By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
The Lonoke County Young Republican Committee was named Chapter of the Year last month at the Arkansas Young Republican state convention in Little Rock.
The Lonoke County Young Republican Committee, which started in 2016, is for ages 18 to 40 and has 13 members. It is a subcommittee to the Lonoke County Republican Committee and works with the Lonoke County Teen Republican Committee at Cabot High School.
“The goals of the Lonoke County Young Republican Committee are to grow our membership beyond Cabot into all parts of Lonoke County and try to keep teen and young Republicans active. At some point they are going to turn 18. We can either nurture and be active or push them aside because they’re not old enough,” said chairman Daniel Hayes, who has also been named to the Lonoke County Election Commission.
Hayes said the idea of a Lonoke County Young Republican Committee came from trying to bridge the age gap. Teenagers don’t talk with older Republicans, and the young Republicans helped start a committee for teens.
Hayes said there are not many county chapters for young Republicans as most are regional committees.
“We want to get true conservatives elected to office to preserve the integrity of the organization,” Hayes said.
He said the committee helps Republican campaign efforts by knocking on doors, putting together fliers and doing grassroots footwork.
The Lonoke County Young Republican Committee helped state Sen. Trent Garner (R-El Dorado) with his 2016 election campaign.
The committee offers a platform to speak about issues and organizations and spread the information to voters.
Hayes said Laura Abbott with the Wade Knox Children’s Advocacy Center recently spoke about victims’ rights.
They gathered donations and supplies to support Arkansas Young Republicans and Young Democrats of Arkansas to send disaster relief to flooding victims in Louisiana last year.
During the Lonoke County Republican Committee Lin-coln Day dinner in April, Hayes was honored as the Young Republican Man of the Year. Courtney Ruble was honored as the Young Republican Woman of the Year.
The Lonoke County Young Republicans meets at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month. This month’s meeting is at the Cabot Public Library. State land commissioner candidate Tommy Land of Heber Springs will speak.
The committee has a Facebook page. For more information, call 870-830-0087 or send an email daniel.c.hayes@outlook.com.
