By Andie Foley
andie.foley@salisburypost.com

Elaine Hewitt, vice chairwoman of the Rowan County Republican Party, says Lincoln-Reagan dinners are a long tradition among Republican parties nationwide.

The Rowan party is no exception, and it will host its annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner at 6 p.m. June 15 in The Event Center at 315 Webb Road.

The tradition began with Lincoln Day, offering political groups a day for an annual celebration and fundraising. The days were held in February or March in honor of the nation’s first Republican president.

Eventually, some sought to change the celebration to Reagan Day to modernize the Republican Party message.

This gained momentum after the former president’s passing in June 2004, but many have opted to honor both presidents through events such as Rowan’s upcoming dinner.

Don Vick, chairman of the Rowan Republican Party, said this will be his third in attendance in the county. It will be his first as presiding officer.

Money raised will be used to help local candidates in the general election in November.

“The goal is to assist candidates for office that are registered Republicans,” Vick said. “It’s the Harry Warrens of the world, the Carl Fords of the world who face some steep challenges this year. We want to make sure they maintain their forward thinking.”

Guest speakers at the dinner will be U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and U.S. Reps. Richard Hudson and Ted Budd, who represent Rowan County in the 8th and 13th districts, respectively.

Vick said the dinner had to be planned according to Tillis’ schedule.

“This was really about being able to have a worthy speaker,” he said. “We thought Thom Tillis, being at the national level and being in the Senate, fit the bill.”

Vick said the dinner will begin with a social time when guests can meet and greet this year’s candidates.

“This will be a time for people to be able to actually say hello and have a few minutes of their time in kind of a more relaxed setting,” he said.

A silent auction arranged by the Rowan County Republican Women’s Club will be held from 6 to 7 p.m.

Hewitt said the auction will feature both goods and services.

Dinner and the program will begin at 7 p.m. Rowan County’s Republican of the Year will be named during the program.

Tickets and sponsorships may be obtained online at http://www.rowangop.org/home.html or by calling 704-232-4047. A fee is added for online processing.

Individual tickets are $5o.

Sponsorships include VIP passes, allowing the opportunity to meet with the guest speakers from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

Sponsorship levels and their associated perks are:

• $100 Bronze Sponsor: One ticket and one VIP pass.

• $500 Silver Sponsor: Four tickets and four VIP passes.

• $1,000 Gold Sponsor: Eight tickets and eight VIP passes.

The deadline for tickets and sponsorships is Monday. For more information, call 704-232-4047.