Last Monday, I had the distinct honor of showing off our area and our people to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Senator Richard Burr at a town-hall meeting at Richmond Community College in Hamlet.

Their visit was part of the President’s Rural Listening Tour, and they were in the Eighth District to talk about rural education and economic and workforce development.  Let me tell you, our folks had a lot to say about that and other topics as well.

I was so proud that in this time when we see all this shouting between folks from Washington and people at home that we had a real discussion with hard questions and people speaking their mind.

We had more than 600 people come out to talk about education, unemployment, the economy, and their frustration with Washington and Raleigh.  As I told the assembled group, the Eighth District is my home, and our district was hurting economically long before the rest of the country began to feel the effects of the recession. Our manufacturing industries have taken big hits year after year, and our unemployment numbers are staggering.
 
Our district is full of hard-working, resilient folks who’ve been struggling for far too long. This was an opportunity to open dialog between our district and the Administration. There are many challenges facing our area, and we must do everything we can to rise to those challenges and give our folks a chance to do what they desire most - go to work, take care of their families, and live their lives without too much interference from government.  I don't think that is too much to ask.

Improving rural education and economic prosperity for our children must be a priority for all of us. Young people feel there is little future for them here. We have to do our best to give them a reason to stay in our communities while preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow.

Secretary Vilsack, Secretary Duncan, Senator Burr and myself got our marching orders from the people of the Eighth District and we were listening.  I will be following up on what we heard and saw and making sure that the Administration continues to hear from our people loud and clear that we aren't looking for hand outs - we just want the government to work for us, not against us. 

I have tremendous optimism for our communities. Our district is full of people willing to do whatever it takes to make our communities thrive and preserve the American Dream.