SEARCY, AR – June 21, 2010 – The Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce and the White County Fair Board announced today that they will jointly host a major political event on Saturday, September 11.
“Catfish and Candidates” will be held at the rodeo arena at the White County Fairgrounds and will feature Republican and Democratic candidates for all major offices of importance to the people of north central Arkansas. Each candidate will be given a pre-determined amount of time to address the voters in attendance.
“This has been an exciting year for politics and our goal is to help voters make informed and intelligent decisions,” said Kayla Osborne, member of the “Catfish and Candidates” committee and vice president of Regions Bank in Searcy.
The event will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 11 with all-you-can-eat catfish from Catfish House in Newport. Candidates will begin speaking at noon.
Tickets are $12 per person and will go on sale July 27th at the Searcy Business Expo, which will be held in the Ganus Center at Harding University. After that date, tickets will be available at Searcy.com, the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce at 2323 South Main, or the White County Tax Assessor’s office at 119 West Arch Street.
“We invite people to bring their lawn chairs, enjoy the catfish and hear the candidates as they speak about why they should receive our votes,” Osbourne said. “It’s not often that we have direct access to so many candidates in one place.”
Don Harlan, president of the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce and vice-chancellor of ASU-Searcy, says “Catfish and Candidates” provides voters with a rare opportunity to interact face-to-face with the candidates.
“The mood of the voters this year is clearly one of discontent,” said Harlan. “People are concerned about the direction of our state and nation whether it is from an economic standpoint, education or energy independence. Each person has his or her own concerns and priorities that they want to hear addressed in this election year.”
The Arkansas Secretary of State’s office says 29 percent of all registered voters in Arkansas cast a ballot during the May 18 primary elections. That’s more than 468,000 Arkansans, which represents the highest turnout in a non-presidential election year since 1992.
“There has never been a more important time for our area’s residents to be heard,” said Mitchell Spurlock, president of the White County Fair Board and committee member. “We hope folks will plan to take advantage of this occasion, enjoy some good catfish and have a good time.”
Major candidates for the following offices have been invited: United States Senate, Second District Congress, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Senate District 29, State Representative Districts 49 and 50, White County Judge and Searcy Mayor.
The schedule of speakers and times will be finalized once each candidate has confirmed attendance.
Again, tickets for the September 11 Catfish and Candidates event are $12 per person and will be sold beginning July 27 at the White County Business Expo. Following that event, tickets can be purchased Searcy.com, the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce and the White County Tax Assessor’s office.
