I was born in 1970 to Jack and Dorothy Hafner in Jonesboro. I am the youngest of 10 children and I have five sisters and four brothers. All ten of the children in our family have graduated from Jonesboro High School and four of us have graduated from Arkansas State. Even though some of my brothers and sisters now live outside of Jonesboro in places such as Chicago IL, Oklahoma City OK, and Las Vegas NV, they all still have a special place in their hearts for their hometown.
We grew up on Western Street in southwest Jonesboro across from the Jonesboro YMCA. Many hours of my childhood were spent at and around the YMCA. You could usually find me either inside the YMCA swimming, playing basketball, racquetball or lifting weights or you could find me outside the YMCA at the Optimist Club park playing basketball late into the night during the summer months.
As I got a little older, I worked at the YMCA for several years in many different capacities including lifeguard, youth sports official, front desk attendant and late-night janitor. The YMCA and individuals such as Bob Williams who was the executive director made a huge impact on my life. My father died when I was 15 so individuals such as Bob served as father figures in my life. Bob taught me the value of having good communication with not only those you work with but all those impacted by your job and the actions involved with it. A lot of conflict, confusion, and misunderstandings could be avoided if we all just took time to communicate more carefully. Great communication is a characteristic that I still value to this day and that I try to bring to the Jonesboro City Council. Much of the distrust we have with the government could be improved if elected officials would just take the time to properly communicate with the constituents about their concerns and help them understand what is going on with different issues within their city.
Furthermore, I believe that an organization such as the YMCA gave me a positive and structured environment in which to spend times with my peers, improve my health through exercise and recreation and stay out of trouble because I had no other place to go. The habits that I developed at the YMCA as a child and teenager are still with me today and are evident in my efforts to stay active. Place such as the YMCA are a huge reason why I believe that Quality of Life and Public Safety go hand in hand. The YMCA gave me a place to positively spend my time rather than out getting in trouble by having too much idle time on my hands. The more opportunities that we give our citizens to constructively spend their time the lower our crime rate will be. Obviously, any Quality of Life opportunity that we might have needs to be properly vetted to make sure we have the funds to pay for it and that it can be operated fiscally responsibly.
I graduated from Jonesboro High School in May of 1988 and started at Arkansas State University in the Fall of 1988. It did not take me too long to settle on accounting as a major and I graduated from ASU in the Summer of 1992 with my Bachelor of Science degree.
In 1999, I married the love of my life Margo. We met after an ASU Homecoming game and she has been a great part of my life. She is originally from Stuttgart but attended and graduated from Arkansas State and Jonesboro has become her adopted hometown. Below is a picture of Margo and me.
We have been blessed with our daughter Cameron and our son Braden. They are two very different kids and we would not have it any other way. Part of me wishes they would slow down their growing up, but it has been fun to see them mature and develop. Margo and I are going to enjoy them while we can. Cameron attends Arkansas State University and Braden will be a senior at The Academies at Jonesboro High School.
As I mentioned previously, I am from a large family. Growing up we were always outside it seemed like whether that was in our yard, running around the neighborhood, or at the YMCA. This active childhood carried on through my teen and college years and has resulted in my still being active today.
My favorite forms are exercise are racquetball, basketball, riding bikes and hiking. The pictures below show me with some of my racquetball partners, riding my bike with some buddies and hiking with Cameron.
I also enjoy attending the Arkansas State University Red Wolves sporting events. My family and I like to attend the games of many different sports including football, basketball, and volleyball. During football season, you will find me in Tailgate City with my friends and family. If you happen to see me out there, please come up and say hello. I would love to meet you. The importance of Arkansas State University’s academic and athletic programs on Jonesboro is very significant. I believe it is important to support your hometown university. Jonesboro needs to be the type of city that ASU graduates want to remain in to start their professional careers and make their residence.
The picture below is of Margo and I enjoying a beautiful tailgating afternoon before an ASU football game. I am hopeful that we will be attending games this fall.
