JEFFERSON CITY _ Two-term Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour will be the featured speaker at the Missouri Republican Party banquet at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 8 honoring Gov. Matt Blunt during the 109th Missouri Republican Lincoln Days at the University Plaza Hotel in Springfield.

“In a year of great opportunities for Missouri Republicans, we are extremely pleased that Governor Barbour is coming to the Show Me State to honor Governor Blunt and share his many insights and experiences that will serve as an inspiration to Missouri Republicans,” said Doug Russell, Chairman of the Missouri Republican Party.

Elected to a second term in office with more than 58 percent of the vote, Barbour has been nationally recognized for taking the lead early on helping Mississippians rebuild and recover after Hurricane Katrina. Barbour created the Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding, and Renewal to develop a broad vision for opportunities to help South Mississippi rebuild after Katrina.

For his leadership after Katrina, Governor Barbour was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award, which is presented by the bipartisan American Legislative Exchange Council to a nationally recognized public sector leader who has an extraordinary record of successfully advancing Jeffersonian principles.

Barbour was also named Governor of the Year by Washington, D.C.-based Governing magazine and awarded the Gulf Guardian Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for his work to rebuild and protect sensitive coastal ecosystems.