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Fields, a Weaverville, N.C. native, travels each day of the work week around western North Carolina acting as "Senator Dole's eyes and ears." I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Fields to discuss with him the nature of his job and the issues that he has seen concerning consituents across western North Carolina.
Sentinel: "Mr. Fields, would you mind telling me a little bit about who you are and what you do?"
Fields: "I'm a government employee... I'm basically here for two reasons: one is to be Senator Dole's eyes and ears. The reality is, I am her when she can't be here. So I am traveling around and having constituent days like this, inviting people to share their comments, their concerns, issues. And also, the second part of what I do is constituent service: which by that I mean, a person may have an issue with a federal agency...and so what we're going to try to do is get that person matched up with one of our case workers, someone whose expertise is that specific area, and try to solve their issues. So it's really two-fold. Some of it is listening, making sure that if they have a comment, concern about a national issue, a state issue or a local issue that they want the senator to know and act on, we'll talk with them about that.
What I do is mainly in the western 33 counties, I'm kind of a traveling office, I work out of my car a great deal, but we have a physical presence in Hendersonville...But what I'm doing mainly is on the road. Just like when I come to Clay County, lots of times I'll try to visit with the commisioner...try to stop by town hall....It's really just me trying to get to know the community...The other thing that I try to do is develop these constituent days...and what we're trying to do is make sure people don't have to call long-distance, have to travel, or write. The senator's goal is for people to have the services of the senate office in their home town, in their town hall, or in their county office. So we're trying to bring the office to them, and sometimes we have a big turn out, sometimes we don't. Our goal is to make sure people are aware of what we do."
Sentinel: "What are the boundaries of the region that you serve?"
Fields: "I do not serve Charlotte or Winston-Salem, but I serve I-77 west. I go all the way out to Gaston county, Iredell county, on up to...the eastern edge of Stokes county. A lot of our mountain counties, our foothill counties, that's mainly where I serve. Most of the time I'm on the road."
Sentinel: "How did you get involved with this line of work?"
Fields: "It was just kind of a blessing. I was working in the advertising industry and someone spoke highly of me and my background...and the next thing I know is I'm talking to the senator 's office. So for me, it's a mission to reach out to what I consider to be my "neighbors." And these folks are a people who I feel a real kinship with. It was really just kind of a wonderful surprise to be considered for this, and I love it. I've been onboard since 2003."
Sentinel: "Have you met Elizabeth Dole?"
Fields: I have. A lot of times, when she comes to the state, we will spend time traveling, and when she's in the western part of the state many times I'm with her. So I've had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with her, and share a lot of the concerns frankly that people have shared, and that's one thing that I've tried my best, that when people do share those concerns, to make sure that they get to her, and that she hears them.
Sentinel: What are some major concerns of constituents and people in western North Carolina?
Fields: In this area, a lot of what we're hearing about in our office, we've had a lot of calls about immigration. Obviously people are concerned about economic development issues. One thing that the senators have been most interested in and most active in is trying to support our community college as our economy transitions. So what [Senator Dole] is trying to do is have a pro-active outreach to our local school systems, to our community colleges, to help those programs that are helping people transition from traditonal industries...to new industries. The senator has worked hard to try to make sure that workforce development is the centerpiece of what she is doing. She sees the community college as the front lines of that.
To comment on this article, email Marcus at kelma6@wfu.edu.
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