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Executive officers of the Henderson County Republican Party are, from left, JT Payne, youth chairman; Mac Neel, vice chair; Dave Chrisman, treasurer; Dwight Williams, chairman; and Andy Jones, secretary.(Photo: Photo furnished)

The Republican Party has seen a resurgence in Henderson as seen from the 2016 general election. With a Republican judge-executive andtwo state representatives, it seems a revitalization has been breathed into the party.

At the Henderson County Republican Party's reorganization convention on Tuesday night,as a group of young Republicans watched,the local party voted for a new slate of officers.

The new officers are Chairman Dwight Williams, Vice-Chairman Mac Neel, Treasurer Dave Chrisman, Secretary Andy Jones and Youth Chairman JT Payne.

"I remember when you could count the Republicans in Henderson on one hand," Williams wrote in an email."Drewy Scott was Republican Chairman, about 1972, and my dad was involved with local politics and leaders of that time like George Whittington. To skip forward 45 years and now be filling the shoes of such great Republican leaders is an honor. I wish my father was alive to see it and the growth in the local party. We have a vision to expand the party'sinfluence throughout Henderson County and help our local and state representatives bring jobs to Henderson and grow our local economy with fiscal conservative approaches."

Williams is a Henderson native who served as a colonel in the army. He is a board member of theRotary Club of Henderson and a director with the Henderson City-County Airport. He takes over from previous Republican Chairman Richard Shoulders.

Among the crowd of 140 at Henderson County High School for the reorganization Tuesday night, some younger faces were a part of the four-hour process.

"We're looking to grow the party and get moreinvolved," said Williams. "We're going to try to run a Republican candidate for mayor and also somemagistrates.We're going to promote fiscally conservative values and hopefully bring more people and interest to the local party. I think there are a lot more Republicans out there that mayonly beregistered as Democrats because their parents were Democrats."

A group of young Republicans attended Tuesday evening's reorganization meeting. From left are Addison Watson, Imara Peralta, Kelsey Nobles, J.T. Payne, Jayda Polivick, Kelly McIndoo and Isaac Oettle. Addison, Imara, Jayda, Kelly, J.T. are all Murray State University Students. Isaac is Henderson County High School Senior. Kelsey Nobles is Henderson Community College Student(Photo: Photo furnished)

A group of five students who are registered in Henderson and attend Murray State University made the trip to attend the meeting. Among them was JT Payne.

"We want to get more young people involved in the party," said Williams. "We have plenty of older people who are in the party, but younger people are so important because we need people who will be around, get involved and keep the party running. These young people coming to the meeting speaks to what is going on with younger people becoming more involved in politics."

Henderson County High School student Isaac Oettle, who is an active Republican and started the young Republican movement at HCHS,also attended the meeting.

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Henderson County Republican Party reorganizes - The Gleaner