Leadership McMinnville class visits state capital

Members of the 2006 Leadership McMinnville class recently attended a Legislative Day in Nashville. The group met with state Rep. Charles Curtiss, state Rep. Judd Matheny and state Sen. Jerry Cooper who gave the group an overview of their responsibilities.

Group members started the day bright and early leaving for Nashville by 6 a.m. Once in Nashville, the group was greeted by their representatives.

Warren County is represented by two state representatives and one state senator. Charlie Curtiss and Judd Matheny are our current representatives and Jerry Cooper is our senator. All three men gave an overview of their roles, responsibilities and highlighted their agendas for the year.

State representatives are elected for a two-year term, and state senators are elected for a four-year term. After remarks from our elected officials, the speakers of the Senate, John Wilder, and the House, Jimmy Naifeh, gave an inspirational talk about the political process, its leaders, and the voters.

The group also had the opportunity of meet one of McMinnville?s native sons, Mark Gwyn, the director of the TBI. He talked about the history of TBI, the role it plays in the community and the problems and challenges that face our county and state.

In the afternoon Leadership McMinnville members met Rhedona Rose, a lobbyist for Tennessee Farm Bureau. She educated the group on the different types of lobbyists and how they interact with elected officials. She also discussed the annual process Farm Bureau goes through to identify its agenda, and the issues that are relevant to its customers.

Drew Rawlins from the Registry of Election Finance told the group some of the rules and regulations that are placed on our elected officials to avoid unethical behavior, and to monitor campaign financing and spending practices of political candidates. The afternoon ended with a group photo with Gov. Phil Bredesen.

The 2006 Leadership McMinnville class includes Tom Brady, Dawn Cantrell, Patti Davenport, Rebecca Hodge, Cheryl LeCornu, Cyndi Cantrell, Shaun Cook, Chris Dux, Richard King, Tim Miles, Terrie Mullican, Sam Nuthalapaty, Tim Prater, Jason Rowland, David Snowden, Bill Myers, Jack Qualls, Kevin Rhoton, Theresa Rowland, Jeff Vance, Jan Wilcher and Walt Williamson.