On Friday, April 14, the 158th anniversary of the assassination of this President, our Town of Newburgh Republican Committee held its annual Lincoln Day Dinner. This year’s honoree was Paul Arteta, Orange County Sheriff.

My heartfelt thanks to the Orange County Sheriff’s Color Guard for presentation of the colors and SGM Mary Kay Messenger for her beautiful rendition of our National Anthem to begin our program. My thanks to Marybeth Greene Krafft for the Invocation and Benediction, and to Hon. Betty Greene for leading us in our traditional singing of God Bless America.

Our MC for the evening, Richard Mayfield, didn’t disappoint! He and Chris Tighe conspired to bring us a great skit. Rich kept us entertained and moving through the program which culminated in the picking of the door prizes, graciously contributed by our Committee members.

Thank you to everyone who came out last night and joined the many State, County and Town officials to honor Paul. He has made our Sheriff’s Department one of the best and we know there will be many more positive changes to come.

And lastly, a special thank you to my wife, Vicki, for everything she does to make these dinners a success!