Delivered by President Gavin M. Wax, December 4, 2021.
Ladies and gentlemen, honored guests, my name is Gavin Wax, and as the 76th President of the New York Young Republican Club, I am pleased to report that the state of the club is strong.
This storied institution held its first annual dinner 109 years ago, and since that time the country we all know and love has changed drastically.
Through two world wars, the Spanish Flu, the wu flu, and many presidential administrations of varying notes, our country is almost unrecognizable to what the 32 founders of the club would have remembered and cherished.
Gone are the days of a national consensus. Gone are the days of national unity. Gone are the days where we instill in our children a collective pride in the success of our nation, our people, our history, and our heritage.
We live in tumultuous and chaotic times. In fact, an ardent student of history would opine it even appears that we are living through the last breaths of a dying empire.
Leading this decadent regime is a wretched, senile, and aloof bafoon, who in a mere few months took this country from a period of rapid national revitalization under President Donald J. Trump, to one of the lowest points in our history from an economic, cultural, political, and diplomatic perspective.
Guided by sycophants in thrall to the radical Left, he continues to dismantle the very structures that make this country great and to demonize all those who still hold pride in being Americans.
Today, our borders are being flooded, our store shelves are being emptied, and our dollars are being devalued.
All the while, we continue to feel the ever-growing presence of a jackboot pressing down on us demanding more compliance and fewer liberties.
It is no wonder that my generation is a nostalgic one; they long for a country they were born into but no longer exists.
This is reflected in popular culture, such as in songs, movies, tv shows, and even memes.
And this is why an institution such as ours, one geared towards the idealism characteristic of youth, is more important than ever.
If we truly want to reclaim our city, our state, and our nation, it begins with the next generation.
While the cities and urban areas of this country may be the hostile hotbeds of leftism, they also house the avant-garde of all-new cultural and political movements.
It is for this reason that this Club, despite operating behind enemy lines, has frequently set the narrative for how we must engage and fight back against the anti-American forces that pervade our institutions.
It is this Club that stood up to defend Teddy Roosevelt, it is this Club that rallied to defend the day traders, and it is this Club that marched to defy the coronavirus tyrants and their unconstitutional mandates.
We have never been scared of a fight, we have never backed down, and these bold stances have enabled us to grow faster than anyone would have ever thought possible.
In April of 2019, when I was first elected president of this Club we had barely 60 members and few resources. We now have over 900 dues-paying members, making us one of the largest Republican Clubs in the country; for the first time in more than a generation we have secured our very own Clubhouse, a feat no other Young Republican Club in the nation has yet to achieve; we now have a cash reserve that rivals deep-pocketed national organizations, and our well-attended events frequently garner international levels of publicity.
This success proves that the only viable path forward for this party, this movement, and this nation is a bold and unapologetic America First agenda and not the tired, consultant-approved status quo-ism.
Our growth as an organization has enabled us to help elect many America First Republicans up and down the ballot. We led numerous successful deployments across the tri-state area this election cycle and our membership proved vital in many key and tightly fought races.
A government can only be as effective as is its personnel, likewise, this Club can only be as effective as is our leadership.
I would like to personally thank that leadership, my Board of Governors, and the Executive Committee.
- Activism Chairwoman Liz Ruh
- Advisory Chairman Brian Osterman, who was unable to join us tonight
- Campaigns Chairwoman Nicole Kiprilov
- Communications Chairwoman Chelsea Hall
- Communications Co-Chairman Ian McMath
- Design Chairman Dylan Gallagher
- Entertainment Chairwoman Catherine McSorley
- Events Chairwoman Macayle Carey
- Finance Chairwoman Emily Wash
- Fundraising Chairwoman Ixchel Mazer
- History Chairman Aldo Solares
- House Chairman Alex Kronfeld
- Law Chairwoman Kiera Guzzo
- Media Chairwoman Denice Flores Almendares
- Membership Chairwoman Asha Rampertaap
- Outreach Chairman Fernando Acosta
- Philanthropy Chairwoman Amanda Gragg
- Policy Chairwoman Iulia Lupse
- Publications Chairman Nick Rafael
- Recruitment Chairman Alex Zhik
- Recruitment Co-Chairwoman Amanda Sullivan
- …and Rules Chairman Nik Tan
In addition, I would like to thank my fellow officers:
- Corresponding Secretary Ilana Marcus
- Recording Secretary Nathan Berger
- Treasurer Claire Roeschke
- …and Vice President Vish Burra
This Club will continue to beat the drums in the fight for the soul of this country, and I can assure you all that this Club will not give up the fight. No matter how hard the going gets, we will persevere, we will move forward, and we will not back down.
Thank you all, God Bless you, and may God Bless America.
Cheers!