Eddie Fulton, Mayor of Quitman, spoke to a full house Aug. 20, 2009, at a town hall meeting to discuss the future of Quitman.

I was surprise to see such a large turnout for the town hall meeting held Aug. 20, 2009, at the Multi-Purpose building in Quitman, Mississippi. A gentle rain was falling as it grew dark outside. Parking my car I noticed someone with the Water Park had had left the headlights of their pickup truck on, so entering the building I mentioned this to a young girl wearing an FFA jacket; she promptly contacted the owner who returned to his vehicle to turn off the headlights. It was perhaps serendipity, as that's what town meetings really are about, neighbor helping neighbor, people coming together to do what they can for each other and their community, discovering as if by chance that their greatest treasure and resource lies within each person to do good deed and works together, and thus bring to blossom that treasure which once was only a dream.

Entering the Multi-Purpose building I was surprised to see such a good turn out, given the drizzle. I personally don't like driving anywhere when it is raining, not that I'm afraid of the rain or getting wet, I just like to be able to see clearly the road ahead of me, and that often isn't possible when driving through storms. Quitman and every other little town in Mississippi is driving through a storm, given the poor economy, loss of jobs and uncertainty about the future and what it holds for the community. This is an issue which concerns everyone and apparently the big turn out for the town hall meeting showed that a lot of people were aware of this fact. I certainly was not alone in this regard, though with the rain, drizzle and poor economy it sometimes feels that way.

As I entered the building I saw a lady collecting signatures for a petition for Voter ID. I didn't sign that petition because I already have plenty of ID: my driver's license, my birth certificate, my Social Security Card, my US Passport; why should I have to show anyone anything else to vote and why should the state have to waste taxpayer money on printing picture ID's to vote when everyone old enough to vote should already have at least three or four IDs? I know, I've heard all the arguments for voter ID: it stops dead people from voting;it stops illegal aliens from voting; and it stops criminals and corrupt individuals from voting multiple times in an election. But I've always been an honest person and if anyone who doesn't already know who I am wants to see my ID, I can just show them my driver's license. I don't want to have to carry around another piece of paper or plastic to identify myself. As far as I'm concerned if people want to vote they should be permitted to do so via secret ballot, without saying who they are or how they voted and if those running the elections are concerned about voter fraud they can have everyone dip their index fingers in purple dye like they do in Iraq. That's a very good and cheap way to prevent people from voting twice; it certainly would cost less to implement that voter ID and would kill less trees.

Everyone attending the town hall meeting was asked to register so I put down my name and number; no doubt I'm now on another mailing list. Then I took a seat at the front of the audience so I might be able to get some good pictures. People continued to arrive for about a half hour before the meeting began with a short presentation by Quitman's Mayor, Eddie Fulton. The mayor had taken the initiative after being elected, to develop a program for the improvement of Quitman. He sought help from the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) and the Mississippi State University (MSU) Community Action Team, a group from Mississippi State University. Personnel from both these groups were introduced and gave excellent presentation.

I was quite surprised at the quality of the presentations, how well informed, enlightened and perceptive each speaker was, especially with the Power Point presentations given by Jack Moody, MDA, Asset Development Division, and Chance McDavid, MSU Community Action Team. Each of these gentlemen demonstrated in depth knowledge of their subject matter, plus expertise in presenting their material. When trying to motivate a group of people who represent all divisions of a community, it is important to project a good image and to demonstrate knowledge and understanding; this was certainly done by Mr. Moddy and Mr. McDavid. My only regret was that I did not bring along a tape recorder or have a video of both these excellent presentation to watch a second time and/or pass along to everyone else.

Basically Jack Moody spoke about how we were in competition with the entire world, especially with nations like China and India which have exploding populations and are not only competing for natural resources, but have such large populations that they are rapidly winning the race when it comes to academic achievement and the opportunity this later result in when it comes to the job market and technological development. Then Chance McDavid spoke about how communities can take sight of their situation, recognize their assets, organize, plan, set goals, and begin to work to achieve a better future for themselves.

