Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about Be Pro Be Proud, an initiative launched in 2016 as a response to the workforce shortage experienced in my home State of Arkansas. Be Pro Be Proud is a technical program that introduces students and young adults to skilled trade jobs and the well-paid opportunities that these jobs unlock. In the past 5 years, Be Pro Be Proud's mobile workshop has completed over 500 stops in the State of Arkansas and recruited over 20,000 individuals who have joined the movement to learn more about key trades, new opportunities, and finding that career that is right for them. After seeing the tremendous success in Arkansas, the initiative has expanded to surrounding States. We have traveled around the country exposing young adults to this kind of opportunity--in middle school and high school--a career that starts immediately after high school graduation. In January, I had the pleasure of joining Governor Asa Hutchinson and State and local leaders to announce that Be Pro Be Proud was awarded $1.45 million in a grant to support the launch of a second mobile workshop to bring this story to schools all over Arkansas. This expansion will see additional communities visited by Be Pro Be Proud sooner and better, and that means faster opportunities to be witnessed by our young people when they graduate from high school. Recognizing the Life and Legacy of Sam Chaffin”