On March 22, the Thurston County Republican Party hosted its annual Lincoln Day Dinner at Hangar 51 at Olympia Regional Airport.
Brandi Kruse, a popular local podcast host and former news correspondent for Fox Q13 in Seattle, was the keynote speaker for the event.
The Thurston County Republican Party is a not-for-profit political organization, and the official county Republican Party organization for the Washington State Republican Party. The purpose of the county party is to advocate for transparent and responsible governance locally and to help elect candidates for local office.
The annual Lincoln Day Dinner is the county party's largest fundraiser of the year. This year saw record fundraising and participation from the local community. Issues like parental rights and property taxes were hot topics of concern from dinner guests.
The honorable statesman and former Secretary of State Sam Reed took a few moments to reflect on the life of the Honorable Ralph Munro, and honored his memory by reflecting on some of his great achievements in a lifetime of public service.
One of the highlights of the evening was the lifetime achievement award presented to former state representative JT Wilcox. The Republican Party in Thurston County is thriving now, but many years ago it took a large donation from Representative Wilcox to keep the official party doors open to the public.
Two other local volunteer citizens were recognized at the event. Ronda Sutton was awarded Republican of the Year in Thurston County for her volunteer work on the Dave Reichert Gubernatorial campaign.
Alesha Perkins, who is not affiliated with the Republican Party, was awarded Activist of the Year for her activism within our public school districts. Her countless hours of research and writing have brought to light many opportunities for improvement when it comes to our public schools.
Perhaps the most noticable difference this year was all the new faces of varying backgrounds that created a vibrancy everyone enjoyed.
Concern for our community is not a partisan issue, as many moderate independents made their way to Hangar 51 to enjoy the evening. Even Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders came to witness the festivities, along with Republican state Representatives Travis Couture, Dan Griffey, Matt Marshall and Andrew Barkis.
We are grateful for all of the attendees and donors that helped us raise a record total. Proceeds will go a long way to help promote common sense issues and candidates in Thurston County this coming year.
All government functions are better with a diversity of ideas and philosophies. We are proud to extend an open hand of conservative fellowship to the Thurston County community.
- Corey Gauny is Chair of the Thurston County Republican Party.
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