Captain James Van Thach (Ret.) U.S. Army, received the Rabbi Morton Pomerantz Veteran of the Year Award at the 141st Anniversary Licnoln Dinner. The presenter was Commander Bernadette Semple, a highly decorated wounded warrior herself. Captain Thach, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient, who was given the honorary title of Brigadier General by the Iraqi government as an advisor to the New Iraqi Army, spoke passionately, as a Veteran’s Advocate with Wounded Veteran Initiative of Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) with his beloved service dog Liz by his side. He spoke about finding one’s passion in life and in one’s community, and to “never give up” the fight. He said to “find a pal” to help you through any difficulty. The passion that gives him strength and purpose in his life, as a Suicide Prevention Counselor and a pal to the numerous veterans and fellow wounded warriors he has met traveling throughout the nation and the world, is to share healing and encouragement with each and every one of them, because of the tragedy of approximately 22 American veterans committing suicide every day.
Lincoln Dinner Video: Captain James Van Thach, Veteran of the Year
Lincoln Dinner Video: Fred Brown, Mentor, Friend and Lifetime Achievement Honoree
Fred Brown, the venerated Chairman of the National Black Republican Council and President of the New York State Black Republican Council, received the Harvey Moder Lifetime Achievement award, which was presented by Queens Republican Party Chairman Bob Turner. This award is presented annually to real-life American heroes, memorialized eternally in the name of the highly acclaimed past president of the Queens Village Republican Club, and World War II Veteran honored by Congress for his lifetime quest to fully account for our POW/MIAs.
Lincoln Dinner Video: Carl Paladino Keynote Speech
Legendary Buffalo developer and New York State Conservative firebrand, Carl Paladino delivered the keynote address, on the occasion of the 141st Anniversary Lincoln Dinner. He addressed a jam packed ballroom at Antun’s of Queens Village calling for the second American Revolution.
Carl Paladino is a risk-taker, unafraid to pioneer strategic retail developments in the most economically depressed areas of Buffalo, Syracuse, and Albany. As Chairman of Ellicott Development Company, which he founded in 1973, and a life-long advocate of the City of Buffalo, Paladino is best known for championing strategic ideas and has brought new life to the city and region. In the political arena, he pulled off an upset victory in 2010 winning the Republican nomination for New York State governor, and although he didn’t beat Cuomo, he is poised to run again for governor, which he mentioned in a recent interview with Neil Cavuto on the Fox Business Network.
Lincoln Dinner Video: Phil Orenstein, Patriot of the Year
Phil Orenstein, President of the Queens Village Republican Club and Republican District Leader of the 24th Assembly District in Queens, was honored as the Patriot of the Year. The presenter was former NYPD Captain and former City Council candidate, Joe Concannon. President Orenstein pledged to continue to pursue the Impossible Dream here in the belly of the beast, NYC until we take back our government from the progressive left.