Chance McDavid, who majored in Poulty Science at MSU, gives a Power Point presentation and asks the audience what they see in a nest of eggs.

Mr. McDavid mentioned the fact that when in high school he was a member of the Future Farmers of America, and later majored in Poultry Science, displaying a drawing of three eggs in a nest and asking the audience, "What do you see?" The three eggs represented potential, what can come in the future if one properly plans and nurtures their dreams. This analogy struck a specially cord with me, given my uncle, Wilson Carnes, was editor of the FFA Magazines for many years, and I was well aware of how this organization developed leaders and good citizens. It was very obvious to me that Mr. McDavid spoke from the heart and that his experience in the FFA nurtured his own speaking abilities. Should you get the opportunity to see a presentation by him in the future, I'm sure you may be equally impressed!

I must complement Mayor Eddie Fulton for bringing together such an excellent group of people to help educate, inform and motivate the citizens of our community. Between presentations and speakers door prizes provided by business sponsors were given out to the audience. Each person had been given a ticket when they registered; my little red ticket was number 3798644 and won me a State Farm Insurance Road Atlas and a Save-a-deer whistle. These are little plastic devices that you can stick to the front of your vehicle; they produce a high frequency sound when driving over 35 m.p.h. which may startle deers causing them to freeze in their path and avoid running into cars, thus saving the lives of both deers and people. Who knows, maybe the road map will safely guild me on some new adventures and that little plastic whistle might even save my life -- or perhaps someone else's life. I recommend everyone who drives along country roads at night or on foggy mornings get one of these nifty little devices and put it on the front of their car!

After the town hall meeting people were asked to join various committees and volunteer to help in various ways. I joined the Marketing and Communications committee, given that is the one that which most relates to my skills, ability and talents as a photographer, videographer and web site designer. Of course there is one big problem when it comes to using volunteers to get work done, which is money, money and more money that is not present to pay for all the work that needs done or to serve as an incentive to getting work done. It is my experience that people will only work for free for a limited amount of time and that their free work is already divided or committed to churches, charities or other vital public service organizations. The way to really stimulate growth and development of a community like Quitman is to empower people to form their own small businesses as corporations, both for profit and nonprofit. In that way each corporation that is created can create genuine opportunity for the community, generate income, and provide independent goal oriented businesses and services for the community that are supported, not only by the city, but by private enterprise and the private sector.

Although I am a great believer in volunteer service, in doing what on can for their country or their community, volunteer programs still must be funded. Even national volunteer programs need to be funded in order to succeed. The reason private corporations and private enterprise may be a better way to stimulate development of a community is that it created jobs, generates profits and supports everyone who participates in the work ethic. Creating private enterprise is what really built America and it is what is going to save America in the future from economic collapse. We cannot depend upon government, be it the Federal Government or local municipalities to bail us out of every problem that comes down the pike. We need to learn how to be self reliant, and in business that mean starting your own business, your own corporation, you own public service group, church, or organization to set your own goals and work toward making your own dreams become a reality.

I walked into a local store recently and looked at various products to see where they were made. Almost everything was made in China, India, the Philippines, Mexico or some other third world nation. I was even surprised to see that public school uniforms were made in Bangladesh! The policy of our own public schools to force our children to wear school uniforms, is contributing to promoting an off shore textile industry that takes jobs away from Americans and is contributing to the economic depression in America. So one BIG thing cities, municipalities and respective school boards could do is STOP brainwashing our children, making them wear school uniforms manufactured in Bangladesh, permitting them to wear American apparel, jeans or other fashionable clothing made in America. Here we have a city trying to promote a bright future for our children and yet our public schools are requiring that every student wear a uniform that is made in Bangladesh! The irony of this is quite profound!

Therefore I must conclude that in addition to organizing a volunteer labor force to help with community improvement and development, that cities like Quitman, and Clarke County, first take a close look at how they are spending what little money they have. Are you buying goods and services made in America? If not, why not? I don't want to hear the excuse that everything is now made in China or India. What I want to see and hear is policy that tax payer money is spent on products and services that are made in America, that contracts are awarded to American owned companies, that when a city buys new cars for the police or other equipment used by a municipality, that it is made in America! We should cease and desist from spending tax payer money on foreign imports and we should certainly stop insisting that our children wear school uniforms made in Bangladesh or communist Red China!

