Walorski Remembered At Kosciusko GOP Hall Of Fame Dinner
November 3, 2022 at 12:03 a.m.
Walorski Remembered At Kosciusko GOP Hall Of Fame Dinner
By David L. Slone-
Walorski was one of four people killed Aug. 3 in a two-vehicle accident near the intersection of Ind. 19 and Ind. 119.
GOP Chairman Mike Ragan invited Walorski’s husband, Dean Swihart, up to the front of the room at The Owl’s Nest in North Webster to play songs he performed at Walorski’s funeral.
“I had the opportunity to play out in the U.S. Capitol in Statuary Hall for the former Congressional member’s memorial service. They asked if I wanted to read a poem. I said I can read a poem, but that’s not what I do. I said, can I play my saxophone? They said, yeah, you can play your saxophone,” Swihart recalled.
He played “Amazing Grace” on his saxophone and a medley of songs on an electronic wind instrument (EWI), including “America, the Beautiful,” “God Bless America” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Afterward, Ragan said, “Dean has chosen to come and be with us this evening, and it’s only just been three months since we lost Jackie, and it was such a horrible tragedy, and many of us aren’t over it.”
He talked about how many of the Republicans at the dinner went to Walorski’s funeral and the funeral of Zach Potts, who was a member of Walorski’s staff that also died Aug. 3.
“It’s a loss that will be very, very hard to fill,” Ragan said.
He said Kosciusko County had the largest representation at the Republican caucus to replace Walorski as the District 2 Republican candidate, with 82% of the county’s Republican precinct committeemen there.
“We selected Rudy (Yakym III), and it was a wise choice,” Ragan said before introducing Yakym as the keynote speaker.
Yakym began his comments by stating, “I wish the circumstances that I was standing before you today were different. Zach Potts was a good friend of mine. He did a great job in building the machine here in the 2nd District. And Jackie - what a person!”
Over the last 73 days of the 80-day election race, Yakym said he’s traveled the district and he and his wife learned and confirmed what they had known for a long time. “That was that within this district, Jackie was known and she was loved,” he said.
He talked about the many different experiences he’s had of running into people who would come up to him and tell him about how much they loved Walorski.
“I’ve had many veterans come up to me. There’s been so many veterans Jackie helped within this district. And I knew that she helped a lot of people, but she helped, and I’m here to tell you, more people than any of us will ever possibly know. Random people on the street who would just come up to me and say, ‘Rudy, I’ve got to tell a story,’ and they would share their story of what she did to help them,” Yakym said.
Over the last 73 days, he said he’s also gotten to know many of Walorski’s colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives. Yakym said Walorski was respected and beloved among her colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats.
“Jackie loved traveling the district, and the district loved having her around. She loved hearing from Hoosiers and hearing their concerns,” Yakym said.
In the last 73 days, he said Tuesday’s dinner was his ninth trip to Kosciusko County. He listed a few of the people he’s met with during those trips, including grassroots folks, a medical device roundtable, business leaders, an education roundtable, EMS and public safety, a healthcare roundtable and “your very own Jean Northenor.”
He talked about how Indiana has its first Indiana Supreme Court justice in Loretta Rush because Northenor fought for Rush like she fought for Walorski.
“In all of the meetings we had here in Kosciusko County, we listened to your concerns, we listened to what’s on your mind. We listened to suggestions of what it takes to fix some of the issues we’re having,” Yakym said. “I’ll tell you what we’re not hearing. We’re not hearing answers or questions or suggestions like, ‘Rudy, we really think we need a bigger government.’ We’re not hearing, ‘Rudy, Washington, D.C., is the answer.’ We’re not hearing, ‘Rudy, could you just go to Washington and take that $5.5 trillion that we’re spending per year and maybe amp it up a little more.’ We’re not hearing any of that.”
He said what they’re hearing are issues of less government, regulation and spending.
