Seventy people gathered at the Old Farmington Town Hall, on Saturday May 24th to honor two long time public servants, Leo Lessard from Milton and Ron Chagnon from Farmington.  The occasion was first Tri-town Honors dinner hosted by the Democratic Committees of Farmington, Milton and New Durham.  

Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter spoke to the gathering urging them to stay involved in the political process, because it does make a difference.  There are real differences between the two parties.  Not all the wrangling in Washington is simply partisan.  She stressed that Democrats should stand up for what they believe, so people can hear the Democratic message and make decisions on the issues, and not just sound bites.

The crowd enjoyed a fine buffet dinner provided by the Portable Pantry and supplemented by appetizers and desserts from kitchens in the three towns. After dinner, Ron Chagnon was honored for his years of service to his community, county and state, while standing firm as a Democrat in Farmington  when Democrats were a distinct minority.  Ron accepted the award and regaled the audience with a story of meeting Steven King at an event and not knowing who it was until afterwards.  Leo Lessard appeared by video and spoke movingly of his strong ties to the community of Milton, NH.   The video can be seen on the websites of the Farmington, Milton, and  New Durham Democratic committees.  Leo’s son John accepted the award for him.

After the awards, raffle baskets from each of the three town committees were awarded:  maple products basked from New Durham contributed by State Senate Candidate Rich Leonard; multiple items and gift certificates from Farmington and from Milton. In addition to local Democrats, Sheriff David Dubois, County Attorney Tom Velardi, and County Commissioner George Maglaras attended along with a number of State Representatives from around Strafford County.