Tribute to Ray and Sandra

Most of you here today know Ray and Sandra Padgett.  You know they’ve sold the family farm and you know they’re moving away from the area.

But, some of you may not know the history of their involvement in the Walton County Democratic party and why we’re going to miss them so much.

Ray’s GREAT GREAT grandfather moved to Walton County in the 1830’s when the government awarded him a land grant of 2000 acres in the piney woods north of Defuniak.  He had 13 children who eventually inherited the land and who passed the land along to their heirs, including Ray’s grandfather who decided one year not to pay his taxes and lost part of the land.  Then, Ray’s father, at age 20, put together $80, paid the back taxes, and saved the land for the Padgett family.  Ray’s history -- firmly rooted in Walton County.

As a young adult, Ray left the farm to seek his fortune and – together with Sandra—raised children and enjoyed successful careers.  Sandra as a top-producing realtor in Atlanta and Ray as a systems analyst for Coca-cola company -  charged with keeping their computer data safe and secure. 

In 1999, they moved back to the family farm. (Of course, I’m skipping a lot of years here!)   “It was a shock,” Sandra often said.  Being away from the big city, away from friends who were not judgmental about people of other races or sexual preference.  “I heard the “N” word a lot,” she would say. “I felt like an oddball.”

And that’s where the Walton County Democratic Party comes in.  The year was 2000 and George W. Bush and Al Gore were the subjects of the infamous recount; Florida was embarrassed by our then Secretary of State Katharine Harris, and the Supreme Court’s decision that made George W. Bush our President cast a cloud on our whole democratic process.

Ray recalls that he and Sandra sat and watched this whole procedure unfold and decided it was time for “less talk and more action.  No more just writing  a check and sending it into the party. When you see democracy threatened. . .you get involved.”

They joined the Walton County Democratic Party and met people with like minds and values – says Sandra.  Sometime later, Ray was elected Chair of the party, and the fun began.  In 2001, Congressman Joe Scarborough resigned and a special election was called for the District 1 Congressional Seat.  Democrat Steve Briese was running against  Republican Jeff Miller.  Ray and Sandra came up with an idea:

They organized a hayride for Steve Briese to travel across the rural part of the district and meet voters who seldom saw candidates.  “It was lots of fun,” Ray said.  Unfortunately, Walton County had already become a 30 Democrats to 70 Republicans county, and Jeff Miller won.

Not to be discouraged, Ray and Sandra began planning for the 2004 Presidential election and for the Florida State Democratic Convention.

Sandra played travel agent, Ray worked the politics, and in December 2003, a bus full of Democrats from Walton County (about 45 strong) traveled to Orlando and to the state convention.  On the bus were nine students who eventually were invited to sit on the speaker’s platform and meet all that year’s Democratic presidential hopefuls.  They were placed on the platform because Walton County’s section on the convention floor was too small to contain the large group.   At the convention, the county was recognized with a Golden Gavel Award for their enthusiastic support and encouragement of young Democrats.

The next year, the county party raised money and awarded (4) $1000 scholarships to a political science student from each of the county’s  four high schools.

By then, the political bug had bitten Ray.  So, in 2006, he filed as a candidate for Walton County Supervisor of Elections.  Ray felt that his strong background in computer systems and his understanding of how systems can be compromised would serve him  well in that position.  Ray lost the election, but his candidacy made an important contribution.  It bolstered the dialog about the accuracy of the county’s voting system.  He urged voters to ask for a paper ballot – which could be verified, and pushed for the adoption of a Vote by Mail system.   It was an important dialog; and the discussion isn’t over by any means. 

To their credit, Ray and Sandra weren’t discouraged by the election defeat.    Sandra became one of the founding members of the Women’s Democratic Club.   Ray was very instrumental in the development of the current party website.  AND, he agreed to be responsible for videotaping every Board of County Commissioner meeting and prepare it for posting on our website.  He, Thom Brooks, and son Ray’s son Duncan missed only one meeting in their year/half of doing this.   We hope someone will step up and continue the work Ray started.

In August of 2008, he and Sandra hosted the first Big Blue Bash.  The Padgett farm reverberated with the music of bands playing for young people – young adults they hoped would see the benefits of being part of a political party where “you’re not the oddball anymore”  as Sandra said. . . “where people with bright minds and understanding hearts work toward the common good.”

Since this is a THANK YOU to Ray and Sandra, not a eulogy, I can’t sum up their lives or their contributions to the party in a neat little package.  But, as I’ve talked with them about the past ten years – I keep coming back to one theme: “People judge you by your actions – not by your intentions.”

In the ten short years Ray and Sandra have worked within the party- they’ve acted with purpose and  lived by Tobie Keith’s old country song:

 A little less talk
If you please
A lot more loving
Is what I need
Let's get on down
To the main attraction
With a little less talk
And a lot more action

Thank you, Ray and Sandra!

--Sharon Hazleton - December 17, 2009