LINCOLN DINNER

April 27, 2012 Email to Hawaii Republican Party Members:

I am pleased to report in the success of our annual Lincoln Dinner, held last Friday, April 20, 2012.

Over 760 of us gathered to “Honor our Past. Win the Future”. A Warm Mahalo to our generous donors, table sponsors, volunteers and attendees who made the evening a most memorable one.

Amongst us were 31 former standard-bearers of our Party whose significant legacies and meaningful contributions we celebrated and honored. Equally notable was the presence of over 220 attendees who are under the age of 40, including representatives from young professional organizations and all of Hawaii’s universities.

We honored the “Giants” of our Party with a beginning ceremonial procession, with each Honoree accompanied by a drum-roll and a group of “Young Lincolns”. It was a deeply-felt honor for me to be in the same room as these “Giants”, whose vision, commitment and leadership form the foundation of a growing and vibrant Hawaii Republican Party.

Thank you to the former and current leaders and office-holders for participating in the dinner and for teaching us what is possible for the future!

“Honoring our Past” included a video produced by Lincoln Dinner Chair Ted Liu, which contained stories of several of our leaders’ touching personal and inspiring political accomplishments. Together with Pat Saiki’s forceful comments, the young people attending the dinner were deeply impressed by what they learned about our Party’s past accomplishments. More importantly, we were motivated to become more active in creating a better future for ourselves and our families.

“Winning the Future” laid-out a vision and strategy for the Hawaii Republican Party to elect more Republicans to public office. In short, the Party will focus on building partnerships and coalitions with like-minded organizations, developing a strong message connected with our residents’ lives, recruiting and supporting candidates for political office who have deep ties to our communities, raising financial and other support for our candidates and setting aside internal differences in favor of winning external battles.

The lessons of the past will help tackles these tasks for the future.

Highlight of the evening was clearly the fellowship, the catching-up and reconnecting with old friends (some after many years), the making of new friends, and the sharing and swapping of stories and experiences. The menu was delicious and family-style was a welcome change. The positive “buzz” was tangible and people lingered-on after the event.

Comments received after the dinner tells us that our members left the evening more hopeful, more inspired and more united. Our supporters and friends left with a much better understanding of the past of our Party and of our strategy for the future.

Coming on the heels of the successful Presidential Caucus, where turn-out was double that what we expected, Lincoln Dinner helps us build momentum toward the Fall Election and beyond.

I wish to extend a special Mahalo to 2012 Lincoln Dinner Chair Ted Liu. As many of you know, due to leadership transition, this year we started very late on organizing the dinner, which is the most important fund-raiser for the Party. Ted Liu stepped-up as Chair of the Event and with single-minded determination, energy and hard work, led its success. Mahalo, Ted.

Events such as the Presidential Caucus and the Lincoln Dinner represent but steps in the process of growing our Party and impacting politics in Hawaii. I urge each of you to get involved, stay involved and let your friends know that the Hawaii Republican Party is alive and well!

Mahalo,

David S. Chang

Chairman