For Dawn Gilbert of Boothbay, being a Republican grassroots activist has been one big party for the past three decades. Gilbert has held nearly every office within the Lincoln County GOP committee. She has served as Boothbay GOP chairman for 20 years. Gilbert has also served as county chairman, vice-chairman, finance chairman and state committee woman.

She has also forged close friendships and been a campaign volunteer for Governors John McKernan and Paul LePage and U.S. Senators Bill Cohen, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. 

Gilbert’s decades worth of work along with five other GOP women received the Maine Republican Party’s highest honor for volunteerism: The Patriot Award. Gilbert, 73, was honored  along with Rosemarie Butler of Lewiston, Becky Kendall of Machias, Lois Bloomer of Hermon, Kathy Watson of Pittsfield, and Pat Percy of Phippsburg. The ceremony was held April 21 in Bangor during the State Republican Committee’s dinner.

The six women are affectionately known in the Maine GOP as the “Bag Ladies.” According to Butler, her fellow volunteers were “always available to lend a helping hand or resolve some issue within the party over lunch or glass of wine.”

The Bag Ladies began working as a unit during their time on the State Republican Committee. Percy dubbed her colleagues “The Bag Ladies.” Gilbert remembers how her friend coined the phrase.

“She described us as a bunch of old bags who prepared the gift bags so we must be the Bag Ladies,” said Gilbert.

Five of the six women attended the ceremony. Percy died in 2015. Gilbert wasn’t planning on attending the dinner until she was notified the Maine Republican Party had nominated the six women for The Patriot Award.

“I didn’t know anything about until somebody told I’d better go to the dinner because The Bag Ladies were getting the Patriot Award,” she said.

Maine GOP Chairman Rick Bennett of Norway described Gilbert and The Bag Ladies as “tireless servants to the Republican Party and democracy.” 

“Dawn Gilbert has been a dear friend for many years. Personally, I was pleased to finally give her the recognition she deserves, but has never sought. Her generosity to the Republican Party and to her community and civic life is unparalleled,” Bennett said.

It was during the 1984 election that Gilbert became involved in Republican politics. In the 1960s, she opposed the Vietnam War and didn’t care for 1964 GOP presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. But the emergence of Ronald Reagan drew her to the conservative party in the 1980s.

“He was a real good governor in California, and (President) Carter was a real zero, so I became a Republican,” she said.

During the State GOP Convention held April 22-23, she participated in recruiting delegates to support Gov. LePage’s effort to elect a “unity ticket” to the national convention. Gov. LePage wanted Maine’s delegation to mirror the March 5 State Caucus results which allotted 12 delegates for U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, nine for New York billionaire Donald Trump, and two for Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

However, Maine Republicans opted for a delegate slate which favored Cruz in possible second ballot nominating process. Gilbert believes LePage’s proposal would have better served the ultimate GOP presidential nominee.

“The Cruz campaign made an agreement for an unity ticket, but wouldn’t abide by it,” she said. “I don’t like what the Cruz campaign did here in Maine, or what they did to Dr. Ben Carson in Iowa. It’s dirty and underhanded. To me Cruz is just a big a liar as Hillary (Clinton) is,” Gilbert said.

Over the years, she has met several GOP heavyweights on the national stage. Gilbert has met both President Bushes, 2004 GOP Presidential nominee John McCain, and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

Gilbert met Palin during the one time she was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2004.

“That was my favorite memory in Minneapolis when Palin made her speech. It was electrifying,” she said.

Gilbert also has a special friendship with former U.S. Senator Bill Cohen. She was a special guest to his 1996 retirement dinner in Bangor. The former senator also called after her son’s death.

“I love Bill, we go way back. He was the first politician to call me after my son died. I will never forget what a compassionate man he is,” Gilbert said.

This fall, Gilbert plans to support Trump for president. She likes his “tell it like it is approach.” Gilbert plans to volunteer one day a week to the Trump campaign.