By Phil Orenstein
Welcome to the New Year, 2020, the Year of Trump! This is the year that our annual Lincoln Dinner blasts off on March 22nd as we celebrate Abraham Lincoln, our first Republican President and the founder of the Party of Freedom. We are proud to be the Party of Lincoln, Reagan and the Party of President Donald Trump!
This is the year that we kick off our President’s re-election for four more years of great accomplishments and putting America and our citizens first! But remember, while we may believe President Trump’s re-election is a sure thing, let’s not get complacent and relax, thinking our country is safe. Tucker Carlson said on a recent show, “we’ve been watching with amazement and alarm as the leaders of the Democratic Party, day after day, attack the country they say they want to govern.” He was primarily referring to Rep. Ilhan Omar and to the Democratic presidential candidates questioning the legitimacy of the United States. Even supposed moderates, like Joe Biden are jumping on the blame America bandwagon.
We Republicans must come out to vote in incredible numbers on Election Day for our President and all down-ballot Republicans to win, in order to keep our country in safe hands. Don’t think for a second that New York is a lost cause and sit this election out. We are proud patriots who know that America is worth the fight. New York, Queens, and our own neighborhoods are also worth fighting for! It’s all about attitude. Change your attitude and we can change Queens and New York!
Once upon a time Queens was a Republican stronghold, with a Republican borough president and dozens of Republican elected officials. With a thriving residential middle class, everyone who owned a home or a business was enrolled in the Republican Party. Queens is President Trump’s birthplace! We have a great battle ahead, to make Queens Republican again, if we change our attitude! Queens is worth fighting for!
The change will come on March 22, 2020 at Antun’s of Queens Village when we celebrate the 145th Anniversary Lincoln Dinner together with our fellow patriots, Republican candidates and elected officials. We will be energized, inspired and encouraged to change Queens, as we honor the achievements, service and sacrifice of our great American hometown heroes and Republican stars.
Our Young Republican of the Year honoree is Gavin Wax, a rising young Republican superstar. Gavin is a prolific political columnist, former New York State director for the Ted Cruz presidential campaign, and president of the New York Young Republican Club, the oldest and largest Young Republican club in America. He is leading a vast grassroots effort of young men and women to turn New York Red! He fires up his troops saying, “Get going. Move forward. Aim High. Plan a takeoff. Don’t just sit on the runway and hope someone will come along and push the airplane. It simply won’t happen. Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you’ll love it up here.” His message is to change your attitude and you can change the world!
The most moving part of the dinner program is the ceremonial honors presented annually to heroic Veterans from our community. We are proud to announce Great Neck resident, Sgt. Philip Kahn, U.S. Army Air Corps, a highly decorated World War II Veteran, will be this year’s recipient of the Rabbi Morton Pomerantz Veteran of the Year Award. Rabbi Pomerantz, the deceased Marine Corp and Navy chaplain, and venerated advocate of Veterans and Republican causes, was memorialized forever in the name of this esteemed award. Sgt. Kahn, who just celebrated his 100th birthday, will be escorted to the podium by our past honoree and dear friend, Lester Friedman who is a World War II Veteran from the same U.S. Army division. We are proud to honor these heroes of our Greatest Generation and keep their legacy alive.
We will be honoring other great American heroes and patriots from our community, as the Lincoln Dinner Committee is busy at work, putting together the roster of nationally acclaimed speakers and honorees to make the 2020 Lincoln Dinner our greatest celebration to date. Senator Marty Golden will be the recipient of this year’s Harvey Moder Lifetime Achievement Award, named after our inimitable past club president. Senator Golden has been a passionate Republican stalwart and pillar of Brooklyn politics for over 20 years. We are proud to honor this great public servant, a retired New York City police officer, a fierce advocate for lymphedema and lymphatic disease research, with a lifetime of great achievements in public office for all New Yorkers.
Rabbi Menashe Bovit will be the recipient of the Religious Freedom award, for his noble interfaith work in the community, as a vociferous defender of the State of Israel, America and the U.S. Constitution. Rabbi Bovit, spiritual leader of the Bellerose Jewish Center, teaches us that the foundation for Western Civilization is grounded in the Torah, that our rights and responsibilities come from God, not from government.
Stay tuned as this exciting program unfolds. Let’s join together with our fellow Republicans, Conservatives and American patriots, at the historic 2020 Lincoln Dinner! Take an ad in our beautiful dinner journal to support this great event and make your reservations to attend using the accompanying flyer insert. See you on March 22nd when we will change Queens and change the world!
