Amy Drake was named the Democrat of the Year at the fifth annual Kosciusko County Democratic Party Hall of Fame Dinner Saturday.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame were Howard Woodward, Richard and Iris Dickerhoff and Charlie Cain.

Cain was presented with his award by Drake, who said Cain gave her her start with the Democratic Party. Asked to say a few words, Cain said, with tears in his eyes, "I can't do it. I love you all."

Of the inductees, party chairman Steve Haines said, "I'm proud of every one of you. It's been a privilege to work with every one of you."

After the awards were presented and after dinner, guest speakers included Third District chairman Dennis Tropp and Third District congressional candidates Jay Rigdon and Rodney Scott.

Tropp said initially the party wasn't excited about having all of Kosciusko County in the Third District because Kosciusko is known as a Republican county and the Third District already had enough Republicans. However, Tropp said, the more he has gotten to know the county, the more he is excited the county is in the Third District.

"As an organization, there are a lot of things we are trying to do," Tropp said of the Third District.

He said since he has taken office as the district chairman for the party, they have looked at possible congressional candidates.

"The good surprise that I have is that I now have two good candidates," he said of Rigdon and Scott. He said both candidates can make the party proud.

Also, he said, they have worked on getting county party chairmen out of office who weren't doing their jobs and replacing them with county chairmen who will.

Since the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, Tropp said, there have been things that have scared him and also made him proud.

One of the "things" that scared him, he said, is that he and a couple of friends found themselves whispering when they didn't agree with how the government was handling issues since the attack when they were around a couple of Republicans. At another time, when two women heard him say he didn't feel comfortable with parts of President Bush's speech, Tropp said, the two women became outraged at him for having an opinion different from the president's. He said even in crisis, Americans still have the right to protest.

"I'm not going to be denied the right to say what I think and I'm not going to whisper it ever again," he said.

Scott, a professor at Ivy Tech and the University of Saint Francis, also said he was initially concerned about Kosciusko County being in the Third District, but the more he heard about the county, the more impressed he became. "As a party, as an organization, you are very active," he said.

Speaking on the terrorist attacks, he said the events of the last 10 days will change the nation. "We must do something. We must act. We must remove these individuals from the world stage," he said of the terrorists.

The foreign threats aren't the only concern the nation has, he said. The other threat is when a nation gets so wrapped up in the flag that they give up their liberties. Quoting Benjamin Franklin, Scott said, "A nation that sacrifices their freedom for security ends up with neither."

Rigdon said the events since Sept. 11 have shown that even after the turmoil caused by the impeachment of President Clinton, the failed election process of last year's presidential race and the change in the Senate this year, the nation still comes together as Americans during a tragedy.

During the last 10 years, he said, the radical right has said the federal government is the biggest threat to this country. Yet, in the last couple of weeks, it's been shown that isn't true because the federal government has become more engaged to help with the national tragedy.

A third point, Rigdon said, is that people are saying they don't understand why the terrorists did what they did. However, the terrorists also don't understand Americans, he said. They thought the country would fall apart, but Americans have not done that and have shown that the country will fight.

Rigdon said next year the congressional seat will be won by a Democrat. "I urge you, each and every one of you, to decide who will win this next year and begin working for him right now."

He also pleaded that hate against people of Middle Eastern descent not be spread just because the terrorists were Middle Eastern.

He concluded by telling those in attendance to continue raising their families, be good Americans, be good Hoosiers and be good Democrats. [[In-content Ad]]