When Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders visits a town for her Capital for a Day initiative, she always finds something hands-on to do whether cutting trees or building furniture.
On Monday, Sanders and members of her cabinet spent the day in Dumas in southeast Arkansas.
Part of her trip included visiting Akin Industries, a furniture manufacturer for the medical and hospitality industries. Sanders appointed owner, Mike Akin, to the Arkansas State Police Commission in 2023.
The public may perceive these events as dog and pony political shows and a waste of taxpayer money, they are not. They do have a purpose.
For example, at Akin Industries, Sanders and Mike Rogers, the state's Chief Workforce Advisor, discussed employing former inmates for jobs while helping them create new lives.
Sanders toured the Akin facility and stopped to add knobs to a piece of furniture and used a staple gun on a chair. She asked questions, cracked jokes and met employees.
Sure, Sanders could hear about an idea like this in a meeting without ever leaving Little Rock.
On the ground, however, Sanders locks in on the successes as well as problems community and business leaders face in a small town like Dumas, which has consistently lost population over the last 25 years.
Sanders, who is running for re-election as governor in 2026, started the day with two events closed to the press. She toured and hosted an education roundtable at Reed Elementary School before touring family-owned Hill Seed & Elevator.
If you've spent any time in Dumas, you know a favorite lunch spot is Pickens Store & Restaurant where its Southern food is the star.
Community members – some who have known the governor for years and some who wanted to meet her – along with local politicians like Dumas Mayor Eugene "Bubba" Boney enjoyed a buffet of catfish, turnip greens, pinto beans, black eyes peas, fried okra, sliced ham on homemade biscuits, macaroni and cheese, cornbread and more while waiting on the governor to arrive. Classic country songs – George Strait's "Amarillo By Morning" and Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" – played before Sanders arrived.
Sanders always enters these local events with very little fanfare. The same was true Monday as she, her husband, Bryan, some cabinet members and a couple of plain clothes officers quietly entered the Pickens restaurant from a side door.
Without much ado, Republican state Rep. Mark McElroy introduced Sanders as the best – and youngest – governor in the country and the only female ever to hold the office in Arkansas.
Sanders explained the purpose of Capital for a Day. She also talked about how she visited the Pickens Store with her dad, former Governor Mike Huckabee, when she was a little girl and could barely see over the table.
She then handed the microphone over to cabinet secretaries who explained their jobs and told the audience that if they have any questions not to hestitate asking cabinet members questions.
Sanders wrapped up the Pickens event by giving a gracious shout-out and thank you to Democratic state Rep. Ken Ferguson of Dumas who attended the Meet and Greet although he is from another political party. Sanders stressed working across party lines to make Arkansas better.
(You can watch the recorded live stream of the event on the Reckoning's Facebook page here.)
Following the Akin Industries event, Sanders toured the Diamond Pet Food facility and Desha County Central Dispatch before attending a sold-out political event later Monday in McGehee.
