things that people questioned. Why were the bodyguards not the same height? Why was this young man allowed to get on the roof? There was just so many things that it took us straight back to the JFK assassination.”

Convention atmosphere

Dyer said she previously attended the 2016 Republican National Convention, but this was her first time as a voting delegate.

“Being a delegate is just a completely different experience than when you attend as a guest,” she said. “When you’re a delegate you’re part of the process. You actually feel like you’re part of making the decision. There’s so much more participation as a delegate. When you’re on the floor, it’s unbelievable.”

Dyer said the first day of the four-day convention was jam-packed.

“The first day was a very, very long day,” she said. “We went in the morning and that’s when they took up the votes from each state for the nomination of president and his pick as vice president. That took up most of the morning. There were also resolutions that were read across the state and we had to vote on those, as well, and then we took a break around 4 p.m. and at 6 p.m. the session started and it was just speaker after speaker after speaker, but you just never got tired hearing any of them.”

She said her more treasured memories from the convention are the testimonies shared from Gold Star families — family members of service members who have died while serving the nation during conflict.

“They were so emotional and there were hardly any dry eyes in the crowd,” she said. “Those families have so much confidence in President Trump’s leadership because of the support that he gave them. Their stories, I don’t know as a parent that I could have done that.

“The other thing that stuck out in my mind is a 98-year-old veteran who said that he would gladly re-enlist under President Trump’s leadership,” Dyer said. “When he said that, the crowd exploded.”

Dyer said each parish has its own caucus and Calcasieu Parish had the highest attendance for the state. The Lake Charles delegates in attendance are all members of the Louisiana Federation of Republican Women. She said the federation is a “grass-roots operation” made up of “an amazing group of women.”

“We work to inform the public on better government, we try to vet and elect great candidates for office and it’s just a sisterhood of women who work well together,” she said.

Dyer also gives a thumbs up to Trump’s vice president pick, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.

“I think he picked a very great man to be his vice president,” she said. “I got to learn more about him. You know, he grew up as a poor working class man. His mother was a drug addict, his grandmother had to come in and finish raising him so he’s had a few hard knocks in life. When he graduated high school, he joined the Marines and worked his way through college and he even made a statement that when he graduated he had $120,000 in debt and a family burial plot — that’s all he had to offer. He went on to start his own successful venture capital firm, married his college sweetheart, they have three great children and I think he’s a perfect example of living the American dream.”

Dyer also served on the credentials committee during the convention.

“That was an honor to be asked,” she said. “If there are any contested members, we had to resolve that. Actually, there was only one group from Missouri that was contested and we went through the process of listening to both sides and we made a decision on who would be credentialed from their state.”

Dyer said being involved in politics in a passion project for her.

“I care about our country,” she said. “I care about the direction it’s going in. I care about what’s going to be left behind for my children and my grandchildren. If I don’t do it, who will?”

Election countdown

Dyer said as the November election date approaches the Republican Women of Southwest Louisiana will be opening a Trump campaign headquarters in Lake Charles and will be hosting Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple during a roundtable luncheon at 11 a.m. Aug. 22 at the Lake Charles Country Club. The cost to attend the luncheon is $25.

Steve Jordan, vice chairman of the Calcasieu Parish Republican Executive Committee, is also director of area functions for the group.

“Roby’s my boss so I sort of do what he says,” Jordan said with a chuckle.

The pair will be leading voting registration drives in the coming months, he said.

The group will also host U.S. Congressman Clay Higgins at a roundtable breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 16 at the Lake Charles Country Club. The cost to attend is $35.