In a mere 4 hours, our 43rd annual Fall Fundraising banquet for Porter County Right to Life was over. On October 22nd, 2022, around 180 guests were in attendance at the Chesterton, Indiana, Trinity Hall.
We woke up to gorgeous fall weather, we couldn’t order a better day. The banquet started with a social hour which then led to a dinner filled with fantastic food featuring the popular pot roast, garlic mashed potatoes, chicken epicurean, baked ziti, and Italian-style green beans. A new favorite of the evening was the variety of cupcakes we offered by Val's Cupcakes in Chesterton.
While it's often hard to beat an appreciation of great food, we did just that when we honored Father Theodore Mens, the most active retired priest I've ever met. Al Raffin, our board President, was thrilled to offer the 46th Stinchfield Memorial Award to a priest of the Gary Diocese who spent 46 years as the ProLife Director and a solid 40 years leading groups in the March for Life in Washington, D.C. In fifteen consecutive years alone, he took over 875 people there. Father Mens is a force to be reckoned with and loved by many.
I almost felt bad that our speaker, Peter Heck, had to follow Father Mens, and at least I did until he got rolling. Peter is a dynamic speaker with so much to share. We live in chaotic times that frankly can overwhelm the best of us, and his talk brought our prolife mission into focus. We are not here to fix the world, but instead, stay present with those whom God puts in our path as we go through our day-to-day lives. We are all called to do more, and may we all feel empowered to change the hearts and minds of those around us about choosing life.
Melissa Fagen
Executive Director
Right to Life for Porter & LaPorte County