July 31st, 2007

“God crowned her hills with beauty,
Gave her lakes and winding streams,
Then He edged them all with woodlands
As the setting for our dreams.”

– Indiana State Poem, by Arthur Franklin Mapes

Indiana poet Arthur Mapes spoke well when he described Indiana as the setting for all of our dreams. It is the land where three generations of the Ackerson family have realized their dreams, and where my dearest dreams were inspired and have been fulfilled. Here I was born and have spent most of my life. Here my children were born and here was the setting for their dreams to begin. Here is the center of my life’s work.

My name is Nels Ackerson, and I’m running for Congress. I want to represent the people of the 4th District of Indiana in the U.S. Congress. My dad was a dairy farmer and a county councilman. My mother was a teacher and a homemaker. Grandpa and Grandma Ackerson were Swedish immigrants who came to the United States with nothing but common sense, hope, faith and a willingness to work. Through hard work and frugality they and my parents after them built the Indiana farm where I grew up.

Indiana is the source of my values and my passions. Here I learned to find satisfaction in hard work, well done. Here I learned the importance of serving others, and that public service is a noble profession, demanding earnest effort, high ideals, persistence and hope. Here I first experienced success and learned to overcome disappointments with new and renewed effort. I gained valuable character lessons that have sustained me through good times and bad. Here in Indiana I learned that we must pursue our dreams with courage and conviction. And no matter the challenges, we should never give up. If we stick to our principles, tomorrow can be better.

Earliest Memories

My earliest memories are of our farm home, our little Methodist Church in Eagletown, and those special times like Christmas Eve at Grandpa and Grandma Maze’s farm home near Terhune. I remember my Uncle Oscar explaining the constellations under a pitch-black sky, and Dad and Mom teaching that we are stewards of God’s creation. I remember my Dad’s devoted care to our farm animals and our land. I remember the feelings of satisfaction we shared as a family, when we looked back on long days of exhausting farm work, well done.

I remember many summer days riding our rodeo horses, and summer nights having friends over for hot dog roasts, and laughter. And of course I loved Mom’s angel food cake, berry and cream pies, and lots of ice cream!

Beginning in grade school, my sister and I would go to Farm Bureau meetings with Dad and Mom in the Westfield Public Library. Later Dad and Mom were always there for our church youth groups, 4-H and FFA projects, school plays, musical events, and public speaking contests. Dad and Mom were involved in our church and in every important community matter. I came to trust the strength of community and to respect and admire the spirit of public service.

Faith and Education

Indiana shaped the Christian faith and values that have sustained me daily throughout my life. Here, from neighbors, friends, and family I learned by example the core principles of integrity, charity, discipline, determination, compassion, and frugality that guide me still. As a young man I witnessed and took to heart the truth of the Old Testament instruction that what is required in life is “to seek justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” I was a Sunday School teacher and for a short time a Sunday School Superintendent in our little Eagletown Methodist Church.

I went to Purdue to study agriculture and became a proud Boilermaker. My sister was already at Purdue, and she loved our school so much she came back two years after graduation and had a full career teaching nutrition and counseling students. I loved Purdue and participated in every activity I could. I was elected class president, president of Farm House Fraternity and then Student Body President. During college I was elected Indiana State President of the FFA, and a year later I took a year off to be National President of the FFA. Purdue and the FFA exposed me to a wider world, and after graduation I went to study at Harvard.

Back Home Again

In the 1970s I returned home with a Masters degree in public policy and a law degree. I passed the Indiana bar exam and began my Indiana law practice. I have now practiced law for more than 30 years continuously as a member of the Indiana Bar. From the beginning of my law practice in Indianapolis, and later in Noblesville, Washington, DC, and Cairo, Egypt, I have had the privilege of counting as my clients many individuals, homeowners, farmers and businesses across Indiana.

In 1980 I met Sharon, and in 1983 we were married in St. Luke’s Methodist Church. In June 2007 we celebrated our 24th anniversary. Sharon grew up in South Bend, Indiana, the daughter of a machinist and a Salvation Army officer. She graduated from Franklin College and lived several years in Johnson County. Sharon’s common sense and faith help keep my life in balance and keep me close to my roots. Among the wisdom that Sharon shares with me often is one of her favorite quotations: “The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today’s work superbly well.”

Over the years, I’ve been blessed with chances to live, work and travel in Indiana and across this great nation of ours, and also around the world. I have represented many who have little power or influence against others with vast resources. I have worked as an attorney or an advisor on trade and development in sixteen countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America and the former Soviet Union. I was privileged to work for Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana on the staff of the U.S. Senate, and once before I ran for Congress. As an attorney, I’ve had offices in Indianapolis; Noblesville; Washington, DC; and Cairo, Egypt. My wife and family lived with me in the Middle East where for three years I was the managing partner of an office of an international law firm. There I helped to organize and was elected president of the American Chamber of Commerce of Egypt.

Worldwide Experience

In the 1990s I started my own law firm representing clients across the country and some oversees, and I opened an office in Washington, DC. My clients included homeowners, landowners, small businesses, farmers, farmer cooperatives, and others on issues of property rights, constitutional rights, open markets, international trade, and other issues for which I have a passion. My practice has extended to courts in more than 40 states, but the largest numbers of my clients and cases have been in Indiana, including many clients throughout the 4th Congressional District. I have handled cases in Indiana trial courts, the Indiana Court of Appeals, and the Indiana Supreme Court.

I have learned much from the rest of the world through living and working abroad, and from my dealings with the federal government in Washington. My work with peoples of different, cultures, experiences and expectations and my work in the Nation’s Capital have been valuable experiences. I have learned that many people of different backgrounds and political parties often share important common objectives and can be led to work together to achieve common goals. My experience both in Indiana and elsewhere have helped me to cut through rhetoric to find solutions, then to bring people together for successful results in today’s complex and often divided world.

Our Boldest Dreams

The ideals that I learned in Indiana have stuck with me. Sadly, for many elected leaders in Washington those values have been lost, just when they are most desperately needed. Too many in Washington have allowed poisonous partisanship and a sense of personal entitlement to replace principled leadership.

I believe that Mapes was right. We are fortunate. God has crowned us in Indiana with many blessings and has made America a special place where freedom and virtue should inspire us to dream about a better future and then to work together to make that future.

We must dare to dream great dreams. Our best are none too good. I’m running for Congress so that together we can make our boldest dreams a reality for us and for our children and grandchildren. I hope you will join me.

I’m Nels Ackerson, and I’m asking for your vote.