LI Graduate Senator Boozman (R-AR) Encourages Potential Candidates and Elected Officials to Get LI Training

John Boozman was a football player for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, an optometrist, an entrepreneur, and a business owner, all before he entered Congress.

However, Congress wasn’t Senator Boozman’s first shake with politics.

His father was a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force and his elder brother Fay was a state senator in Arkansas’ district 33. Before national politics, Sen. Boozman ran for local office on the Rogers Public School Board, where he served two terms for one of the largest school districts in the state.

Sen. John Boozman was a U.S. Representative (AR-03) for five terms, before deciding to run for the upper chamber. He unseated Democratic incumbent Senator Blanche Lincoln, and is finishing up the first year-and-a-half of his six-year term in the United States Senate.

In his first year as a senator, he received the Defender of Liberty award from the American Conservative Union, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative lobbying organization. This award is given to Members of Congress who score a perfect 100 for any year within the ACU Ratings of Congress.

“This Defender of Liberty award is a reflection of Senator Boozman’s outstanding record in support of conservative principles … and someone who conservatives can turn to for leadership.  At a time when the fundamental principles of the American system of government are being challenged, Senator Boozman stands with those who are trying
to preserve those principles,” American Conservative Union Chairman Al Cardenas said.

Sen. Boozman has also garnered endorsements from the National Rifle Association, National Right to Life, the
Susan B. Anthony List, and Americans for Tax Reform in signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, to name a few.

In the Senate, Sen. Boozman sits on four committees: Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Veterans’ Affairs.

“I am proud to be one of the Leadership Institute’s alumni,” Sen. Boozman said.

The senator took the Leadership Institute’s (LI) Television Workshop, One-on-One in March 2003.

“Thank you for the media training I received at the Leadership Institute,” Sen. Boozman said. “The training greatly improved the quality of my on-air media appearances and the effectiveness of my messaging.  As a result, I encourage other potential candidates and elected officials to leverage their skills with the training that the Leadership Institute uniquely provides.”



Senator Boozman’s Communications Director Sara Lasure is also a Leadership Institute graduate.

Sara took LI’s Capitol Hill Staff Training School in August 2008 and LI’s Public Relations School in July 2009. Before moving to Capitol Hill, Sara worked as a reporter in Fort Smith, Arkansas at KFSM-TV.




"Senator Boozman has long been a supporter of the classes presented by the Leadership Institute after having attended courses that helped put him on the path to success on the campaign trail," Sara, his communications director, said. "His enthusiasm encouraged me to participate in classes to learn new public relations methods to reach our constituency and engage them in the work we’re doing on their behalf."

Sara continued: "The Leadership Institute offers a wide variety of opportunities to learn the best ways to engage constituents while helping push a conservative message. The classes are great opportunities to meet other people interested in the same field and hear and offer ideas for an effective media strategy. This is a great way to network and develop relationships to help advance your career."

“I wish the Leadership Institute continued success in fulfilling your mission to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative leaders and activists,” Sen. Boozman said.

LI provides training in campaigns, fundraising, grassroots organizing, youth politics, and communications.  LI teaches conservatives of all ages how to succeed in politics, government, and the media.

Sen. Boozman and Sara join more than 107,000 graduates trained by the Leadership Institute since 1979.  Please welcome Senator Boozman as LI’s Graduate of the Week.

Please go here for a full LI training schedule.

To nominate a Leadership Institute graduate to be featured as LI's graduate of the week, please contact LI's External Affairs Officer Lauren Hart at LaurenHart@LeadershipInstitute.org.