School Board Interview: Laurie Alford

Our third School Board interviewee is Laurie Alford.

1. Introduce yourself to Knoxville, who are you, and why are you running?

My name is Laurie Alford and I am here to give the people in the 5th School District a Better Choice for their school board representative. I have lived in Knoxville most of my life, I attended Bearden Elementary, Bearden Jr. High, and graduated from Bearden Sr. High school. My husband Mike and I have been married for 16 years and we have one GREAT son, Patrick who attends Rocky Hill Elementary. We live in the neighborhood that I grew up in and we are very active in it, my son’s school, his activities, and our local government. I am personable and very honest and open.

I am running for School Board because I CARE! It is the right time for me to be involved at a higher level. I can do a better job in communicating, representing, and getting things done. I am the Business Controller for the Tennessee Press Service and no stranger to budgets and what it takes to create and stay within one. I work with entities that are on opposite sides of the coin in the daily process of our business and I am able to listen all sides to come up with the best solution. One of my company’s related entities is an educational foundation. We are very involved with NIE (Newspaper in Education), and they support students in the journalism field through grants and scholarships. They were on the forefront and continue to support the Books from Birth Foundation, which sends a book a month to children from birth until they are five years old. We host a reception for our state legislators each year and I have met and spoken to the 85% who attend. Two of our highly respected leaders, Stacey Campfield and Frank Niceley have endorsed me for this seat. We have got to stop talking and start doing. We have some of the best teachers in the industry and nothing is more important than our children.

2. We think it’s better knowing what not to do rather than having an extensive plan. What areas or interests would benefit Knox County not to venture into?

Every state has a press service similar to our own. When we implement a new project or start a new endeavor we never try to “reinvent the wheel”. We talk with the press services that are similar in size to find out what has worked for them. Knox County needs to not try to “reinvent the wheel”.

3. What 5 things could you not live without?

Make-up (I wear it as a courtesy to others!)
Coffee
My 5 older sisters
My 2 big brothers
My husband who puts up with me and the precious son he gave me