March 27, 2007 – Herbert Schoenbohm, state chairman of the Republican Party of the Virgin Islands, has been appointed by the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Robert "Mike" Duncan, to serve on the Committee on Arrangements for the 2008 Republican National Convention being held from Sept. 1-4, at the new Excel Convention Center in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. The committee is crucial to the running and operation of a national party convention.
Schoenbohm is originally from Minneapolis where he attended West High School and graduated from the University of Minnesota before moving to the V.I. in 1968. In the 60s Herb was also well known as a radio personality in the Twin Cities with his Classics in the Night and jazz radio shows on KQRS. He played a key role during the selection process of choosing the Twin cities over Cleveland and Tampa as the location for the 2008 GOP Convention. His knowledge of the region and his experience in GOP national conventions since 1980 should prove to be valuable in the unique participation of Virgin Islanders who will be part of choosing the next U.S. president. In the 1988 GOP convention, he served as floor whip for the George H.W. Bush team.
At the spring V.I. Territorial Committee meeting the method of choosing V.I. National Convention delegates will be discussed. The V.I. Republicans will be selecting six at-large delegates at a date and method to be determined by the committee. With more candidates throwing their hats in the ring for president, these six at-large delegates, along with the three regular RNC V.I. members could play a key role in determining the next president in the 2008 election.
