The Committee to Elect Hayden Collins welcomes you to the official website of Hayden Collins, a Conservative Republican candidate for Senate Seat 52 of North West Georgia.  This website is unique, in that it offers links to Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.  These sites will keep you up to date on the latest issues of importance to the citizens of North West Georgia, as well as the entire State of Georgia.  This website also includes several community service links of which Hayden has been a part of and associated within his community.  Over the past 20 years, Hayden and his family have served North West Georgia and the State of Georgia as Foster/Adoptive Parents.  Hayden’s other community service includes such groups as the Boy Scouts of America, Civil Air Patrol, ESGR, and the Georgia Youth Challenge.  Please take the time to get to know Hayden.

Austin Collins American Legion Post

The beginning of this Memorial Day weekend will find me at the national cemetery in Canton, just as I have been there in each of the six years since it opened.  One of my sons, who will be home on leave from the Navy, will be with me.  From the parking area, as you come up to the crest of the hill, there is a stone wall bearing the symbols of all the branches of armed service on it – a wall as solid and steadfast as the memories of those who now occupy the ground around it. There are a lot of North Georgia veterans buried there.

That first year, the park was wide open with one small section in which the veterans were buried.  In the third year, my master sergeant was buried there after he died in a motorcycle accident.  His section is now full, and the cemetery grows by those who have given all.  The national cemetery in Canton is a reminder of why freedom is not free.  It reminds us that you are never done paying for freedom.

Not all veterans are buried in national cemeteries.  One member of my family is still with the U.S.S. Arizona, as he went down with the ship in Pearl Harbor.  My family’s history is dedicated to service.  There is going to come a time, sooner or later, that I know one of my children who is serving, or even myself, will be a permanent resident in that cemetery.  I should hope no one in the next generation will forget, that they will carry the torch and remember our efforts to serve the Constitution, and our examples for our family to follow – and they will set an example for their own families.

Memorial Day is also a remembrance of those who are currently serving, putting their lives on the line every day, ensuring that our flag does not fall.  Every day I work with service members, on and off duty.  Our citizen soldiers are here in our communities. That morning we will remember those who have given all, as well as those who walk among us today.  We remember and honor the sacrifice they are still making.

As I serve as the Public Affairs officer for the unit that day, I will be walking among the crowds and thanking the individuals and family members.  Last year, I met several widowed women under the age of 25 with children, as well as those who had been married for years.  I met supporters, Patriot Riders, and people that understand that tradition is important.  And by honoring that tradition, we remind each generation of the sacrifices from the previous generation.

We will remember the examples of service of these families that are dedicated to the Constitution and the meaning of freedom.  My son and I will remember our relatives that have passed before us and honor them this day, as we honor every veteran that has served.

You do not need to have a family member buried in the national cemetery to come to Canton next Saturday morning – this recognition is open to the public.  I invite you to join us in the remembrance of those who have served and sacrificed.

Hayden and Sandra Collins

Over 100 years ago, there was a farming community that wanted to build a church.   They had a common goal, and everyone was asked to bring stones to the site to build it.  Each Sunday they brought stones and piled them up, and when they had enough, construction began.   That church still stands today, built with the original stones the church members brought from the fields nearby, with investment of their patience and dedication to reaching the common goal.

As a citizen I look to our country to invest wisely, conservatively and with an eye towards the fiscal responsibility that we use each day at
our own kitchen tables.  Building for the future will take our dedication – but there is no sacrifice when you’re all working toward a common goal and the investment is going to pay you back over the long haul.

We know about long hauls.  One of my kids is working driving a truck route, which keeps him on the road for days at a time.  His young family is grateful he has a job, but his not being with them is quite a price to pay.  Some young people lose themselves in the otherworld of media, celebrities and star athletes, and in the illusion that they are entitled to whatever they desire.  During these hard times, I’m sure a lot of desires for instant gratifications are not being met.  They will mature, and it will be a hard lesson.

What is a future that we can work for, that we can invest in?   I want my kids to have jobs, and good jobs in Northwest Georgia that allow them to be home at night with their families.  Don’t we all?  Isn’t this our common goal?  Politics of divisiveness and class warfare may be going on at the national level, the media level – but we are not waiting on government policies or handouts.  Our leaders here can create that common thread, show the benefits of achieving that common goal, and lead the charge to achieve it.

And lead it now.  Get everyone together in the same direction, choose the path of least resistance, take the stones from arguments of the past and use them instead to build a future for ourselves and our children.  Let us turn our words into actions.  We can’t afford to let a 30 year old argument turn into a 60 year old argument.  Northwest Georgia is welcoming new business, now that Caterpillar has come to the state of Georgia.  In the next 5-6 years, all their vendors will be coming here and building new businesses.  We cannot let them choose to relocate to a different area because of old issues here that make us look divided – that we are fighting over taxes, the 411 connector, and even harsh feelings in the different counties because they feel they’re holding each other captive.  It’s time to break that up.  Now.

I want Northwest Georgia to show itself unified, extremely positive, and ready for business.  In the past, the choices may have been pushed off as if needing a federal government decision. I want to bring the leadership to make a decision by the citizens, and make it before we are going to miss out on some much needed revenue that we will not get another chance to achieve.  We are in a position to make it happen and set an example.

At my church, they recently made an announcement that they wanted everyone to bring stones to the church again – because we’re going to be adding onto the church.   Everybody’s going to have a hand in building.  Everybody needs to bring stones, to help rebuild our community.  I will keep taking stones to my church until we have enough for this expansion. And all of us will have ownership in it, all of us will be proud of it.

The opportunity to invest in ourselves and have ownership in the next boom falls to the decision-makers right now.  You either build it, or you don’t.  I say build it, and bring the jobs now, in this world.  Maybe there will be an opportunity for my boy to find a good job locally – and there will be better opportunities for all of us.