Remembering President Jimmy Carter         

By Leisa Boley Hellwarth

The year was 1981. I was spending the summer as a Seed Sales Intern with DeKalb. As part of my summer activities, I was invited to participate in a national farm convention held in Columbus. The very first day, I met some nice people from Plains, Georgia. I quickly inquired if they knew Jimmy Carter. I’ll never forget the answer. They knew the whole family. Billy Carter is a wonderful guy. That Jimmy is a little different. (Billy was Jimmy’s younger brother who was more of a good old boy and created some public relations challenges for the Carters during their time in the White House.)

Many years later, also in Columbus, Ohio, I had the opportunity to attend a speech given by Jimmy Carter. Was he a great orator? No. But he had the uncanny ability to speak directly to you as if you were the only person in the audience.… Continue reading