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The rest of the story: Audrey Tayse Haynes speaks out From growing up poor in Adair County to landing in the national spotlight: "We must have looked like the Beverly Hillbillies moving to Washington..." By Linda Waggener The little girl twirling her baton in the yard didn't realize the woman observing her from an upstairs window would one day recruit her back here as a keynote speaker. The woman was Sue Stivers, Executive Director of the Columbia-Adair County Chamber of Commerce who was in charge of finding a special speaker for the annual banquet. The little girl who has grown into a national leader was Audrey Tayse Haynes. She spoke in front of the largest audience ever to attend a Chamber banquet about her beliefs in helping others and her passion for democracy. "I will have a say," she said. "I may not get elected, but I will have a say in how our country is run." She credited her family and the "village" that raised her for instilling the belief that every person makes a difference. She said there was no grand plan as to how she wound up working in nationally prominent positions. "One thing that may have made a difference," she says, "I never made any decisions out of fear. There are statistics that show people from small towns allow fear to control them even more than urban people, but I have always refused to be intimidated." That did show through as she spoke of her devotion to the democrat party, and to Al and Tipper Gore with whom she became close during his bid for the Presidency. Audrey noted with humor that one had to be pretty fearless talking positively about democrat politics to an Adair County (mostly republican) audience. She modestly poked fun of her long and impressive *list of accomplishments read by Sue Stivers in her introduction. She said the reason Sue could see her out her window way back then was because her family lived in the Stivers' basement. Audrey noted that she was also proud to see Mrs. Dorothy Shelley in the audience, in whose back yard her family's trailer sat when they moved up from the basement. She spoke frankly about the journey from growing up poor in Adair County to having the honor of working in state and then national political circles. She described the initial opportunity to go to Washington with the Association of Business and Professional Women that started out with expenses only for the first three months. She and her husband Michael had to move to the nation's capital on a very thin budget. "We must have looked like the Beverly Hillbillies moving to Washington," she said, "with furniture tied all over our truck and I told Michael that I was just waiting for a cop to pull us over so I could tell him I was going to work at the Whitehouse." * Sue Stivers proudly detailed the road Audrey has traveled to reach her prominent position today as National Director of Government Relations and Policy for the YMCA. Her words follow: In August 2002, Audrey Tayse Haynes joined the YMCA of the USA as National Director of Government Relations and Policy. In this position, Audrey is working to expand YMCA's presence and influence at both the state and national levels. Prior to joining YMCA of the USA, Audrey served as Director of Kentucky Governor Paul Patton's Washington, D.C. office, where she worked to strengthen Kentucky's national leadership role. Audrey's career in Washington has also included positions as Special Assistant to former Vice President Al Gore and Chief of Staff to Tipper Gore, as well as Deputy Assistant and Director of the Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach to former President Bill Clinton. She also served as the National Executive Director of Business and Professional Women/ USA and the Business and Professional Women's Foundation, working to achieve equity in the workplace. In the early part of her career, Audrey worked in the field of mental health and substance abuse rehabilitation, serving as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor and later as a community education specialist. In addition, she has held appointments in the administrations of three Kentucky governors as Executive Director of the Kentucky Literacy Commission; as a Member of the Kentucky Board for Elementary and Secondary Education; and as Deputy Secretary of the Cabinet for Health Services. In 1991, Audrey was appointed by former President George Bush to serve on the Board of the National Institute of Literacy. Through her experience, Audrey has become a strong advocate for welfare reform, health care, education, family and medical leave, domestic violence prevention, and many other issues important to youth and families. Audrey currently works in the Washington, D.C. office of YMCA of the USA and travels extensively promoting the YMCA's national legislative agenda. Her husband, Michael, is the Executive Director of the Kentucky Youth Association/ State YMCA and, for nearly 30 years, has worked with teens helping them develop leadership skills through YMCA Youth and Government and Model United Nations programs, the largest in the nation. A graduate of Spalding University in Louisville, KY and the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Audrey holds bachelors and master's degrees in social work. She has received state and national awards for her advocacy for mental health care, adult education and other issues. Currently, she serves on the boards of the Board of Trustees for Spalding University and is an Advisory Board Member to the University of Kentucky, College of Social Work. Sue added in her introduction, "I knew when I observed the hard working young Audrey Haynes out my window years ago that she would go far because of her strong determination and willingness to keep trying and never give up." E-mail comments to: Audrey.Haynes@ymca.net Sue Stivers Linda@ColumbiaMagazine.com This story was posted on 2005-04-19 09:47:25
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Adair County in the Wider World: Eric Stonecypher big fishing winner Teresa Roy is Salvation Army Volunteer of the Year Governor Fletcher, Governor Nunn runaway favorites in poll Whiskey, beer seized at arrest of Michael Smith Jobless rates down in 79 counties from February 2004 to February 2005 Dick and Shirley Hendrickson celebrate 49th anniversary Rotary holds bean lunch on tax day Spring PRIDE Clean-up Week: Schedule for free tipping announced New local leadership program developed for Adair County Adair County Agent, April 12, 2005: Breeding soundness exam View even more articles in topic News |
 
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