Hello Everyone,

I'll take a minute to give a little personal information about myself and family. First of all, I have the privilege to be married to one of the most wonderful and beautiful women in the world, Tanya. She has two children, Isaac and Rylee. To add to the confusion, I have four children: Ethan, Jarred, Sydney and Kayla.

I am the current Director of DeKalb Ambulance and I have been with the ambulance service for over 27 years. I live between Collinsville and Fort Payne in a spot in the road called Portersville.

I truly consider it an honor to serve as Chairman; I have invested my life in this County and take great pride in our home. As Chairman, I feel that we as a Party represent anyone who votes for a person within our party. When Citizens vote for just one person on the Republican ticket, we impart represent them, and our elected officials represent all the citizens of DeKalb County.

Over the coming days, I ask that we all look for ways to make the Republican Party attractive to all ages. It's difficult for me to know what appeals to a 20 year old as well as an 80 year old...because I'm in the middle. A person's interest tends to vary with age, so I feel we need to tap into all people on the committee, as well as anyone who is willing to be involved. We must be open minded and willing to accept change, however avoid making changes for the wrong reasons.

Lastly, I hope to have open and honest dialogue to confront issues or to work out differences in private and represent publicly as a united group.

Sincerely,

Mark Ford

Chairman of the DeKalb GOP

(256) 630-1310

fordfcc@aol.com