SYRACUSE – Warren Tatter and Lynn Howie were honored Friday night for their commitment to the Republican party.
Tatter and Howie were presented with the GOP Man and Woman of the Year Awards during the annual GOP Hall of Fame Dinner aboard the S.S. Lillypad on Lake Wawasee in Syracuse.
The dinner was attended by approximately 117 republicans.
Jean Northenor presented the award to Tatter and Howie.
Tatter has served on the Warsaw Cemetery Board for the last 27 years, was a Kosciusko County councilman for 4-1/2 years, and has served as a precinct committeeman for the past 25 years.
Howie is a vice precinct committeewoman, election poll worker and poll inspector.
Jackie Walorski, second district congressional candidate, was the keynote speaker for the evening. State Representative Dave Wolkins introduced Walorski.
“You have a reputation around the state of Indiana as being the absolute most powerful Republican county in the entire state,” Walorski said.
“Many of you have been committed for decades and are the county that everybody talks about, and when they point to a successful county that is self sufficient they point to Kosciusko County.”
Walorski pointed out politicians who have been mentors to her who were on the boat, including former Senator Kent Adams, Senator Jim Banks, Senator Ryan Mishler, and state representatives Rebecca Kubacki and Wolkins.
Walorski said the reason she is running for congress is because of what happened on 9/11.
“On 9/11 I was in Eastern Europe and the feeling of losing a nation and family was enough to compel me to do something about it,” Walorski said.
She said she and her husband, Dean, were missionaries in Romania for four years during 9/11.
“We watched for 72 hours as our nation was under attack and the airspace was closed and we were stuck in a country not knowing if we’d ever see our family again,” Walorski said.
She said once it was safe, she and her husband evacuated from Romania.
She talked about Indiana, and said the state has made smart choices about not overspending, staying out of debt, balancing the budget and cutting taxes. She said she believes this can be done at the federal level.
She said at the federal level the budget should be frozen, businesses should not have regulations and the size of government should be shrunk.
Also during the dinner, Randy Girod, Kosciusko County chairman, introduced Indiana Senator Richard Lugar.
Lugar said he appreciates the enthusiasm Walorski brings to the congressional race, and said he looks forward to working with her if he is re-elected.
“I join Jackie in saying this county epitomizes conservatism, republicanism, patriotism and job creation,” Lugar said.
He said he started out serving in the Navy, and came back from that experience to save two family businesses, including a family farm and manufacturing business.
He said he assisted turning around the businesses with his brother, who both knew they needed to compete abroad as well as at home to bring about conditions of free market economics.
Lugar talked about the influence President Ronald Reagan had on his political career.
Lugar said he served as chairman of the foreign relations committee under Reagan.
“I’m proud of those years because I believe Ronald Reagan fashioned a very strong foreign policy for America,” Lugar said.
He said he is trying to continue Reagan’s heritage in his voting record in the Senate.
Lugar said the vast overregulation by the current federal administration and Environment Protection Agency is inhibiting job growth.
“We need to have permanent decreases in taxes so that people know what the rules of the game will be and can make an investment that will not be jerked away from them in a few months,” Lugar said.
Also during the dinner, Jim Wallace, Republican candidate for governor, spoke.
Wallace is a former Army combat pilot and lives in Hamilton County. He is a former Fishers and Hamilton County councilman.
“As we look forward to not only where Indiana is today, but where we can go over the next four to eight years, it starts in the local communities around the state doing their part,” Wallace said.
The next Kosciusko County GOP event is the fish fry Oct. 5 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Kosciusko Fairgrounds.
