The RLC of Florida lost a friend and comrade Nov. 8 with the passing of Jim Riis, 53. Jim served on the RLC state board since his election at the 2006 convention in Orlando until just before this year's convention in Jacksonville.

Jim, a history teacher at Zephyrhills High School, was an activist and a one-time candidate for the state legislature. He found the RLC by attending an RLC Update meeting in Tampa and saw the potential of the libertarian Republican strategy.

"Jim was a dedicated and loyal Republican, member of the Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee, and he was the founder of the Log Cabin Republicans of Tampa Bay," said Deborah Cox Roush, chair of the Hillsborough County Republican Party. "He believed in the principles of our party and worked hard to make the Republican Party successful."

In the picture above, he is shown above at far left at the RLC table at the 2008 Hillsborough County Lincoln Day Dinner. To the right, Jim is manning the RLC outreach table at a 2008 rally for presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX).

You can sign his guest book on his obit page:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tbo/obituary.aspx?