Political Season

I have lived in Arkansas for 14 years now. During high school (in Chattanooga) I was amazed at how a man from a small town called Hope could become President. It used to be the quintessential American story. The underdog. The dark horse. The cinderella story. But now that I'm here, I am less and less surprised at how Arkansas politicians are born and bred and groomed to greatness on the national scene. I don't know about other states, but Arkansas makes it very easy for budding politicians to gain momentum. This state grows smaller and smaller to me all the time. It is both a blessing and a curse to have such open access to the political machine. I have met our Governor on numerous occasions, have dined with State Senators and Representatives, and will be campaigning for a close personal friend running for the U.S. Congress.

I love living in this state because the civics lessons are endless. Our politicians are all over the place. Although my emmersion into political issues has been highlighted since moving to the capital city, politics was on our front door step in Jonesboro too. I am amazed at how easy it is to get involved at the local and state level. Brad and I have been blessed to be a part of some really interesting movements and I love seeing the state moving in new directions.

In many ways, I feel like Arkansas is on the brink of exploding culturally and intelectually. We have a long way to go, but people are genuinely interested in making a difference and making Arkansas attractive. At the Chamber, we talk a lot about how industries are no longer looking for capital investment as much as they are searching for a strong human resource. I am proud to think that we are attracting some of the right players because our politicians are making some tough decisions and trying to move our population in a new direction. I see more and more young families wanting to move to or back to Arkansas. We are focussed on investing in our human resources.

I applaud the decisions our politicians are making and appreciate their accessibility to the average person. I truly feel like I live in a state where my voice is heard. I may not always agree with the outcome, but I know I was heard.

So, as we kick off this political season, I hope we can keep the mission in mind. We all work for one another in order to make our communities better. May this political season be respectful and may rational minds prevail.