From the President’s Desk
Rep. Deborah Ferguson, DDS (AR) – NCOIL President
Welcome to my first quarterly newsletter column as NCOIL President.
When I joined the NCOIL Officer ranks last year, I certainly didn’t anticipate being NCOIL President just a year later. But with the unfortunate departure of Kevin Cahill from the NY legislature, we had to adjust “on the fly” and I’m really looking forward to another productive year at NCOIL. It’s a great honor to serve alongside such a talented team of fellow officers: Vice President Dr. Tom Oliverson, (Rep. TX), Treasurer Pamela Hunter (Asw. NY), Secretary Paul Utke (Sen. MN) and Immediate Past Presidents Matt Lehman (Rep. IN) and Travis Holdman (Sen. IN).
Yes, you read that last name correctly. Sen. Holdman is now back in the NCOIL Officer ranks due to Ken Cooley sadly losing his re-election soon after we departed our New Orleans meeting. Asm. Cooley deserves a tremendous amount of credit for his leadership last year as NCOIL President, and for the way he consistently represented the organization throughout the years. Thanks to Ken’s leadership, NCOIL starts 2023 stronger than ever and ready for another great year.
As I begin my term as NCOIL President, I’d like to tell you more about myself and how I got involved in public service and in NCOIL. Prior to being elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives, I spent twenty five years working as a dentist and owned my own practice. I also became involved with various causes in my community such as serving as a Guardian Ad Litem for foster children, teaching elementary Sunday School, and working with organizations such as the American Heart Association and the Arkansas Arts Council among others. This involvement in my community along with my desire to and belief that I could help improve Arkansas is what ultimately drew me to run for elected office.
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