There has not been much "political activity" at the Capitol this past week, so this quiet period gives me an opportunity to share with you some of the activities in which I have been engaged in as your State Senator.

Our senate district consists of all or parts of seven different counties. These include Autauga, Butler, Crenshaw, Dale, Elmore, Lowndes and Pike counties. District 30 is one of the three largest geographical districts in the state. It is commonplace for me to travel between 500 and 800 miles each week to carry out my responsibilities to my constituents.

During the past two weeks, I have had the privilege of being in each county in our district, and I will use my column this week to give you some accounting of those activities.

I attended the Butler County Manufacturers Association quarterly meeting in Greenville where Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright was the speaker for the occasion. In fact, Mayor Bright and I rode to this function together, and it gave us an opportunity to exchange ideas with respect to economic development opportunities which will flow from the Hyundai project.

Mayor Bright addressed the subject of enticing tier one and tier two suppliers to the Butler County area. He stated that Greenville and Georgiana were strategically located to be key sites for the industrial suppliers which will furnish materials to Hyundai.

In this regard, I feel certain that every county in our senate district should have a "leg up" on getting these tier one and tier two suppliers. The proximity to the site where the Hyundai plant will be located is a key factor in obtaining these industries, and each county in our district is well within the acceptable distance to the Hyundai plant.

I was also in Greenville to attend the Achiever Award Banquet. This was an outstanding event which featured many high school seniors from throughout the county who have built wonderful resumes as they prepared to take the next step in their careers. The speaker was Harvey Glance, currently the track coach at the University of Alabama and formerly an outstanding Auburn star athlete. Although only two could be recipients of the award given on this occasion, all the young people who were nominated are indeed winners. Congratulations are in order for each and every nominee.

On Tuesday afternoon, I attended the first ever meeting of an industrial development committee for Autaugaville which is located in west Autauga County. This meeting was designed to put in place plans to attract some of the Hyundai industry support groups.

That same evening I attended a wonderful spring band concert at the Prattville High School gymnasium where the Prattville Jr. High School band gave an outstanding performance. The leader of the band, Gale Mallory, was very kind to recognize the support which I have given their band program. It was just a delightful occasion.

I was back in Prattville on Saturday for family activities referred to as City Fest. This is an annual event hosted by the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce and other city groups. It features fun activities, bands, food courts, helicopter rides, and the like. I had the privilege of being part of the opening ceremonies for these activities.

This week I will be in Troy to speak to the Troy Kiwannis Club at the invitation of my friend, Joel Williams. I also will meet with Col. John Schmidt at Troy State University to further support the outstanding leadership series which he has initiated, and I will meet with Tammy Lockley to discuss the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and its needs.

I also will attend the Troy State University graduation exercises on Friday, and meet with my friend, Max Davis, the very able CEO of South Alabama Electric Coop. It will be another busy week as I seek to be responsive to the constituents in our district.

Just remember "I'll go with you or I'll go for you" to help you solve any problem related to state government. Be in contact with me if you feel I can be of service.