Monticello Live

Election Day is Tuesday, and with all of the recent conversation about City Council Members, it seems like a good time to feature one of them on One Monticello Life.  Since a current candidate would not really be appropriate, we’ll visit with Al Peer, who did not have an opponent this election.

Al Peer is currently serving his 5th term on the Monticello City Council.  In 10 years of service he’s seen a lot of changes take place in Monticello.

Al first ran for Alderman in 1998, because he felt that he could make a difference in the city, especially in support of efforts benefiting the youth and the elderly.

Mr. Al has been employed by the State of Arkansas for 30 years.  He began with the Employment Security Division for one year, and then moved to Human Services, providing for the needs of developmentally challenged individuals.  He works at the Human Development Center in Warren, in the administration department.  He considers the best part of his job to be the times that he’s been able to help people in that area. 

Mr. Peer was born and raised in West Helena, and attended the Eliza Miller School until 1970, when integration took place, and graduated from Central High School, in West Helena, in 1971, when he enrolled at UAM.  He completed his B.S. Degree in Business, at UAM.

Al and Carolyn Peer have been married for 30 years, have two grown sons, and have served as foster parents, providing a positive family environment for several young adults over the 12 years they’ve been involved in the program.

The couple are members of Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, under the leadership of Rev. D. J. Buffington, where Al serves in the position of trustee.

Al is a Mason, and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

His hobbies include cooking, fishing, walking, and being around people.  The family has a dog, a Siberian Husky, named Snowball.

Al’s favorites include:

Phrase—”If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Restaurant—All of the local places.

TV Show—Sci-Fi Network.

Actor—Denzell Washington.

Movie—The Day After Tomorrow.

Music—Jazz.

Song or Hymn—”I Know the Lord Will Make a Way”

Book—T. D. Jakes’ books.

Out of state sports team—Dallas Cowboys

When I ask Al if his time on the City Council has been good, he replied, “Yes it has.  When you look at the parks, the streets, the sports complex, these are good things.  When you look at Monticello and see where we are, as compared to other cities in the area, Monticello looks pretty good.” 

In closing, Al told me,”The best thing about Monticello is when you walk down the street, or into a store or restaurant, you can see that Monticello is a beautiful place, with friendly people.” 

Al Peer, thanks for all you do: at work, at home, and on the City Council.  And thanks for sharing your One Monticello Life.

For other editions of One Monticello Life, click on the tab at the top of the page.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 18th, 2008 at 8:17 pm and is filed under Feature: OML. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.