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BioDear Friend, Please let me introduce myself. My name is Ashley Woolard and I'm running for Congress for the 1st Congressional District because I believe not enough is being done to improve the lot of its residents. The unemployment situation is dire. The educational system is not serving our needs, and we are being taxed unnecessarily to support poorly conceived and wasteful programs. I'm a lifelong resident of Beaufort County as are my parents and my grandparents before me. I graduated from Washington High School and earned a BS from East Carolina. Upon graduation, I joined the family business, the Woolard Insurance Group, where I serve as vice-president. My wife Jessica is also a Beaufort County native. We have two boys, Payton, six, and Parker, three, and live on Market Street Extension in Old Ford. We attend the Hunters Bridge Church of Christ. I have been involved heavily in civic and political organizations, and served as Chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party from March, 2007 until March 2009. I was an officer of the Washington Rotary Club for three years. In 2005, I was Rotarian of the Year for the Washington Club. I am also a member of the Old Ford Ruritan Club. I served as a board member of the club for two years and as president in 2004. In 2002, the Greenville-Goldsboro District named me Ruritan of the Year. In 2002, I was given the fund-raiser award for my work in getting our club back on a good sound financial basis. Since 2003 I have been a representative of the East Carolina University Educational Foundation. In 2005, I was elected president of the Beaufort County chapter of the Pirate Club and was elected president again in 2006. In 2006, I was named Rookie Chapter President of the Year out of all 35 chapters, for leading my Chapter to a 16% increase in members and a 20% increase in donations. In addition to the duties as president, I organized the annual banquet and golf tournament and oversaw all major fund-raising initiatives for the chapter. One of my favorite activities is coaching my son Payton's flag football team. I am a 2003 Fellow of the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership. The Institute is a multi-partisan, nonprofit research and educational institution, formed to improve the overall quality of political and governmental leadership at the state and local levels. Ninety-one percent (91%) my class has been involved in elective and appointive political, government and community service. From 2001-2004 I served on the City of Washington Planning Board. I am well versed in the problems in Eastern North Carolina, especially in the areas of jobs, taxes, and education and you can be sure that I will not be a rubberstamp for programs that benefit cities at the expense of our small towns and rural areas. 
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