An elected official’s first charge is to safeguard the residents of the city. The crime rate is one of the measures we look at to gauge our success. Our crime rate has consistently dropped over the last several years. But, when I see headlines like...

Jennifer loves few things more than getting our family together for a family photo shoot. And if I am honest, it isn’t my favorite. It is probably just PTSD from the times when our kids were younger. We would bribe them with everything under the...

A Children’s Bible feels a lot like what you would expect if you got to meet Jack and Piggy’s parents from the Lord of the Flies. William Golding’s classic is a study in innocence lost. A Children’s Bible had no innocence, to begin with.  Don’t...

Even after serving my first term as a City Commissioner in Bartow, there are still people who don’t know me, my family, or my background. So, now that we are back in campaign season I’ve filmed a very short video (re)introducing myself. The video will...

What does it look like to reopen a city? Honestly? Great question. Lots of people are using the word “unprecedented” these days and with good reason. None of us have ever had to deal with a crisis of this magnitude.  And yet, life has to...

Being elected as the mayor of Bartow on Monday was an unforgettable experience. Never in my wildest dreams as a kid growing up in this city did I think I would have the opportunity to help lead through the changes in our future. As memorable...

“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 This is a pretty unpopular sentiment in America today. It is unpopular even among the western evangelicals who claim the Scriptures from which the statement comes.  We don’t like anything...

If you are white, under 50 years old and grew up in Florida you should read, Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King. Sure, it won the 2013 Pulitzer for Nonfiction but that’s not why you should read it. You should read it so that...