Imagine a North Carolina where all school districts are 100% tobacco free.

Imagine a North Carolina where seniors have easy access to affordable prescription drugs.

Imagine a North Carolina where local municipalities establish policies that promote healthy eating, physical activity and tobacco-free living.

Seems impossible in a state born and bred on the back of tobacco? Think again. It’s a modern-day vision held by Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue and the Commission of the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund (HWTF). Not familiar with HWTF? It’s one of three entities, established by the General Assembly during 1999-2000 legislative sessions, to invest North Carolina’s portion of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement over the next twenty-five years. Approximately $1.15 billion, or 25% of the monies allocated to North Carolina, is under the stewardship of HWTF. As chairwoman of HWTF, Lieutenant Governor Perdue is using a leadership style reminiscent of Joan of Arc. She’s articulating a clear path and taking decisive action to open doors for a healthier North Carolina.

A Winding Path

A direct line may be the shortest path between two points, yet Bev Perdue’s career path is more circuitous in nature. She says her resume looks like a woman who could never keep a job for very long; however, one only needs to spend a few moments in her presence and it’s easy to see a major league sense of curiosity propelled by a heart-centered dynamo.

Bev began her career as a teacher in Florida. She taught three years, although they might be characterized as one-year leaps from kindergarten, to ninth grade, to high school seniors. While teaching, she began volunteering evenings at a nursing home. A passion for the elderly was ignited. In a flash, she made the decision to go back to school at the University of Florida to earn a Masters Degree in education and eventually a Ph.D. in administration, with a focus on aging. Her goal was to run a gerontology center.

North Carolina became home for Bev and her husband in the mid-seventies. Over the next decade, career, family and motherhood priorities created many curves on the path. Along the way, frustration with state and federal government policies for services to seniors grew. Her no-whining philosophy influenced Bev to run for political office. To her, it seemed like the most effective route to make a difference for seniors.

Steel Magnolia of Government

Beverly Perdue was elected to her first term in the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1986. As a divorced mom with two small children, she says there were many tough decisions made to balance career and family demands. She says that’s why women across North Carolina like her. She’s walked in their shoes.

Lt. Gov. Perdue and staff

After serving two full terms in the NC House of Representatives, Bev campaigned successfully for a North Carolina Senate seat in 1990. During her time in the Senate, her friends in the Senate and others called her a troubleshooter. “When there was something kind of scruffy to do and took some staying power, tenacity and boldness, I would take the issue.” Her willingness to tackle tough issues in education, healthcare, nursing home regulation, and safe water sources, combined with her tenacity, boldness, and dogged determination helped her rise to the coveted Appropriations Committee, which she co-chaired for six years.

Bev has led efforts to reform the public school system in the mid-nineties: to downsize bureaucracy in the Department of Public Instruction and strengthen local schools; to pioneer the first patient’s bill of rights in this state; and to champion Smart Start, former Governor Hunt’s early childhood initiative. When asked what her biggest strength is, she says it’s her ability to bring people together from different perspectives and figure out a solution by leading the group to consensus. Yet she’s willing to be the risk taker and make a decision when necessary. “I prefer for people to act as a team for the common good of North Carolina, but, if I can’t get the job done as the magnolia, then I know how to use the steel,” says Bev. “Somebody has to be willing to take the risk and make the decision. When it’s important I say ‘the buck stops here and we’ll do it this way.’”

Little Engine That Could

In January 2001, Beverly Perdue became the 32nd person, and the first woman, to hold the office of Lieutenant Governor in North Carolina. She views a big part of her role in this office to be a cheerleader for good, to help people figure out how to be the best they can be. A wellspring of enthusiasm erupts as she discusses an historical accomplishment in North Carolina—the reduction in teen smoking rates. The HWTF reported recently that teen smoking is down one-third for high school students and two-thirds for middle school children. “I’m so excited about the work we are doing. Education is my biggest political and personal driver, but education doesn’t happen without health and wellness. This initiative is incredibly important to me.”

She’s also holding a steadfast faith that North Carolinians can create a blueprint for creating a new vision that embraces globalization, and to do what’s necessary to create an education system that prepares our youth to compete successfully in a globalized economy. Her call to action is for all North Carolinians to be active and to be involved. “The greatest gift as Americans that we have is our vote. Every single thing that is done by the federal or state government impacts our lives, so you need to speak up and be counted.”

In articulating a vision for embracing change and innovation, she encourages North Carolinians to consider the wisdom of Henry Ford as he presented to his board an idea to build a horseless carriage. In his attempt to influence their decision he said,

“Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you are probably right.”

And reaching back into her days as a teacher, she brings another well-known children’s storybook character to life, The Little Engine That Could. She counts it among her personal favorites. There’s a plaque in her office she uses daily to remind her to “Think I can, which leads to I know I can.” Bev says, “I’ve lived my life thinking I can and I would urge other women to live their lives thinking they can on whatever it is that is important to them.”

Tips for Career and Life Balance

• Decide what you want. “I found out for me, not for anyone else, for me, I was a better person and a better mother when I had a business life of my own and quality time for me and my children was the right answer.”

• Do all that you can to make a success in whatever you choose to do. “I don’t have a lot of memories of not being allowed to do something because I’m a woman. I’ve always worked harder and tried harder to do what I wanted to do and to succeed in any job I’ve had. I felt like the barriers that I’ve encountered have just been natural economic employment barriers, not necessarily because I’m a woman.”

• Figure out a way to smile and to laugh everyday. “Life is so short. Everyday is a blessing. It would be a waste if you couldn’t find one good thing out of every day.”

• Make a commitment to continuous learning: read, take a class online, limit time in front of the TV.

• Enjoy your friends and your family. “In my experience in dealing with people who are near death, the folks in that hospital room, in that bedroom in a home, are not the people at work, not the CEO, not the folks you tried so hard to impress. They are your family and your friends. At the end of the day, that’s what counts.”

• Hold sacrosanct personal time. “I get up every morning about 5:30AM. I read the Bible and I exercise everyday. I need that 1½-2 hours by myself. It’s how I stay healthy and physically fit and able to do the job I do.”

Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue continues to stride confidently through political mine fields avoided by her political cohorts. She’s boldly advancing HWTF’s vision for a healthier North Carolina. It’s a vision guaranteed to expand her existing legacy of footprints across our state.

For more information, contact:
NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund
Alison K. McLaurin
Director of Marketing & Public Affairs
919-733-4009
E-mail: Alison.mclaurin@ncmail.net
www.HealthWellNC.org

For more information on Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue and to sign up for her free e-newsletter, visit her website.

Photos courtesy Katie Seitz-Elizabeth Galecke Photography.