This past week was a very special one for me. A number of Butler County citizens attended an appreciation luncheon in my honor and they truly made me feel "appreciated", for which I am deeply grateful.

There is an old saying that "you can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time". I think this is especially true in politics.

Usually a public official does not have much "gray area" to work with. This is particularly true when casting votes on major issues. The only choice you have is to vote for it or to vote against it. And there are very few instances where everyone whom you represent is in agreement.

It is very gratifying to me to represent a seven county area where there are such common interests. We live in a basically rural section of Alabama, which generally has the same problems, same concerns and oftentimes-same solutions.

This can prove very helpful in getting as much unity as possible among my constituency on any given legislative matter.

As I told the group, which attended the appreciation luncheon, the legislature has significantly changed in the past 25 years since I first began my public service.

Twenty-five years ago the rural senators outnumbered the urban senators and it was much easier to prevail on an issue which was more likely to aid the rural counties.

Since the "one man, one vote" rule took effect, the larger metropolitan areas, such as Birmingham, Mobile and Huntsville, have had much greater numbers of officials in terms of members serving in the Alabama legislature. Many of the urban senators, as I call them, are not interested in the same outcomes on legislative matters as are those of us who represent rural districts.

As more and more people from the rural counties move to the cities, the proportionate representation for our rural counties will continue to fall. I am pleased to be in a position to help our rural districts "hold on" to a lot of the benefits and opportunities which we have enjoyed through state government for a long period of time. My pledge to you is that I will continue to use my experience and knowledge to sustain this effort.

I am most appreciative to Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon, and Joanne Schrantz, a school counselor at Greenville High School, for their leadership in planning and chairing the appreciation luncheon.

My ties with Butler County go back to my childhood days and my wife, Rosalind McBride Mitchell, is from Greenville. For all of these and many more reasons, it is a distinct privilege to represent Butler County in the Alabama Senate.

Remember, "I'll go with you or I'll go for you" to help you solve any problem related to state government.

My office address is 735 Alabama State House, 11 South Union Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36130, and my district office address is: P.O. Box 225, Luverne, Alabama 36049.