Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign):

After graduating from high school Ronnie joined the Marine Corps.  He served in two combat zones, Santo Domingo and Vietnam.

H left the Marine Corps in 1967 and moved to Wayne County.  He became the Veterans Service Officer assisting veterans of all wars, primarily the Vietnam War. He later became a businessman starting two successful businesses.

Ronnie joined the NC Army National Guard in 1972.  He graduated from Officer Candidate School in 1975.  He was called to active duty for one year and served with the XVIII Airborne Corps in Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991.  He was also called to state active duty five times for three hurricanes and two ice storms.

In 2002 Ronnie was promoted to Brigadier General and assigned as the Deputy Adjunct General of the NC National Guard, making him the second in command of the more than 11,500 Army and Air National Guard members.  He retired in 2005 after more than 38 years service in the US Marine Corps and NC National Guard.  He earned more than thirty awards including the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star.  He also received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine from both Governor Hunt and Governor Easley.

He has a BS degree from Liberty University and is a graduate of the US Army War College.  He completed the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Ronnie is past commander of the VFW, past president of the Goldsboro Exchange Club, life member of the NC National Guard Association, and member of the Military Officers Association of America, Alumni Association of the US Army War College, and the Grantham Grange.

Ronnie and Annalee have five children and four grandchildren and attend Falling Creek Baptist Church.

I believe the citizens of Wayne County deserve strong, effective leadership in the North Carolina House of Representatives.  We want our children to receive a great education that allows them to compete in a worldwide economy. We want good jobs and quality, affordable health care.  In order to achieve this we must do more to improve our infrastructure in eastern North Carolina.

We must make sure we protect Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and all our military bases from closure.  We must do more to preserve farmland so that we can protect our family farms. We must build reservoirs to insure Wayne and surrounding counties have adequate water.

We want a fair tax rate that allows working men and women to keep the money they work so hard to earn.

I have the background and experience to vote the way I believe you would want me to and I need your vote and support.