Welcome
Hello, I am Larry Walker, a retired UWF faculty member and 16-year member of the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA). Crooked Oak, Alabama, in the “Tri-Cities” area of northwest Alabama, was my birthplace. My parents made it possible for me to be the first college graduate in my family, in 1962 (David Lipscomb College).
I was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in 1962-64 in West Africa. In April 2008, I had the immense pleasure of attending my first-ever reunion of my PCV group. What a thrill it was!
I received my Ph.D. degree from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1974 and later taught at the University of Alabama; consequently, I bleed Carolina blue each winter and Alabama crimson each fall. In the summer, it’s the Braves.
Service
In 29 years at UWF, I taught courses in “public administration,” “public policy,” “local politics,” “growth management policy,” and “environmental administration.” On the side, I prepared scores of policy analyses for legislative delegations, local governments, and nonprofit organizations. For the Florida League of Cities, I wrote three 250-page editions of The Florida Municipal Officials’ Manual. The League distributed thousands of copies of this manual to Florida city officials. I have written municipal charters for several cities and the charter of the Escambia County Volunteer Firefighters Association (ECVFA). I am proud to have been chosen by the ECVFA membership as one of only two honorary members of the association.
I have served as director of the UWF Whitman Center for Public Service, interim director of the Pensacola Downtown Improvement Board, executive director of the Panhandle League of Cities, director and state chairman of the Florida Parent-Educators Association, and staff director of the 1995 Escambia County Charter Commission. My most recent volunteer civic role was as chairman in 2006-07 of the Citizens Advisory Committee of an “evaluation and appraisal” review of the Escambia County Comprehensive Plan.
Family
I am blessed with wife Gail; sons Jim, John, and Will; Jim’s wife, Leslie; and three granddaughters–Destiny (Tate), Angela (IB), and Kathryn (Ransom). God has given me a family that I didn’t deserve, and they have made me a better man. Gail and I have devoted ourselves to our children; increasingly today, they devote themselves to us.
Church. Gail and I are members of St. Luke UMC, thanks especially to the friendships of Pat Widmer and Pat Rommes, the ministries of Ted & Margie Bowne, the lay leadership of Bob & Peggy Woodard, and the pastoral leadership of Jason Adams. I hope to become a Lay Leader in the church in 2009.
Home-Schooling. My family became involved in home-schooling in 1983 because twins John and Will had an immune deficiency that made it impossible for them to attend regular school. One year later, I found myself the organizer and leader of the newly formed Florida Parent-Educators Association (FPEA) and in a tough legislative battle with Florida Education Commissioner Ralph Turlington. We home-schoolers won out, and the Legislature enacted the Florida Home Education Act of 1985. The “mountaintop experience” of my life was meeting with Gov. Bob Graham in 1985 to plead that he allow this bill to pass, then learning, when I returned to Pensacola that evening, that he had signed the bill into law. I will always be a grateful admirer of Bob Graham.
Gail obtained a Ph.D. degree from the University of Alabama, where she and I met. After our marriage, we both taught at Oklahoma State University. After John & Will were born and their life-threatening immune deficiency developed, Gail dedicated herself to keeping John and Will alive rather than to an academic career. John’s and Will’s immune capacities became normal over a period of years, but the home-schooling continued by choice for twelve years, directed mostly by Gail. In this way, a short-term career interruption turned into a lifetime change for her and for the entire family. For several years, Gail was a leading resource, both locally and statewide, for parents who sought guidance in home-schooling methods. Meanwhile, I served as a “political front man” for the home-schooling movement, locally and statewide. I organized both the West Florida Home Education Support League and the Florida Parent-Educators Association. I remained a director of the state association for twelve years.
ECUA
I first offered myself as a candidate for the District 5 ECUA seat in 1988. After 20 years of teaching “good government,” I wanted to see whether I could practice what I had been preaching. I now have served on the ECUA board for 16 of the last 20 years, and I have devoted myself to “making democracy work.”
Final Thought
In 1988, Gail thought that entering the political arena would ruin my character. After all, there were all those bad people in politics. To be sure, I have met bad people in politics; however, the bigger truth is that, through politics, I have met many GOOD people whom I could not have known, otherwise. These people have supported, encouraged, prayed for, and even loved me. They have inspired me, humbled me, given me courage, and shaped my character. The truth is that politics has made me a better person, not worse. I owe more to more people than I will ever be able to pay. I am reminded every day that many people have put their trust in me and that I must not let them down.
The group shown in the group photo is the many friends who gathered to celebrate the end of their hard work in my 2004 campaign. Many other supporters did not attend the celebration because they lived in the North End. Words can never express the debt I owe to the many friends who have helped me in five–now six–election campaigns. Truly, my cup has run over.
To the voters who have put me in office over the years, I am indebted, also. For every vote, I am grateful, and especially for the informed voters who have based their votes on sound knowledge of the candidates. TOGETHER, we have made, and are making, democracy work in this one little corner of American life. Thank you for the privilege of serving. It has been–and is–a great life!
Larry Walker, Ph.D. Member, ECUA District 5