There’s so much at stake, he said, that it requires that “we vote the right people in nationwide to rein in the out-of-control Biden and Pelosi policies that are hurting Americans every single day. Issues like inflation. ... No matter who you are in society, inflation is reaking havoc.”
He said America “once and for all” must balance its budget.
“The second thing we’re hearing is a loud message about security,” Yakym said, which includes everything from backing up the local and state police to making sure the southern border is secure and maintaining a strong military presence internationally. “What we know for sure is that weakness arouses evil, and the weakness of the United States on the international stage has emboldened people like Vladimir Putin to advance on the western front. We can not allow nations to bulldoze other nations.”
Yakym also said the U.S. must take care of its veterans.
The third big issue he said he’s hearing about is energy independence. “The position that we’re in today in the United States is that we have allowed foreign governments to dictate our energy prices here in Kosciusko County,” he said. “... We can not allow foreign governments to dictate our energy prices. The United States of America is the greatest country in the history of the world, and it is great for a number of reasons. And one of the reasons it is great is because we have always controlled our own destiny.”
Yakym said the U.S. doesn’t control its own destiny in energy and it must get back to a position where it does.
“This is a pivotal moment. Next week, we get to decide what kind of future we want for our kids and for our grandkids,” he said.
In his concluding remarks, Yakym said he owed it to the district, his family, Swihart and to Walorski to finish the election race “exhausted. And that we will.”
Earlier in the dinner, Ragan had state treasurer candidate Daniel Elliott and secretary of state candidate Diego Morales speak briefly.
Kosciusko County Republican Women’s Club outgoing President Cindy Dobbins presented a special award to Avis Gunter, who was unable to attend the dinner.
“The late Jackie Walorski was a great friend to many of us in the Women’s Club. We worked along side her at fish fries. She rode with us in parades. She worked along side us at the county fair and everything. And she was just an inspiration, not just politically but also personally. She was always willing to step up and listen,” Dobbins said.
In honor of Walorski, the Club decided to do an Inspirational Award and Gunter was the first recipient for being an inspiration.
Dobbins, a member of the Warsaw Common Council, and Warsaw Common Council President Jack Wilhite received the Woman and Man of the Year honors for 2022 at the end of the dinner.
Walorski was one of four people killed Aug. 3 in a two-vehicle accident near the intersection of Ind. 19 and Ind. 119.
GOP Chairman Mike Ragan invited Walorski’s husband, Dean Swihart, up to the front of the room at The Owl’s Nest in North Webster to play songs he performed at Walorski’s funeral.
“I had the opportunity to play out in the U.S. Capitol in Statuary Hall for the former Congressional member’s memorial service. They asked if I wanted to read a poem. I said I can read a poem, but that’s not what I do. I said, can I play my saxophone? They said, yeah, you can play your saxophone,” Swihart recalled.
He played “Amazing Grace” on his saxophone and a medley of songs on an electronic wind instrument (EWI), including “America, the Beautiful,” “God Bless America” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Afterward, Ragan said, “Dean has chosen to come and be with us this evening, and it’s only just been three months since we lost Jackie, and it was such a horrible tragedy, and many of us aren’t over it.”
He talked about how many of the Republicans at the dinner went to Walorski’s funeral and the funeral of Zach Potts, who was a member of Walorski’s staff that also died Aug. 3.
“It’s a loss that will be very, very hard to fill,” Ragan said.
He said Kosciusko County had the largest representation at the Republican caucus to replace Walorski as the District 2 Republican candidate, with 82% of the county’s Republican precinct committeemen there.
“We selected Rudy (Yakym III), and it was a wise choice,” Ragan said before introducing Yakym as the keynote speaker.
Yakym began his comments by stating, “I wish the circumstances that I was standing before you today were different. Zach Potts was a good friend of mine. He did a great job in building the machine here in the 2nd District. And Jackie - what a person!”
Over the last 73 days of the 80-day election race, Yakym said he’s traveled the district and he and his wife learned and confirmed what they had known for a long time. “That was that within this district, Jackie was known and she was loved,” he said.
