PRESQUE ISLE — Gov. Paul LePage was keynote speaker at the Aroostook County Lincoln Day Dinner held Feb. 12 at the Presque Isle Inn & Convention Center. Guests from northern, central and southern Aroostook turned out to spend the evening with Gov. and Mrs. LePage and to honor the birthday of President Abraham Lincoln.
Photo courtesy of Gloria Duncan
A hand-crafted quilt was presented to Maine’s First Lady during the Lincoln Day Dinner hosted by the Aroostook County Republican Committee Feb. 12 at the Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center. Pictured from left are: Helen Doody, Gloria Duncan, First Lady Anne LePage, Nadine Strelka and Amy LaMothe.
Hayes Gahagan, chairman of the Aroostook County Republican Committee (ACRC), said it was a pleasure to have the entire County represented at the Lincoln Day Dinner.
Theo Nykreim of Stockholm was the event historian, giving a history lesson on President Lincoln’s life. Accompanying Nykreim’s presentation was Mary Carter of Blaine playing the keyboard and Josh Faulkner of Mars Hill on the drums; Lindsey Longstaff of Houlton sang the “National Anthem” and “America the Beautiful.”
Virtual Managed Solutions (VMS) of Caribou was winner of the VIP table drawing, winning the opportunity to have the governor and his wife seated at their table for dinner and evening program. Representatives of Virtual Managed Solutions’ VIP table included: C.B. Smith of VMS; Steven Buck, Caribou city manager; Bill Flag of Cary Medical Center; Dalton Scovil, VMS business associate; and Kevin Pelletier, CEO of K-Pel Industrial Services of Fort Fairfield — representatives of public and private entities, are involved in health care technology. C.B. Smith told event organizers it was a pleasure and privilege for he and his guests to have the opportunity to spend the evening with Gov. and Mrs. LePage and to share their health care technology business plan with the governor.
Gov. LePage was presented with a picture of Secretariat, autographed by Secretariat’s jockey Ron Turcotte, who, in 1973, won America’s Triple Crown on a thoroughbred referred to as “least likely to win” and whom Gov. LePage compared himself to during his inauguration speech. Mrs. LePage was also presented with an autographed DVD of the movie, “Secretariat.”
Gov. LePage and the First Lady were also presented with a hand-crafted log cabin quilt, signifying the simple life of Abraham Lincoln. The quilt was designed and quilted by local quilters: Amy LaMothe, Helen Doody and Carrie Strelka. The quilt fabric was specifically purchased from Marden’s where Gov. LePage was general manager prior to being elected Maine’s 74th governor.
