It has been my experience that the friendships made during political campaigns are among the most enduring. It's also been my experience that despite the passage of years, reconnecting with friends made during past campaigns often prompts a flood of memories.

The Gadfly:

Reconnecting With A Successful Lady

By Mike McCarville

Thus it is with what I'm about to relate.

Don V. Cogman

In 1979, I worked with my friend of 40+ years now, Don Cogman, at Cogman & Associates in Oklahoma City. Don will be familiar to some as Dewey Bartlett's 1972 Senate campaign major domo and subsequently, Bartlett's chief of staff in Washington. Don later formed his firm and in 1980, presented a grand opportunity, joined MAPCO Inc. in Washington as its vice president of government relations. He went on to head a worldwide public relations firm in New York. He's now "retired" and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Among the campaigns Don and I consulted was that of Jack Steinhilber, running for Congress in Wisconsin. We spent much of the winter of '79 in snow-bound Oshkosh.

Among the good folks we encountered in that campaign was a perky, energetic, savvy, well-organized and delightful young lady named Sue Corona.

The three of us hit it off and before long, I was given to greeting Sue with a sing-songy "Corona, Corona!" when we'd meet.

Following that campaign, Don and I had lunch with Sue one day in Washington but as the years passed, I lost track of her. I had heard she'd gone to work for a congressman.

Then, on Friday, 31 years after that campaign, out of the blue, I received an email from Sue. She had been sent a link to a TMRO story and recognized my name. She wrote she "about fell over when I saw it was you."

So, why was Sue Corona sent a link to a story on The McCarville Report Online?

Because, as Sue Lynch, she is now the president of the National Federation of Republican Women in Washington.

That Sue has had success doesn't surprise me at all. I'm nonethless doggone proud to hear of it, and to reconnect with her.

Sue's accomplishments since 1979 are many, as this recap from the NFRW website shows:

"Lynch also has held the positions of 1st, 2nd and 3rd vice presidents, member-at-large, and chairman of the Nominating Committee in 1999. At the state level, Lynch served as president of the Wisconsin FRW from 1997-2001 and as president of two local clubs. A former chief of staff and office manager to three Members of Congress, Lynch has been active in Republican politics for more than 30 years and has served on several gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. During the Reagan administration, she served as staff assistant to Secretary of Agriculture John Block and confidential assistant to the administrator of Food and Nutrition Services in the Department of Agriculture. For 12 years, she worked for the Free Congress Foundation teaching campaign schools and doing field work for campaigns. In 1992, she lectured on the U.S. legislative branch for the Krieble Institute throughout the Soviet Union.

"Lynch’s community activities include serving as president of Franciscan Skemp Auxiliary-Mayo Health System, state public policy chairman for Partners of Wisconsin Hospital Association, Committee on Volunteer’s Board Member for the American Hospital Association (2007-2009), volunteer for the American Cancer Society, and member of several community boards in the La Crosse area.

"In 2007, she was named Grassroots Volunteer of the Year for the Mid Western Division, as well as outstanding volunteer of the West Salem Village People for securing a building for her local Boys and Girls Club. Also, she was selected as one of the Most Influential Women of the Coulee Region in 2006, received the Caring for America Award for Community Service in 2001, and was honored by her local Republican Party in 2000. Lynch and her husband have two daughters and reside in Onalaska, Wis."

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