Monthly Archives: January 2004

In life, we meet people from all walks of life. In my role as a politician, I am very grateful to have the opportunity to meet so many people with various backgrounds.

I try to understand people's lives as best as I can. I try to imagine being in their shoes and look deeper into who the individual is and what their surroundings are like. Everyone has a story, and if you analyze it, you will see the humanity of life.

The first Flemming Fellows Retreat was held at St. Petersburg, Florida from January 2-5, 2004. We negotiated a new constitution for a new state, prioritized our core values, and implemented our core values in our budget. We learned about various cultural values and stereotypes. One course was about framing the message depending on your audience. We broke into groups and made a smart growth plan and each group presented their plan to a different audience: legislators, business, media, and tax foundation. We also learned about ethics and the fine line between doing what you feel is right and what is legally wrong, after all, ethics can change through policy. I had a great time and made many new friends from across the country.