It’s time to invest in Cabot’s future together and make history in the process. Last week, our campaign officially launched in hopes of securing a position on the Cabot City Council. In the past, this local level of government tended to skew its age demographic away from the youth, a vital part of the Cabot community. With this in mind, it’s time we bring representation to the current youth of the City of Cabot. For far too long, this integral voice has been missing from the crucial decision making processes of the community. While the city has worked hard in the past to provide opportunities to Cabot’s younger generations, we continue to see the trend of many of Cabot’s best and brightest leaving from the city after their completed high school journeys with no intentions of returning. We must work together as a community to ensure that we bring about progressive change for all of Cabot’s citizens as a united front.
I, Jayson Crumpler, intend on bringing this necessary and overdue point of view to the Cabot City Council. I have had the honor to experience the Cabot community through the eyes of a student over the past 13 years, as I started my educational pathway at Magness Creek Elementary in 2007 and continued this academic career within the boundaries of Cabot up until this past year where I was lucky enough to experience the perseverance that the Cabot High School Class of 2020 undertook throughout its graduation process while experiencing the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. While at Cabot High School, I had the unique opportunity to represent the student body as the 2020 National Honor Society President for Cabot’s chapter of the organization. Furthermore, as a direct result from my involvement within our community, I received national recognition from the National Honor Society organization for my dedication to our community’s local nursing homes, animal shelter, assistance to the Cabot High School student body itself, and securing the innovative mindset of today’s younger students by volunteering my time at the Magness Creek Elementary Camp Invention summer program, which encourages young students to innovate and invent creative, science, and technological solutions to today’s ongoing issues.
Not only has my work to better the lives of the youthful members of our community been seen at a local level, but I have had the chance to connect with the young voices across the state that show promise of igniting progressive change in Arkansas’s future. During the summer of 2019, I had the privilege to partake in the 40th convening of the Arkansas Governor’s School program, in which I connected with young minds across the state and heard different points of view that had been very different from those in our local community. Following my conversations with these individuals, I came to the realization that the Cabot community had work to be done in many areas, but specifically in the realm of mental health. After returning to Cabot for my senior year, I decided to launch the Arkansas Students United for Mental Health organization in November of 2019. As my time is still ongoing with this organization, so far we have connected students across the state in the realm of mental health advocacy, spanning from right here in Cabot, Arkansas to a variety of regions across the state: Little Rock, Benton, Fayetteville, Hot Springs, Lake Hamilton, and Jonesboro. Together, we created a conversation that caught the attention of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Arkansas, and with their help, our organization was featured in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette on the June 28, 2020 edition. Our organization is still in the continued process of ensuring the mental health rights of Arkansas students and that their ability to seek treatment options is secured; however, as a result of the current COVID-19 Pandemic, operations in the organization had to be halted until the conclusion of this pandemic. Overall, our team is still hopeful that when the pandemic is over, we will be able to take legislative action for the protection of our youth, which will become a priority as a result of the pandemic itself.
With this mindset of protecting the members of our community, I feel as though it is equally as important to create opportunities within our community as well. An overwhelming number of individuals within our populace experience drives in which they see vacant buildings within our city. It is vital to expand Cabot by bringing new businesses and organizations to our community, promoting both job growth and an overall enhancement for our societal development. From a student’s perspective, opportunities within the community tend to not be as prevalent as one might expect. As an elected official for the Cabot Community, I intend on creating unique opportunities that the current and future students of Cabot can use to distinguish themselves on applications, whether it be for a career pathway or a college resume. It is vital that we show these students that their work is appreciated in our community in hopes of encouraging their return to our city. We must also recognize that Cabot is home to many of our brave military service men and women, being located minutes away from the Little Rock Air Force Base. Community development is essential to incentivize our military families to remain in our community after their time within the service and the completion of their retirement process through steadfast economic development and a more connected social fabric of the city.
While I am most certainly aware of the criticism that is a direct result of my age, I am a firm believer that the number eighteen is simply an indication of how many years it has been since the date of my birth, nothing more. The number eighteen has not invalidated my accomplishments thus far. Within these eighteen years, I have created a name for myself and a reputation that I can be proud of. I have extensive experience in the area of education, as I have graduated the salutatorian of my class. I have had extensive experience in the area of mental health, as I took it upon myself to erect an organization that speaks for the vulnerable in our community. I have had extensive experience in leadership, as I have held positions of responsibility not only within the Cabot High School atmosphere, but as well as in the community at large.
Overall, I hope you will continue to follow our campaign journey as we unite in bringing a revitalization to the Cabot Community that connects today’s prominent figures with tomorrow’s leaders. No longer shall the youth of our community feel disconnected from a civil engagement process. It is time we create opportunity for the youth of our community and the families that ensure their success. Thank you.
- Jayson Crumpler,
Candidate for Cabot City Council Ward 2 Position 1