|
 |
State Representative Jim Buchy...
Is Darke County a
Farm Team for Leaders?
The readers of this column are in Darke County for many reasons.
Some people have lived in this county all their life and never
left. Others, like me, grew up in Darke County, left for a while
and now are back. And many of our neighbors settled here because
they appreciated our wonderful communities and they are happy to have
work with a local company.
No matter the reason for being a Darke Countian, you are part of an
accomplished crowd, with great values, strong work ethic and a great
ability to succeed. Perhaps, that is why everywhere I have gone
in the political world I have run into someone whose parents or family
members are Darke Countians. Around Greenville, Union City, and
Versailles you rarely see these leaders in our nation and state other
than when they are returning home to celebrate holidays and spend time
with family. These individuals, who are operatives on
both sides of the aisle are, Jonathan Coppess, Aaron McLear, Matt
Forney, Jodi (Cummings) Allalen, Alyson Miles, Cheryl Subler, and
Karrie Rench. I know there are probably a few more people working
in politics but these are the ones who I could think of off the top of
my head.
You may have thought our best products in Darke County were eggs, corn,
wheat and soy beans, but these ex-patriarchs of the county are
certainly something to be proud of. Jonathan Coppess
is the son of Sue and Bill Coppess, and the grandson of long time
county Democrat leaders Sam and Helen Coppess. He has remained in the
party of his family, serving President Obama at the USDA as both a
Deputy Administrator and then an Administrator of the Farm Service
Agency (FSA). Many of the programs impacting farmers right here
in Darke County could not have been executed effectively without
Jonathan at the helm. Jonathan, like many of the great people
from Darke County, has a work ethic that leaves a good impression on
others. His abilities are known around Washington. In his
most recent career move, he was recruited to serve as Chief Legal
Counsel on the Senate Ag Committee. As a selfless public servant
he accepted the request. In his role he will be working on the
2012 farm bill, which is a large spending bill for agricultural
programs and food stamps that only happens once every 4 years.
Jonathon will be responsible for the legal advice in regards to this
bill. His front row seat is sure to impact your daily life.
He has come a long way from campaigning for his grandfather as a
youngster.
Aaron McLear began his political career as my paper delivery boy.
He has put me in good company. After he worked for me he went on
to serve as an aide to former Speaker of the Ohio House and my personal
friend Jo Ann Davidson. He worked in communications for Governor Bob
Taft and he was communications director for the 2004 Bush-Cheney
Campaign in Ohio. He followed that up as a regional press secretary for
the Republican National Committee, and following that experience he
moved to California as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s press
secretary. With this resume his expertise is in high demand,
which will help drum up customers for his newly founded consulting
group, the Ginsburg McLear Group.
Matt Forney, Jodi (Cummings) Allalen, Alyson Miles and Cheryl Subler
all started their professional careers as legislative aides to members
of the Ohio House of Representatives. This is where they mastered
the legislative process by doing bill research, bill drafting, and
clerking committees. Jodi is now the working in the Ohio House
Clerk’s office where she uses her years of experience and institutional
knowledge to oversee the clerking of all committees. Alyson Miles
is one of the committee clerks who Jodi has trained. Alyson works
for Representative Gerald Stebelton, the Chairman of the House
Education Committee.
Matt Forney and Cheryl Subler entered the private sector a number of
years ago and are both part of the lobbying community. While in
the House, Cheryl staffed the House Energy and Environment Committee
and the House Aging and Housing Committee. As a lobbyist, her
expertise is local government. She works with me on a regular
basis discussing issues of local county commissioners and
agriculture. She currently represents the County Commissioners
Association of Ohio and previously worked for the Ohio Township
Association. Matt worked for Representative Bill (Doc) Taylor at
the beginning of his career and then he worked for Representative Lynn
Olman. After working at the House he worked at the Ohio Consumers
Council and then went on to work as a private sector lobbyist focusing
on utility issues. Currently, Matt is the Managing Director of
Government Affairs at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
The last person in this list is the most recent addition to our list of
influential Darke Countians. Karrie Rench is from Arcanum and
began her professional career in politics prior to graduating
college. Most young people her age are still in college making
plans for the weekend, but Karrie is making plans for the governor of
the state. Karrie got her start in May of 2009 in the office of
former Senator George Voinovich. Since that time she has been a
personal aide to Lt. Governor Mary Taylor as she ran for office with
Governor Kasich, an assistant to the Governors chief of staff and, most
recently, she became the governor’s scheduler.
I am proud of each of these people. I have watched all of them
grow up and it is a pleasure on a day-to-day basis to work with many of
them. In this business there are many sour apples. In the
batch from Darke County we have high quality without spoil. Our
communities and parents have truly done an outstanding job raising
these leaders and I hope we will continue to see more coming into the
business. If they continue with the same quality we already have,
the county will be responsible for making a bright future for this
country.
|
|
|
|
