Lighthizer To Speak At Vermont Fundraiser April 28

MONTPELIER, Vt. - James Lighthizer, President of the Civil War Preservation Trust, the largest battlefield preservation organization in the country, will be guest speaker at the Vermont Civil War Council's Full Duty Award Banquet on Saturday, April 28, at 6 p.m., at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier.

The Civil War Preservation Trust was formed two years ago by the merger of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites and the Civil War Trust. These two organizations have collectively raised millions of dollars and preserved hundreds of acres of endangered Civil War battlefields throughout the country.

The Full Duty Banquet is held yearly to honor those who have worked to preserve Vermont's Civil War heritage and promote the cause of preservation. Kay and Peter Jorgensen of Tunbridge, Vt., publishers of The Civil War News, will be so honored.

The banquet, open to the public, will feature a buffet dinner, reenactors, a color guard, and a performance of Civil War period music. All proceeds from the banquet and fundraising raffle will be donated to the Trust. Banquet tickets at $25 per person, tax and gratuity included, are available from David Cross, 289 Upper Old Town Trail, Charlotte, VT, 05445, (802)
425-5188, or e-mail crosskeyes@aol.com. The ticket price includes one complimentary raffle ticket.

A fundraising raffle is under way with three major prizes to be awarded at the banquet: a 36 cal. Colt Navy pistol with holster and Navy cutlass with scabbard, awarded as a set; a three-night Gettysburg getaway vacation at the historic Cashtown Inn; and the Don Troiani print "The First Minnesota."

Raffle tickets are $5 and can be ordered by mail from Gail Blake, 55 Orrizonto Rd., White River Junction, VT 05001. Winners need not be present to win.