Event Information
You are invited to join the Jackson County Republican Party as we welcome Former Congressman J.C. Watts and Ann Romney as our speakers at the 117th Annual Lincoln Day Dinner.
Date: Monday, February 20, 2012
Time: 5:00 – Registration | 6:00 – Dinner
Location: JCC Space Center, 2111 Emmons Rd., Jackson, MI 49203
Tickets: $75 per person
Corporate Tables: $1000
All tickets purchased on February 13, 2012 and after for the 2012 Lincoln Day Dinner will be available for pick up at the registration desk the night of the event.
Lincoln Day Dinner News
February 7, 2012Ann Romney to speak at Jackson County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner
January 26, 2012J.C. Watts to be keynote speaker at Jackson GOP’s 117th Annual Lincoln Day Dinner
December 22, 2011Jackson County Republicans Announce Second Annual Student Essay Contest
Event Information
You are invited to join the Jackson County Republican Party as we welcome Former Congressman J.C. Watts and Ann Romney as our speakers at the 117th Annual Lincoln Day Dinner.
Date: Monday, February 20, 2012
Time: 5:00 – Registration | 6:00 – Dinner
Location: JCC Space Center, 2111 Emmons Rd., Jackson, MI 49203
Tickets: $75 per person
Corporate Tables: $1000
All tickets purchased on February 13, 2012 and after for the 2012 Lincoln Day Dinner will be available for pick up at the registration desk the night of the event.
About our Speakers
Former Congressman J.C. Watts
J.C. Watts Jr. is the chairman of the J.C. Watts Companies, a multi-industry holding company headquartered in Washington, DC, with operations in Texas and Oklahoma. As chairman, J.C. provides strategic focus and program leadership to the firm’s business engagements, alliances and initiatives. J.C. has built a diverse business organization that includes Mustang Equipment, the first African-American owned John Deere dealerships in America; J.C. Watts Holdings, private equity investments, and Watts Partners, a government and public affairs consulting company. J.C. works with clients to implement business development, communications and public affairs strategies. He advises numerous fortune 500 companies and serves on the Board of Directors of Dillard’s Department Stores, CSX Corporation and ITC Holdings. In addition, Watts Partners has successfully worked on major civil rights issues to ensure voting rights alleviate global poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa and elsewhere. He is a frequent guest on national and international news shows and has been widely quoted in major newspaper articles, both in the United States and abroad.
J.C. was elected to the U.S. Congress from the fourth district of Oklahoma in 1994. In 1998, he was elected by his peers to serve as chairman of the Republican Conference, the fourth-ranking leadership position in the majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives, a position once held by Dick Cheney, Jack Kemp and Gerald Ford. In this capacity, J.C. provided daily counsel to the Speaker of the House and participated in weekly meetings with the President of the United States. As a Member of Congress representing the fourth district of Oklahoma, J.C. served for eight years on the House Armed Services Committee. He authored legislation to create and then he later served on, the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. He also served on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as well as the House Banking Committee. He led two congressional trade missions to Africa. He co-authored the American Community Renewal and New Markets Act, which President Clinton signed into law in 2000. He was the author of President Bush’s faith based initiative, the Community Solutions Act of 2001. He also developed legislation with Congressman John Lewis to establish a Smithsonian museum of African American history.
J.C. was born on November 18, 1957 in Eufaula, Oklahoma. He graduated from Eufaula High School in 1976 and attended the University of Oklahoma until his graduation in 1981 with a B.S. in Journalism. While at the University of Oklahoma, Watts was quarterback for the Sooners, leading them to two consecutive Big Eight Championships and Orange Bowl victories. He was voted the Most Valuable Player in the 1980 and 1981 Orange Bowls. From 1981 to 1986, he started for Ottawa and Toronto in the Canadian Football League and was voted the Most Valuable Player of the Grey Cup, the CFL’s Super Bowl, his rookie season. After returning to Oklahoma, Watts served as a youth minister at Sunnylane Baptist Church in Del City, Oklahoma from January 1987 until December 1994, when he then became associate pastor. In 1990 he was elected to the Oklahoma State Corporation Commission (the state agency that regulates public utilities and the oil and gas industry) and became chairman before running for Congress in 1994.
J.C. has continued his public service by leading a U.S. delegation to Vienna, Austria, at the request of President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Conference on Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia. He joined President Bush on his historic trip to Africa in 2003. He co-founded and co-chairs the Coalition for AIDS Relief in Africa. He serves on the board of the Boys Scouts of America. He also created the J.C. and Frankie Watts Foundation to focus on urban renewal and other charitable initiatives.
Ann Romney
Ann Romney places primary importance on her role as a wife, a mother and a grandmother.
As First Lady of Massachusetts, she worked to focus attention on the challenges facing at-risk youth and continues to be engaged in that effort.
Mrs. Romney is a strong believer that faith-based and community organizations can reach some members of our community better than government can and served as the Governor’s Liaison to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. As a dynamic community leader, she has been involved with United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Right To Play, formerly Olympic Aid.
In 1998, Mrs. Romney was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She has volunteered much of her time to raise awareness of the disease. By raising the profile of MS, as well as raising funds for advocacy and research, she is determined to make a difference in the lives of people who suffer from the disease.
The Romneys celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary this year. They have five sons, five daughters-in-law, and sixteen grandchildren.
Tickets
You have the following options to purchase tickets for the 2012 Lincoln Day Dinner:
Individual Tickets – $75 per person
- Dinner
- Souvenir Dinner Program
- 8 Tickets to the event
- Preferred Seating at the Dinner
- Half Page Program Ad
- Invite to a Meet & Greet with the U.S. Senate Candidates
2012 Lincoln Day Dinner Essay Contest
Thank you for your interest in the 2012 Lincoln Day Dinner Essay Contest. Use the form below to submit your entry.
Essay Content Entry Requirements
Students may attend any school (even out-of-state), but must be residents of Jackson County between the ages of 16 and 22. The judges will be Jonathan Williams, June Poleski and Don Tassie. Judges will generally look for MLA format (Modern Language Association). Judges will give equal weight to content, grammar, punctuation and spelling. The deadline to submit the essays is 5:00 p.m. on February 1, 2012.
The left hand corner of the cover page should include the student’s name, date of birth, grade, school, residence address, email and telephone contact. The topic title should be centered. Essays should be written in 12 point Times Roman font, double spaced, paragraphs indented and limited to three pages or less with one inch margins.
Essay Contest Awards
The writers of the top two winning essays out of eight finalists will receive a $250 cash prize each awarded at the dinner. High school and college essays will be judged separately with four finalists selected from each group. The top eight finalists will be awarded a Lincoln Day Dinner ticket and will be seated at our special student honor table.
2012 Essay Contest Entry Form
* = Required
Lincoln Day Dinner News
Ann Romney to speak at Jackson County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner
February 7, 2012
The Jackson County Republican Party announced today that they received a commitment from Ann Romney, wife of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, to also speak at the 2012 Lincoln Day Dinner.
J.C. Watts to be keynote speaker at Jackson GOP’s 117th Annual Lincoln Day Dinner
January 26, 2012
The Jackson County Republican Party announced today that former Congressman J.C. Watts will be the keynote speaker at the 117th Annual Jackson County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner.
Jackson County Republicans Announce Second Annual Student Essay Contest
December 22, 2011
The Jackson County Republicans announced today that an essay contest will be held again this year in conjunction with the Lincoln Day Dinner to be held on February 20, 2011.
