FAIRHOPE — The Eastern Shore Republican Women hosted Maddie Lawrence, of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), for their monthly luncheon on Thursday.
Lawrence, who serves as the Dixie Territory high school field representative, covers Alabama, northern Mississippi and western Florida. Representatives from three schools in Baldwin County were in attendance Thursday, including Gulf Shores High School, which has the largest TPUSA chapter in the nation. Fairhope High School and South Baldwin Christian Academy also had representatives from their chapters.
TPUSA has over 3,000 high school chapters nationwide. At the beginning of the school year, Lawrence said her territory only included two chapters. It has grown to 118 chapters since the death of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated while speaking at an event in Utah on September 10.
"We're seeing that Gen Z is the most conservative generation that we've seen in a long time," Lawrence said. "And we've seen that here in Baldwin County for sure and across the state and around the country."
Local Turning Point chapters discuss ongoing political issues and learn about civics. They also debate to develop their own views on various topics.
Lawrence said anyone who wants to start a TPUSA chapter at their school can get more information online.
Baldwin County District 3 Commissioner Billie Jo Underwood, who also spoke at the event, said Kirk's Christian faith inspired her, although she only learned about him after his death.
"What inspired me more – as an older person – about Charlie was his courage and his faith," Underwood said.
Underwood also briefed the packed room on the Commission's latest moves.
Underwood pointed out that Baldwin County is one of only 12 in Alabama with subdivision regulations, something the Commission has been working to improve for years to help manage growth.
"When people say they want to stop growth, they want to take away everything; that's not conservative," Underwood said. "That definitely comes from another term, maybe 'socialist' or whatever, but what we have is we need guided growth, so the County Commission took a very bold step this year. It took a long time. I've been in office for seven years. We finally strengthened our subdivision regulations."
The Commission is also partnering with municipalities in the 30 Cubed program to improve roads and bridges. So far, the Commission has entered into six agreements to split the cost of improvements.
Jeff Poor also contributed to this report.
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