Teddy Roosevelt Dinner

The New York State Young Republicans completed their productive day at the Grassroots School with their annual Teddy Roosevelt Dinner in Jack’s Oyster Bar & Steak House on Albany’s State Street.

Among the guests that evening included candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in Delaware, Christine O’Donnell, who spoke about staying true to conservative values in her race against incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Biden.

Besides juicy steak, open bar, and conversation with YRs from around the state, one of the main highlights of the evening was the annual awards ceremony.

The first award is for Club of the Year, which was awarded to the Steuben County YRs.

The second award is for New York State Young Republican of the Year, which was awarded to Secretary of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club and Editor-in-Chief of the GOPyr, Jonathan Judge. Judge thanked all the YR clubs from around the state, saying that it was due to their ingenuity and activism that we are able to brag so proudly about the many accomplishments of New York’s Young Republicans in our newsletter.

The final and most distinguished award is for New York State Assemblyman of the Year, which was awarded to Assemblyman Lou Tobacco of the 62nd A.D. in Staten Island. Assemblyman Tobacco was particularly grateful for this award and spoke about the common sense ideals he and his Republican colleagues have been trying to push in the State Assembly.

The night was complete with after-dinner socializing at a couple of the local pubs in the area, reveling in what turned out to be a wonderful evening for the State YRs.

Steuben YRs: Club of the Year

by Peter Halliday, Steuben YRs

The Steuben County Young Republican Club has been recognized as the Club of the Year by the New York State Young Republicans this past March.

“Steuben County is leading the way for small counties in terms of campaign involvement and positive impact for local Republicans,” said NYSYR Chairman Chris Dziedzic.

“Through blogs, podcasting, and videos, President Peter Halliday and his team are also using the Internet to multiply their impact. That is impressive, particularly in a rural county.”

Dziedzic also cited the successful state board meeting that was held in Riverside last September as well as the increase in membership and activity for the club during 2007.

“We were able to put 30 Young Republicans on the ground working to elect one of our own members, Tom Reed, as an upset winner for Mayor of Corning,” commented Halliday when asked what the most exciting accomplishment of the year was. “To win what many people consider the most prestigious award the state gives out is something that really caps off a great 2007 for our group.”

Halliday credited the leadership and members of the club for the award. “We have a great group, but there is always room for more young professionals who want to get involved in local and county politics.”

In the last two years, the group has kept growing. The vast majority of the people that are members are new to the world of local politics. Halliday looks forward to focusing on creating a legacy of an active Young Republican club in the county for many decades to come.

The advice that Halliday gives other small clubs is that any club can accomplish what the Steuben YRs have.

“We have a very rural county that is spread out, and it is one of the largest in the state. We have people willing to cross the county and drive 45 minutes each month to attend meetings. We credit that with keeping our meetings interesting. We try to focus on action; giving people something they can do afterwards. We try to cast a vision that’s bigger than the group. If it can be accomplished by the group alone, then the vision isn’t big enough for us.

“Most of it is just working really hard, staying focused, and never giving up.”