To the Residents of Ellisville,

I would like to thank the Laurel Leader Call for the opportunity to present this letter and to thank my fellow neighbors and friends in Ellisville for taking a few moments to read this. I’m excited to share with you my vision and personal background as I ask for your support and for the opportunity to serve you as Alderman at Large for the City of Ellisville.

It’s only appropriate to start by sharing with you my love for my Ellisville – it’s my home, it’s where my education started, and it’s where I returned after leaving to work across the United States.

My family and my heritage are here in Ellisville and Jones County. I’m the oldest son of Jerry and Jeanie (Beech) Tucker, and one of the many grandchildren of the late Clyde and Carmen Beech of Ellisville and Arthur and Frances Tucker of Ovett.

My passion for Ellisville and the foundation of many future successes were founded in the great education I received here. I’m a graduate of South Jones High School (1991), attended Jones Junior College, and received both my Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry (1995) and Master’s degree in Public Health (1997) from the University of Southern Mississippi. Additionally, with the support and guidance of many of my great teachers, I was awarded a competitive fellowship through the American Chemical Society honoring only twelve students from across the United States with advanced training in Nuclear and Radiochemistry at the State University of New York (Stony Brook) and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

I’ve had a very rewarding career with a Fortune 500 firm traveling across the United States and abroad over the last ten years working with national, regional and community healthcare systems and hospitals as well as industry leading software and technology companies. With the opportunity to call any of these places a home, I understand and am always conscious of where my family and heart lie. I moved back to Ellisville in 2001, and am proud to call this home today and tomorrow.

Although I missed my hometown while traveling and working across the United States, the experience gained from a Fortune 500 and S&P; 500 company with over 70,000 employees worldwide has provided a depth of knowledge, expertise and exposure to national trends that are invaluable in these times of a challenging economy and environment. As Regional Vice President with our Healthcare Division, I had the opportunity to work in great metropolitan cities and other small towns and communities. The teams I led in my regions were consistently able to improve customer service, to expand the range of services offered, and to make a positive improvement on financial performance. This exposure has provided real personal insight and tangible hands-on experience into what makes cities and organizations great and what pitfalls to avoid as we learn from and build upon the lessons of others.

The most important lesson that I’ve learned from my national work experience is that what we have here in Ellisville is the same strengths and qualities that make any city great – our citizens, who like me, proudly call this home. Our citizens, families and children, represent our greatest asset and form the foundation on which our City today is built, and from which our continued growth and future will emerge.

As a City, we are developing such a positive momentum for growth. We truly are at a crossroad to the Promised Land to achieve this growth and to realize the potential of the City that we can be. This potential can be reached by our continued focus on our outstanding education system offered through our Elementary and High Schools and Jones Junior College. Our commitment to these cannot waiver and must remain at the forefront in all of our decisions. Lastly, we must take advantage of the strategic location we have in Jones County; our proximity to our neighbor cities makes us a central asset to the growth in this region.

These core beliefs of why I have such a love and passion for Ellisville, what I’ve have experienced through national work experience, and what I believe are the assets that make us great, form my vision Building A Better Ellisville Today, For Our Families Tomorrow. The growth of our City and residents is great testament to the strong foundation from which we will continue to grow and enhance our City. However with this growth, I apologize in advance if I’m not able to meet with you personally before our upcoming election on May 5th. I ask your support and the opportunity to serve you as Alderman At Large for the City of Ellisville. If you have any questions or would like to talk personally, I can be reached at your convenience at (601) 477-8401 or by email at jstacytucker@gmail.com.

Respectfully yours,

Stacy Tucker