
Party faithful turned out on Thursday, March 16 for the Lincoln Awards Dinner hosted by the Columbia County Young Republican Club. Congressman Marc Molinaro (R-19th) was the featured speaker for the evening, but the highlight of the event was the presentation of the 2022 Lincoln Award to Command Sergeant Major Gary Flaherty who currently serves as the director of the Columbia County Veterans Service Agency. Mr. Flaherty thanked the Republicans, young and old alike, but in typical fashion he said, “the honor goes to the veterans.” One of the issues that has stood out for Mr. Flaherty recently is that of Military Sexual Trauma. He said that for him MST is as difficult to deal with as suicide among veterans. Following his talk, several members of the audience gave impromptu testimonials saying how his tireless work has helped them. One veteran said that what he thinks of most is Mr. Flaherty’s kindness. Photo by David Lee