Search OC
Governor Mike Huckabee - Distinguished Speaker Series
| Speaker: | Gov. Mike Huckabee |
| Date: | October 23 , 2008 |
| Dinner: | Gaylord University Center @ 6:00 pm, performance by Herndon Twins |
| Lecture: | Hardeman Auditorium @ 7:30 pm |
OC’s Academy of Leadership & Liberty was pleased to have our fall Hatton W. Sumners Distinguished Speaker, Gov. Mike Huckabee. Gov. Huckabee was on campus the evening of October 23,2008.
Brief Biography:
Gov. Mike Huckabee became Arkansas' 44th elected governor after winning the November 1998 election with the highest percentage of the vote ever received by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas. He was elected to another four-year term in November 2002.
Gov. Mike Huckabee is recognized as a national leader in the areas of education reform and health care reform. Huckabee became the chairman of the National Governors Association in July. Founded in 1908, the NGA, which is a group through which governors collectively influence the development of national policy, has had the privelege of having Huckabee serve as one of the their lead governors on the issues of welfare reform and Medicaid reform.
Huckabee became governor in July 1996 when his predecessor resigned. He was one of the youngest governors in the country at the time. Huckabee first was elected lieutenant governor in a 1993 special election and was elected to a full four-year term in 1994. He was only the fourth Republican to be elected to statewide office since Reconstruction. Huckabee was elected to a full four-year term as governor in 1998, attracting the largest percentage of the vote ever received by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas, and was re-elected to another four-year term in November 2002. He's now the second longest-serving governor in the country. A significant part of his adult life was spent as a pastor and denominational leader. He became the youngest president ever of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, the largest denomination in Arkansas. Huckabee led rapidly growing congregations in Pine Bluff and Texarkana and has said those experiences gave him a deep sense of the problems faced by individuals and families.
Huckabee's efforts to improve his own health have received national attention. Diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 2003, he lost 110 pounds. In March 2005, Huckabee completed the Little Rock Marathon. The Road Runners Club of America named him the Southern Region Runner of the Year, and he was named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week for the country. Huckabee's fourth book, "Quit Digging Your Grave With A Knife And Fork", was released by Time Warner Book Group in May and has received favorable reviews across the country. Huckabee has traveled widely since the release of the book to speak on the need for Americans to change their lifestyles.
