“What a way to be served by those elected to serve,” said Lori Arnold, chair of the Kingsport Chamber Foundation.
Following the feast, here’s what the lawmakers had to say:
State Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol
“I thank God my dog Nash can’t run for office because if he did, he would win. The good news is we’re out of session. The important things we overlook is we had a balanced budget, we have a Triple-A bond rating from three of the national agencies. You’ve heard these talking points before but it’s worth reiterating. Look at our road system and we don’t have debt.”
State Rep. John Crawford, R-Kingsport
“We do nothing but defending our area. There’s lots of legislation that comes that is great for Nashville, great for Memphis and Murfreesboro but it’s not good for little old Kingsport and Bristol. And so a lot of our job is to weed through these things and find out what’s good for us and what hurts us.”
State Rep. Timothy Hill, R-Blountville
“I’m incredibly blessed to go down on (Deputy Comptroller) Jason Mumpower’s floor and ask questions. He’s always been there for me every step of the way. I was appointed to chair the (House) Commerce Committee. It covers exactly what it says it does. Government doesn’t create jobs, right? You guys create jobs. It’s our job to foster an environment so you truly can make it happen.”
State Rep. Gary Hicks, R-Rogersville
“We can talk about the Katie Beckett waiver (which expanded Medicaid for children with disabilities). We can talk about $220 million that we’re using for economic development. We can talk about the $11.8 billion we are spending on education. We had a very successful session.”
State Rep. Bud Hulsey, R-Kingsport
“I’m the chairman of the Corrections subcommittee. It costs you and me $78 a day to put somebody in the state penitentiary. I’m excited because I really believe the governor (Republican Bill Lee) has a heart to look at best practices when it comes to prisons and incarceration. It means doing the right thing with the best results.”
This event was sponsored by the 2019 Kingsport Chamber Government Relations Event Sponsors: Appalachian Community Federal Credit Union, Appalachian Power, AT&T, Ballad Health, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Charter Communications, Creekside Behavioral Health, Domtar, Eastman, Horizon Credit Union and Tri-Cities Military Affairs Council.
Food City was the food and beverage sponsor.
