7.31.2010

kenny guinn

last week, nevada's former governor kenny guinn passed away. although his 8-year term ended in 2007, his legacy will last much longer. like many other nevada graduates, i was directly affected by guinn. he used the tobacco lawsuit settlement money to create "the millennium scholarship." along with over 60,000 other students, i was able to take advantage of this scholarship when i graduated high school. most of my college education was paid for in this way and i am beyond grateful for that. like guinn, education has always been extremely important to me. college was never optional; i always knew i was going to attend and because of guinn, i was able to graduate debt-free. several years ago, Time magazine named him one of the top 5 governors in the country. that's pretty amazing considering he had zero political experience before running for governor in 1999. to me, though, he is number one. seriously.

"Education is not on my agenda; education is my agenda." -Kenny Guinn