He talked about the many different experiences he’s had of running into people who would come up to him and tell him about how much they loved Walorski.
“I’ve had many veterans come up to me. There’s been so many veterans Jackie helped within this district. And I knew that she helped a lot of people, but she helped, and I’m here to tell you, more people than any of us will ever possibly know. Random people on the street who would just come up to me and say, ‘Rudy, I’ve got to tell a story,’ and they would share their story of what she did to help them,” Yakym said.
Over the last 73 days, he said he’s also gotten to know many of Walorski’s colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives. Yakym said Walorski was respected and beloved among her colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats.
“Jackie loved traveling the district, and the district loved having her around. She loved hearing from Hoosiers and hearing their concerns,” Yakym said.
In the last 73 days, he said Tuesday’s dinner was his ninth trip to Kosciusko County. He listed a few of the people he’s met with during those trips, including grassroots folks, a medical device roundtable, business leaders, an education roundtable, EMS and public safety, a healthcare roundtable and “your very own Jean Northenor.”
He talked about how Indiana has its first Indiana Supreme Court justice in Loretta Rush because Northenor fought for Rush like she fought for Walorski.
“In all of the meetings we had here in Kosciusko County, we listened to your concerns, we listened to what’s on your mind. We listened to suggestions of what it takes to fix some of the issues we’re having,” Yakym said. “I’ll tell you what we’re not hearing. We’re not hearing answers or questions or suggestions like, ‘Rudy, we really think we need a bigger government.’ We’re not hearing, ‘Rudy, Washington, D.C., is the answer.’ We’re not hearing, ‘Rudy, could you just go to Washington and take that $5.5 trillion that we’re spending per year and maybe amp it up a little more.’ We’re not hearing any of that.”
He said what they’re hearing are issues of less government, regulation and spending.
There’s so much at stake, he said, that it requires that “we vote the right people in nationwide to rein in the out-of-control Biden and Pelosi policies that are hurting Americans every single day. Issues like inflation. ... No matter who you are in society, inflation is reaking havoc.”
He said America “once and for all” must balance its budget.
“The second thing we’re hearing is a loud message about security,” Yakym said, which includes everything from backing up the local and state police to making sure the southern border is secure and maintaining a strong military presence internationally. “What we know for sure is that weakness arouses evil, and the weakness of the United States on the international stage has emboldened people like Vladimir Putin to advance on the western front. We can not allow nations to bulldoze other nations.”
Yakym also said the U.S. must take care of its veterans.
The third big issue he said he’s hearing about is energy independence. “The position that we’re in today in the United States is that we have allowed foreign governments to dictate our energy prices here in Kosciusko County,” he said. “... We can not allow foreign governments to dictate our energy prices. The United States of America is the greatest country in the history of the world, and it is great for a number of reasons. And one of the reasons it is great is because we have always controlled our own destiny.”
Yakym said the U.S. doesn’t control its own destiny in energy and it must get back to a position where it does.
“This is a pivotal moment. Next week, we get to decide what kind of future we want for our kids and for our grandkids,” he said.
In his concluding remarks, Yakym said he owed it to the district, his family, Swihart and to Walorski to finish the election race “exhausted. And that we will.”
Earlier in the dinner, Ragan had state treasurer candidate Daniel Elliott and secretary of state candidate Diego Morales speak briefly.
Kosciusko County Republican Women’s Club outgoing President Cindy Dobbins presented a special award to Avis Gunter, who was unable to attend the dinner.
“The late Jackie Walorski was a great friend to many of us in the Women’s Club. We worked along side her at fish fries. She rode with us in parades. She worked along side us at the county fair and everything. And she was just an inspiration, not just politically but also personally. She was always willing to step up and listen,” Dobbins said.
In honor of Walorski, the Club decided to do an Inspirational Award and Gunter was the first recipient for being an inspiration.
Dobbins, a member of the Warsaw Common Council, and Warsaw Common Council President Jack Wilhite received the Woman and Man of the Year honors for 2022 at the end of the dinner.
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