As pointed out by Jack Moody of the MDA, Asset Development Division, large countries like India and China are getting more and more of the jobs which use to go to Americans. We are in a life and death competition with these huge third world nations as a result of the population explosion. This is why many jobs have gone overseas; labor is so cheap in India and China that it like being able to have slaves do your work. This permits companies to make products like school uniforms in Bangladesh, for pennies upon the dollar, then to sell them in America and make huge profits. Unfortunately all this money does not go back to communities like Quitman; it goes to building large estates and mansion for corporate executives, to buying private jets and making a few people rich at the expense of the masses of Americans who remain poor and deprived of a better quality of life they might have if companies were not so greedy that they abandoned America and moved off shore. One way to stop this and to make companies reinvest in America is for cities and municipalities everywhere to adopt a Made in America policy for all expenditures of tax dollars.

Mayor Eddie Fulton is to be commended for making such a great effort to get everyone involved and plan for Quitman's future. However, there are other things which the city needs to do in this respect, and one of them is to adopt a policy which requires that goods and services purchased by the city be made in America. Also, municipalities need to look at where school uniforms are being made and if there is to be a school uniform policy it should insist that school uniforms be made in America with material manufactured in America. These are simple actions which can be taken with the stroke of a pen; yet instead of doing this our cities and school boards pass laws, make rules or set policies which actually act to the detriment of our communities by stimulating foreign economies.

There is an old adage that says clean out your own house first, put your own house in order first, before you try to fix up the mess everyone else is in. This is exactly what the city of Quitman and every other little and big town needs to do. A close and hard look needs to be taken at how money is spent and spend it only on goods and services that are made in America. If every city, town and municipality would adopt this policy it would boost the economy in America so much that again America would be a world leader in so many ways that is use to be. Yet we continue to buy products manufactured in India, China and even make policies that our children must wear school uniforms, not taking into consideration that those uniforms are made in countries like Bangladesh and are taking jobs and profits away form Americans.

Cites which want to insure a bright future for their citizens should lead the way by adopting a Made in America policy for all tax dollars spent. If you can't find products made in America, then spend tax payer dollars on something else that is Made in America! Don't buy that police car if it is not a Ford or GM made right here in America. Don't buy that radar gun unless it is made by an American owned company and manufactured in America. Instead buy rocks, gravel or concrete that come from right here in Mississippi or a neighboring state and use them to pave the roads, build bike paths, or do other good work. Stop using tax payer money for goods and services that are not Made in America!

This message to buy Made In America was missing from that presented to the good citizens who attended the town hall meeting organized by Mayor Eddie Fulton. It is also missing from the public policies of cities and municipalities across America. Yet to be again the leader in all aspects of commerce that America once was, we need to insist on buying Made In America goods and services, especially when it comes to how we spend tax payer dollars. One of the reasons so many American are loosing their homes is exactly because our government has not adopted such a policy, as this would prevent it from bailing out foreign banks and investment firms. It is the lack of a buy only Made In America goods and services which is why America is now indebted to communist Red China and other foreign nations. Unless that policy is changed at every level of government, the future may be bleak for our children and their children.

Therefore I urge the mayor of all town and those in municipal government to adopt a policy to buy only goods and services made in America. Also insist that any school uniform policies require uniforms or acceptable apparel be Made In America; otherwise do not adopt such policies. Then instead of just starting committees to boost a volunteer labor force, sponsor workshops on how to start your own business and corporation. Encourage people to start their own businesses; help them get organized and funded in this respect. Also, where there is a need, help local people start businesses which may contract with cities and municipalities for goods and services needed. Don't spend one red cent of tax payer money unless it goes back into the pockets of the American citizens who paid those taxes in the first place!

If you would like to volunteer please contact Mayor Eddie Fulton or telephong the City of Quitman at (601) 776-3728.

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