Those that attended the Lincoln Day Dinner at Arborwood Thursday night got a first-time treat at the Clinton County Republican event.
They got to see and hear Indiana Republican Party Chairman Anne Hathaway, who is the party’s first woman to lead the state party as its chair in Indiana plus she is putting together the National Republican Convention to be held in Milwaukee in July.
“I think it (the dinner) was a big success tonight,” said Clinton County Republican Party Chairman Jim Moyer. “Our speaker, Anne Hathaway, is the first-ever female leader of the party in Indiana. She did an excellent job telling us about state convention and a whole lot of other things she does.”
Hathaway is the president and chief executive officer of Hathaway Strategies, a grassroots public affairs firm headquartered in Indianapolis. She previously served in the White House as assistant to the vice president and director of scheduling and public liaison for Vice President Dan Quayle, and was the program director for the 2012 Republican National Convention.
For the past five years, Hathaway has served as Indiana’s national committeewoman on the Republican National Committee (RNC). She currently chairs the Committee on Arrangements, which is charged with organizing the 2024 RNC Convention in Milwaukee and co-chairs the RNC Presidential Debates Committee.
Hathaway said the national convention choice came down to Nashville and Milwaukee. She said they wanted to go to Nashville, but the city didn’t want them. Milwaukee kept after them and got the honor to host the convention.
“The opportunity to pick Milwaukee with our Site-Selection Committee, then to chair the convention and to fill the team and put this on, I couldn’t be more excited,” said Hathaway.
She also added that the challenge of putting on four nights of live television during the convention was challenging and exciting for her.
Hathaway was also asked her thoughts of the Gem City.
“This feels like home,” said Hathaway, who is from Galva in west central Illinois. “It’s got that grass roots home feeling for me, the small town girl, and this is where we make decisions. I learned politics going to the coffee shop with my dad, listening and really understand that politics is really about solving problems and making a difference so people can have bigger and better lives.”
Just a bit over 100 people attended the dinner.
“We’re trying to get the people gathered and get them fired up for the primary,” said Moyer. “We’ve got more candidates this year than we normally do in a primary.”
Moyer was also honored with a plaque naming Moyer as Honorary Secretary of State from Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales.
Also, the party honored Carol Price as a charter member of the Republican Party Women’s Club.