Delta Grassroots Caucus Events

Credit Michael Hibblen/ KUAR News, Arkansas Public Radio; Former President Bill Clinton speaking to the Delta Grassroots Caucus on May 2, 2013, at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, Little Rock

U. S. Senator John Boozman, Arkansas, at a Delta Grassroots Caucus meeting at the US Capitol

Brad Cole, Executive Director of the Municipal League of Illinois; previously a senior aide to former Republican US Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, earlier Mayor of Carbondale, Illinois, veteran Delta regional advocate, speaking at the Delta regional conference in West Memphis, Arkansas on April 26, 2019.

President Bill Clinton makes a comment to Delta Caucus Director Lee Powell at a meeting in Blytheville, Arkansas (in the northeast Arkansas Delta) on Nov. 2, 2014

The Delta Caucus would like to pay tribute to the late, great U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, a powerful force in the US Senate for decades and a champion for the Delta. Sen. Cochran passed away on May 30, 2019. He spoke to the Delta Caucus on many occasions over the years (he is pictured above speaking to a Caucus event on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC) and his thoughtful, courteous and bipartisan leadership will be sorely missed.

Marcie Lawson, Executive Director, Sikeston, Missouri Regional Chamber and Area Economic Development Corporation, speaking at the Delta regional conference in West Memphis, Arkansas on April 26, 2019.

Alan Gumbel, Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce, Memphis, Tennessee, speaking at the Delta regional conference in West Memphis, Arkansas on April 26, 2019.

Mayor Shirley Washington of Pine Bluff, AR, speaking to the Delta Caucus at the Arkansas Capitol Rotunda in 2017.

Delta Caucus Endorses Chris Caldwell as Trump's Nominee for DRA Federal Co-Chair

Posted on September 13, 2017 at 01:26 PM

The Delta Caucus commends President Trump’s nomination of Chris Caldwell, a long-time aide to US Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) as Federal Co-Chairman of the Delta Regional Authority. President Trump has now made two excellent choices for the two posts at the Delta Regional Authority in Chris Caldwell for Federal Co-Chairman and Peter Kinder of Missouri for Alternate Federal Co-Chairman.

Please note: Early registration deadline is Sept. 19, next week, for the Oct. 19-20 Delta Caucus conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. Early registration is $100 but it goes up to $125 after Sept. 19 to give an incentive to get the fees in on time.

You register by paying the registration fees. You can pay on the website at mdgc.us by going to the PayPal process at the top of this website. The PayPal process generates records showing you have made the registration payment.

If you wish to pay by check, please make out the check to “Delta Caucus” and mail to:

Delta Caucus

5030 Purslane Place

Waldorf, MD 20601

Caucus director Lee Powell said, “President Trump has made two great choices now for the Presidential appointees at the DRA in Chris Caldwell of Sen. Boozman’s staff and Peter Kinder of Missouri. We congratulate Chris Caldwell on this nomination, we know he’ll do a great job and we look forward to working with him.”

“Sen. Boozman has always been a great champion for the DRA and we are delighted that his Director of Special Projects has been chosen for this post,” Powell said. Delta Caucus partners not only in Arkansas but across the region responded favorably to the choice.

The Delta Caucus has disagreed with President Trump on other issues but we assess each issue on a case by case basis on the merits, and the nomination of Mr. Caldwell is a step forward for the region.

Harvey Joe Sanner, Delta Caucus senior adviser of Des Arc, said “I have known Chris Caldwell for many years now, he is well-traveled in the Delta and is very much aware of our issues we deal with, and I look forward to working with him. Sen. Boozman has always been a great champion for the DRA and we are glad to see an Arkansan and long-time aide to the Senator elevated to this post.”

Kevin Smith, Delta Caucus senior adviser from Helena-West Helena said, “It’s great that a long-time aide to Sen. Boozman got the job because the Senator has always been a great champion for the DRA. We are also pleased to see that Trump filled the post relatively early in his administration, considering the huge number of posts he has to fill.”

Powell said “Mr. Caldwell has extensive experience in politics and public policy as a senior staffer to Sen. Boozman, and earlier worked for former Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Sen. Tim Hutchinson. We are confident the Senate will expeditiously confirm his nomination.”

Delta Caucus partners in other states have also had positive responses, based on the recommendations of our Arkansas colleagues who have worked with Mr. Caldwell and Sen. Boozman’s strong reputation in the region.

Mike Marshall, the former DRA Alternate Federal Co-Chairman from Sikeston, Missouri and now Director of the Sikeston Chamber of Commerce, said “I am glad to see a long-time staffer for Sen. Boozman in this post because I have long respected Sen. Boozman’s dedication to the entire region. My Delta colleagues in Arkansas have recommended him highly, and it’s good that President Trump has filled this post.”

Millie Atkins, Co-Chair of the Economic Equality Caucus and Delta Caucus senior adviser from Monroe, Louisiana said “We the people of the Delta are glad to see the Trump administration filling this post, and we know Sen. Boozman has a strong reputation for leadership in the region, and our Arkansas colleagues who know Mr. Caldwell speak highly of him. So this is a strong step forward for the region.”