This is an open letter to the Lawrence County Republican Central Committee.

Dear committee members,

Although I am not a political person, I am writing to you in hopes of holding your attention for the next few moments regarding your upcoming appointment to the recently vacated county commissioner seat.

In my four decades as a resident of Lawrence County, I have noticed that many people like to talk about “change” when vying for elected office. Those who are hopeful of filling this appointed seat are surely no different.

But, sadly, the only true changes I’ve really witnessed are to the addresses of people I care about. They change locations, most of the time against their desires, to find employment and raise their families elsewhere.

Then, once they have acclimated themselves to their new surroundings and begin to thrive, they call me and ask, “Why are you still living there?”

My answer is always the same. I’m here because this is my home. This is where my family lives. This is where my children go to school. I love my surroundings, I love the people and I love this area.

And, my hope is that when my children become adults, they will have the option to stay here, too.

But as much as I love living here, I’ve never met one person who is more fiercely proud to say he’s from Lawrence County than Dr. David Lucas, who is an applicant for your vacant seat.

I want to be clear that Dr. Lucas did not approach me regarding this letter. Upon learning that he wished to assume the responsibility of a county commissioner, I contacted him.

As I mentioned earlier, I am not typically passionate about politics. In most instances, I abhor them.

But this situation is different because I truly believe in Dr. Lucas’s passionate desire to lead all of us toward prosperity.

And I also believe in his ability to do so. Not only is he an exceptionally talented motivational speaker and professor, whom I thoroughly enjoyed listening to as a college student at Ohio University Southern, he has also been dedicated to local Boy Scouts as a Scout Master for as long as I can remember, teaching children about values, faith and hope.

This man has six college degrees and 40 years experience as a community leader. One of his degrees, I recently learned from him, is in organizational communications. That degree focuses on the various ways in which businesses interact.

He’s a strong proponent of networking and advertising our strengths to attract outside interest. And his dedication to the common folk of our region is evident in the research method he championed, Folknography.

I spent an hour speaking with him, but it felt like 10 minutes and I could have listened much, much longer.

You see, his attitude excited me. His ideas gave me genuine hope. His vision of the future of Lawrence County, our home, fired me up.

Dave Lucas definitely wants to do something about our economic landscape. He also wants to take a sledge hammer to the lethargy that is devouring our future.

His attitude isn’t that of a politician with an agenda. It is of a man on a mission to prove to outsiders that his community is a beautiful place to live.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the RCC, I urge you to strongly consider this man as our next county commissioner. I am certain he will be, by far, the most qualified, most dedicated, most prepared and most passionate person for the position.

And if you decide he’s not, I cannot wait to meet the person you select.

Billy Bruce is a freelance writer who lives in Pedro. He can be contacted at hollandkat3@aol.com.