Holcomb to speak at Lincoln Day Dinner

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb will be the keynote speaker at this week’s Bartholomew County Lincoln Day Dinner.

The dinner will be Thursday at the Simmons Winery Banquet Hall, 8111 E. County Road 450N.

Tickets to attend a 6:30 to 7 p.m. VIP reception with the governor at the 450 North Brewery next to the banquet hall are being sold for $100 per person, with proceeds benefiting the local Republican Party, said Barb Hackman, Bartholomew County Republican chairwoman.

But for those who just want to attend the dinner and hear Holcomb’s keynote address, $30 tickets will be available at the door, Hackman said.

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After the event begins with social time at 6:30 p.m., the dinner will be served at about 7 p.m., Hackman said. She estimates Holcomb will begin his keynote address at about 7:45 p.m.

The governor will likely discuss a range of issues that include workforce development, infrastructure improvement and public health, according to Pete Seat, executive director of strategic communications for the Indiana Republican Party.

The format will include a number of questions posed by Jesse Brand, who has moderated several Third House sessions in recent years, Hackman said.

When asked how she was able to book the state’s top executive as the speaker for the dinner, Hackman said she was one of the first county GOP chairs to invite Holcomb after his 2016 election as governor.

“I just got on his list,” she said.

Holcomb is attending about a dozen Lincoln Day Dinners this year — including one in Monroe County just one day after his visit to Columbus, Seat said.

Since there are no county, state or federal races this year, Hackman estimates about 200 people will attend this year’s Lincoln Day Dinner.

During the event, the Bartholomew County Republican Ladies League will sponsor an auction to raise money to fund four scholarships awarded to local students annually, Hackman said. The auctioned items are being supplied by GOP candidates running in this year’s election, she said.

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What: Bartholomew County Lincoln Day Dinner

When: Beginning at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Simmons Winery Banquet Hall, 8111 E. County Road 450N.

Keynote speaker: Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb.

Tickets: $30 available at the door. A VIP reception with Holcomb will be held from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Admission to the reception is $100, with all proceeds going to the Bartholomew County Republican Party.  

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