(New York, NY) The New York State Young Republicans’ (NYSYR) Executive Board is proud to announce their recent achievements at the recent Young Republican National Federation’s (YRNF) Convention in Mobile, Alabama. New York’s delegation arrived in Mobile with great expectations and proudly left with national recognition in the form of three awards and highlighted by the selection of NYSYR’s own Jason Weingartner to the National Federation’s Chairmanship.
(L to R): Anthony Reinhart (Richmond County), John Doyle (Suffolk County), Zack Sirk (Clinton County), Jim Booth (Orange County), Alicia Sirk (Clinton County), Jason Weingartner (New York County), Nicole Russo (Nassau County), Cory Custer (Saratoga County), John Greene (Putnam County) and Vinny Noto (former NYSYR Chair, 1981-1983)
Jason is the former Chairman of the New York State Young Republicans, has proudly served in several official capacities for the organization over the past decade and is currently the Director of Finance for The New York State Republican Committee.
In ascending to the rank of Chairman for the National Federation, Jason replaces Lisa Stickan of Ohio and stands in the footsteps of former NY Young Republicans elected National Chairs: former U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala Ralph E. Becker and Charles K. McWhorter, a distinguished member of Vice President Nixon’s staff.
“It is truly an honor to have been voted by acclimation as the Chairman of the Young Republican National Federation,” said Weingarter. “The YRNF has a long legacy of promoting the Republican message of economic freedom and personal liberty and I look forward to proudly helping deliver this message to our generation nationwide. I would like to thank the NYSYR for the tremendous support I have received from them over the last couple of months. It is a testament to the strength of the NYSYR that we were also able to bring home three nationally recognized awards.”
Current NYSYR Chair, Diana Sepulveda said “I wish Jason and the newly elected leadership of the YRNF all the best over the next two years, and look forward to seeing Republican values spread across this country through YR efforts. And to all my fellow New York YRs who were honored with awards, congratulations for being recognized for your hard work and dedication to the Republican party and your community.”
“Jason Weingartner’s victory this past weekend is a victory for the entire YRNF Organization. What Jason brings to the YRNF as Chairman, is his unwavering integrity and innate ability to bring people together. This and Jason’s lengthy background in finance is just what the organization needs today,” said former NYSYR Chairman (1995-1997) and former YRNF Region II Chairman (1993-1995) Salvatore J. Calise.
Former NYSYR Chairman (2007-2009) Christopher P. Dziedzic added, “I am very excited that Jason Weingartner will be taking his proven track record within the Young Republicans to the leadership of the YRNF as its newly elected Chairman. Like all of his fellow New Yorkers, I wish him the best over the next two years.”
As well as seeing the election of a fellow NYSYR member to a position of national prominence, the New York delegates spent their time in Alabama networking and brainstorming with fellow Young Republicans nationwide, as well as participating in breakout sessions on various topics such as fundraising, campaign finance law, lobbying and media training.
The nearly-weeklong convention concluded with the Young Republican Gala and Awards Dinner beside the USS Alabama Battleship, highlighted by guest speakers of Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and US Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama. By the end of the night, the New York State Young Republicans were honored by winning three national awards: Outstanding Club Website (New York Young Republican Club), Outstanding Small Club (Putnam County Young Republicans) and Outstanding Charitable/Community Service Project Award (Orange, Dutchess and Putnam County Young Republicans’ Tri-County YR Mixer benefiting Hudson Valley Honor Flight).
Brian Morganstern, President of the New York Young Republican Club, commented on their award for Outstanding Club Website saying, “On behalf of the New York Young Republican Club, I would like to thank the YRNF for this award and the recognition bestowed upon our work with our website. I would especially like to recognize our former president Khalil Haddad for his commitment to excellence and spearheading the effort that made our club website, www.nyyrc.com, the best in the nation.”
Regarding their win of Outstanding Small Club, Putnam County Young Republican President Kevin Byrne said, “We are honored and humbled for receiving this highly regarded national award. There are many worthy clubs throughout the nation performing tremendous work that also deserve recognition for their efforts. To even be highlighted among them in only our 3rd year since re-chartering is an honor in and of itself. It reveals a lot about the character and drive of our membership, and our strong base of support among the residents of Putnam County. We are truly fortunate to have the strong and consistent support of our County GOP Chairman Jim DiBella. He’s been behind us since day 1, and our success would not be possible without his assistance.”
Orange, Dutchess and Putnam County Young Republicans’ took home the Outstanding Charitable/Community Service Project Award for their Tri-County Young Republican Mixer benefiting Hudson Valley Honor Flight, an event which helped to send WWII veterans to the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. and quickly became the talk of the convention’s final evening. Many other state delegations were interested in how the Tri-County event was put together and asked for assistance in bringing a similar event to their community. “This recognition speaks to our statewide efforts of working together with fellow clubs in keeping a focus on the importance of charity and supporting our veterans. By focusing in on being part of a team committed to helping the heroes who gave so much of themselves on behalf of our nation and not our own individual gain, we were able to gain national recognition, but more importantly, show our thanks to our World War II veterans. This commitment to each other and our shared heritage is what we need to continue in order to not only grow our ranks as a statewide organization, but to promote the message of community values and loyalty that has gone missing in our political discourse in recent years,” said Brian Maher, President of the Orange County Young Republican Club.
For more information about the New York State Young Republicans, please visit www.nysyr.us or email chairman@nysyr.us.
