Huckabee to Speak at Benefit Dinner


He may not have received the nomination for president, but the former Republican Arkansas governor and host of Fox News Huckabee got the nod from Freed-Hardeman University to be the speaker at the 45th annual advisory board benefit dinner. Governor Mike Huckabee will be on campus December 4, to headline the event as the university prepares to raise another $1 million for the 8th consecutive year.

“Our alumni and friends continue to make this event one of the greatest in Tennessee,” said Dave Clouse, vice president for university advancement. “Hosting the single largest fundraising event in Tennessee may seem easy, but it is a lot of hard work for both our alumni and staff. The most important thing about this event is the student that is helped because of the generosity of our alumni and friends. All proceeds from this event go to our student scholarships”

And the alumni and friends have been generous. In the last 10 years this event has provided more than $10 million for scholarships. More than 2,000 people are anticipated for the event and although it is just June, plans are well underway.

“We begin planning for the next dinner as the last one ends,” said Burton Williams, associate vice president of advancement. “We begin looking for our next speaker immediately. This year, I think we have found someone that will really strike a cord with our constituency. Mr. Huckabee is renowned for his reputation and convictions. He will be a great addition to our prestigious list of past speakers.”

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is the host of the number one rated weekend hit Huckabee on the FOX News Channel, and is heard three times daily across the nation on the Huckabee Report on the ABC Radio Network, the fast growing new program on the ABC Radio Network in years.

He is the author of six books, the most recent being Do the Right Thing, which spent its first seven weeks of release in the top ten of the New York Times best-seller list.

After his quest for the Republican nomination for president in 2008, in which he finished second to John McCain, he formed HuckPac to assist Republicans running for office nationwide and has amassed a volunteer army of thousands of activists in all 50 states.

From 1996-2007, Huckabee served as the 44th governor of Arkansas and was recognized as a national leader, having been honored by several renowned publications and organizations for his numerous accomplishments. Governing Magazine named him as one of its “Public Officials of the Year” for 2005, TIME magazine honored him as one of the five best governors in America, and later in the same year, Huckabee received the American Association of Retired Person's Impact Award. In 2007, he was presented with the Music for Life Award by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) for his commitment to music education. He served as the chairman of the prestigious National Governors Association as well as the Education Commission of the States and the Interstate Oil and Gas Commission.

Huckabee became governor in July 1996 when his predecessor resigned. He was one of the youngest governors in the country at the time. Huckabee was elected to a full four-year term as governor in 1998, attracting the largest percentage of the vote ever received by a Republican gubernatorial nominee in Arkansas, and was re-elected to another four-year term in November 2002.

Huckabee first was elected lieutenant governor in a 1993 special election and was elected to a full four-year term in 1994. He was only the fourth Republican to be elected to statewide office since Reconstruction.
A significant part of his early adult life was spent as a pastor and denominational leader. He became the youngest president ever of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, the largest denomination in Arkansas. Huckabee led rapidly growing congregations in Pine Bluff and Texarkana. He said those experiences gave him a deep sense of the problems faced by individuals and families.

Huckabee's efforts to improve his own health have received national attention. Diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 2003, he lost 110 pounds. Barely two years later, he had completed four marathons: te 2005 and 2006 Little Rock Marathons, the Marine Corps Marathon, and the ING New York City Marathon. As a result of his accomplishments, The Road Runners Club of America named him its “Southern Region Runner of the Year” and USA Track & Field has named him their “Athlete of the Week” for the country.

Continuing to call for a national emphasis on living a healthy lifestyle, Huckabee completed his fourth book, Quit Digging Your Grave With A Knife and Fork. This 12-stop program is a no-nonsense approach to managing one's health through lifestyle change rather than a simple diet and exercise plan.

Huckabee, 53, is an avid musician and is bass player in his rock-n-roll band, Capitol Offense, which has opened for artists such as Willie Nelson and the Charlie Daniels Band, and has played the House of Blues in New Orleans, the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, and for two presidential inauguration balls. He is featured each week in the musical segment of his FOX show with the FOX house band, “The Little Rockers.”

His hobbies include hunting, fishing, running, and music. He was named one of the 25 most influential people for conservation by Outdoor Life magazine, and has was named as Man of the Year by the American Sportfishing Association in 1997.

The former governor and his wife, Janet, live in North Little Rock. They have three grown children: John Mark, David and Sarah.

Huckabee joins a long list of impressive benefit dinner speakers including, former president George Bush, Regis Philbin, Norman Schwarzkopf, Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, Tim Conway, Elizabeth Dole and Barbara Bush.
Sponsorships of all levels are available and patrons are urged to purchase their sponsorships and tickets early as the dinner usually sells out.

“We are excited about Mike Huckabee,” said Clouse. “Now, if we can just get a guitar in his hands while he is on campus.”