I mean, other than being this retired older woman who has crazy ideas about how to do things, has cats, dogs, and horses, strong opinions, and does all things with a passion, just who is Ellen Wright?
I am a native of Georgia. I was born in downtown Atlanta because at the time that’s where white women went to birth babies for the most part. They brought me home to Red Oak just south of College Park. My parents had built a house there on land my grandparents had given them. So I grew up next door to my maternal grandparents, more or less. (There was a big field in between, not that it mattered much. I was always over there.)
I have never lived in the city limits in my life. I grew up riding my granddaddy’s plow mule and tractor, walking barefoot in the mud puddles, climbing trees to pick apples, falling out of the hay loft, and generally being a country kid complete with poison ivy, briar scratches, dog slobber, and horse hair. I learned NOT to try to hold something on the anvil for my grandpa (& have the scar to prove it), how to season sausage, clean chitterlings, gather eggs, milk cows, garden, can/freeze/make jelly, quilt, embroider, and sew. I’ve probably left something out, but oh, well. Growing up that way is an education all its own that no school can match.
As far as book learning, I was in the Fulton County School system when it was a good system. It might not be now but it was then. Schools became integrated when I was in high school. I don’t remember it being a problem. Maybe it was elsewhere.
I got two degrees in Biology and Chemistry (essentially a pre-med program) then turned that into a Medical Technology program at Georgia State University. Passed my exams for that and started working first for a single physician practice, then a tiny hospital in a rural city. After 25 years, I was retired.
Along the way, I met and married my husband, Tom Wright, who is also a native Georgian. He was born in Warner Robins, but was raised primarily in Manchester and LaGrange. His dad had the State Farm office on the square in downtown LaGrange for many years. Tom and all three sisters went to LaGrange High School. Tom went on to GA Tech, then the Air Force for three years, came back and finished his college education at West Georgia. He worked in his father’s office until his father’s death, moving to Dave Christie’s office afterwards. He is also retired.
We have three nephews on Tom’s side and two nieces on mine. Currently, five horses, two dachshunds, and three cats own the homestead.
I am an active CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for Troup County. I have been involved with them since 2011. It has taught me much about the Juvenile Justice system, but I also know that I have an awful lot to learn. The field is vast and complicated, mostly by the people in it and those who touch it. Some of the laws are arcane and need to be changed. It can be incredibly slow, but it can also move with surprising speed. CASAs are charged with the responsibility of oversight of the entire process-courts, DFCS, outside agencies, parents or designated caregivers who are supposed to be doing certain activities, foster parents, schools, etc. to try to make sure these children do not “fall through the cracks”. We advocate for the child’s best interests regardless of the wishes of the parents’, the child, DFCS, or the counselors. We are independent and speak directly to the judge. It’s quite a responsibility and a very large task at times. I have only had one or two ‘failures’ and there was nothing I could have done to change the outcome. It’s heartbreaking, but the successes outnumber them.
I’ve volunteered to go overseas to work with an international faith-based medical training group that teaches the medical staff already in a region how to do more advanced medical services and provides them with the equipment and supplies to get started. My trips were to Ethiopia, but the group, Children’s Cross Connection International has done most of its work in El Salvador, Peru, and Nicaragua. It has also arranged for selected patients to come to the states for surgeries not obtainable elsewhere. I have also assisted with a few of the logistics for those.
Another volunteer group that I have worked with is Stolen Horse International. This group helps people who have had equines stolen or lost to try to locate and retrieve them. Surprising numbers of equines are stolen or lost every year and seemingly disappear into thin air. Complicating the issue is the fact that for years, the auctions were selling high numbers of horses, donkey, and mules to ‘kill buyers’ who trucked them to either Canada or Mexico to be slaughtered for their meat and hides. The trade to Canada has closed and it has gotten more difficult to Mexico, but it still exists, particularly for donkeys and mules. (China is a big importer of the hides for ‘medicinal’ uses). It is a fascinating look into a sub-culture that 99% of the people in this country have no idea exists.
If you want to know anything else, just ask. I just don’t want to run on and on.
I want to be your State Senator. I know that I can do a great job for you. I know that you will see me at more than just campaign events. The election is almost here. It is up to you to decide if you want a down-to-earth practical, straight with you kind of person who doesn’t tell you that he can solve inflation (he can’t-it’s a worldwide problem), stop violent crime (not if he’s going to put more guns on the streets, and he did), or protect women’s rights (when he voted FOR that 6 week abortion bill). You know where I stand. I’m ready to go to work.
Wright4Georgia 