NC Senator Gene McLaurin (District 25)
♦ Congratulations are in order.
Ashton Locklear
I begin by congratulating 16 year old Ashton Locklear, a native of Hamlet, NC for her hard work and amazing performance in the World Women’s Gymnastics Championships. As part of Team USA, Ashton played a significant role in helping Team USA secure the World Championship Title in Nanning, China. Daughter of Carrie and Terry Locklear, Ashton grew up training at Physical Awareness & Gymnastics with Terry Barrett in Hamlet and began competing at the young age of 5. She is a shining example of what can be achieved when someone works hard, receives support from family and friends, and uses their God given talents. Please join me in congratulating Ashton on Facebook, and wishing her well in the future. We may be watching her compete in the Olympics one day soon. http://www.teamusa.org/News/2014/October/08/Team-USA-Womens-Gymnasts-Golden-At-World-Championships
NC League of Municipalities Award
Senator Gene McLaurin & Mr. Paul Meyer, Executive Director, NCLM
Recently I had the opportunity to join members of the N.C. League of Municipalities – a group that represents mayors and city council members statewide – in Greensboro for their Annual Meeting. I was humbled to accept the Community Champion Legislator Award for my efforts in Raleigh to stand up for our rural area of the state as well as other small towns across the state.
Farm Bureau Meetings
Our county Farm Bureau Boards are currently having their annual meetings. I was able to attend the Anson County Farm Bureau Meeting at the Lockhart-Taylor Center recently. Anson County was named the 19th best place in the country to farm, and the 3rd best place in our state. I could not pass up the opportunity to express our appreciation for farmers here in our district. The NC Farm Bureau is a true example of a grass roots organization – as they use their expertise and influence to educate legislators and other state leaders on issues of importance to the farm community in N.C. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I have enjoyed working closely with farmers in our district as well as Farm Bureau members to promote and protect our family farms.
Education
Senator Gene McLaurin with Richmond County School Board Member, Bobbie Sue Ormsby’s grandchildren as they visited the Senate Chamber
Recently I shared with you my appointment to the Best NC Task Force on Early Childhood Educators and the Task Force on Teacher Compensation, Evaluation, and Retention. These two working groups have just begun to meet, so I am in the process of reaching out to educators in our district to get input, so I can better represent the needs of our rural schools. Too often I have heard from teachers who have expressed difficulty in making ends meet with a mediocre state salary. All the while, they have remained dedicated to their students and work overtime to meet the demands of the job. Please write to me (Gene.McLaurin@ncleg.net) to share your thoughts on how to accomplish our shared goals of raising teacher pay in NC to at least the National Average, as well, as attracting the best and brightest to the profession, and retaining high quality teachers. It is disheartening to know that several public universities in our state, known for their Schools of Education, have experienced low interest in these programs, losing 40-50% of their enrollments. If we want our youth to consider paying it forward by investing in education and becoming a teacher one day, we have a lot of work to do.
Fall Festivals
I have attended several fall festivals recently: Norman Fest in Richmond County, Best of Badin Festival in Stanly County, Taste of Pee Dee in Anson County, and several other events at Morgan Ridge Vineyards in Rowan County.
Young Leaders Advisory Council
Thanks again to the Laurinburg/ Scotland Chamber for partnering with me in September to host the Young Leaders Advisory Council that met in Laurinburg last month. This was a great opportunity to meet more young professionals in our district and discuss state policy and budget matters. Thank you to everyone who came out.
As always, if you need assistance in communicating with any state agency, please reach out to my office for help, as we can advocate for you, help get your questions answered, and find solutions. If you are no longer interested in receiving this Legislative Update, please send your request to mclaurinla@nclge.net .
Senator Gene McLaurin
25th District: Anson, Richmond, Rowan, Scotland, Stanly
1118 Legislative Building, Raleigh, NC 27601 (919) 733-5953
Gene.McLaurin@ncleg.net
