I was born on a cold and damp November day in Springfield MO in the year 1990. I was raised and am currently living in Mountain Home AR, where I attend Arkansas State University in Mountain Home. I grew up in a strong and supportive family with my Dad and Mom, Ron and Mary Ann Caster and with my brother Joey, his wife Mary and my sister Diane.
In the year 2000 I discovered my love for politics. I remember sitting at my kitchen table with a box of crayons and making homemade Bush/Cheney buttons for my entire family. With those little buttons I started what would turn out to be my life's journey, working within the Conservative movement. My idealism that was represented in those handmade buttons has never diminished. My Belief in America and all this country stands for remains an unshakeable pillar of the foundation of my life, along with my faith in God and the support of my family.
In 2004 I became seriously involved in politics, I joined the Baxter County Teenage Republicans, later I became the Vice President, then President of that group. During this time I had a superficial love of politics, I loved the idea of having your name in the paper and having your very own campaign signs. To me, politics was my road to becoming a "Rock Star." Then the election of 2008 came. Americans wanted hope, and yes, they wanted change. Sadly, we the people didn’t check our sources. We elected men and woman to the Senate, the House of Representatives and the White House who openly said that they wanted to fundamentally transform America.
It wasn't until the spring of 2009 when I found out what it truly meant to be a public servant. I decided to start the Ozark Tea Party. After months of organizing with the little resources I had and a lot of help from Christ Tuthill and Scott Gray the day of the first Tea Party finally came, April 15th 2009. Our Tea Party turned out to be the largest in the state. In our small town of 10,000ppl, 1,500ppl came out to take a stand for our country. I remember standing on stage and thinking, "This is so much bigger than me and my political life, there is something wrong with our leaders and it's up to each and every one of us to fix it."
After that first Tea Party I went home and started doing my research on the founding of our country. I read writings from Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine; these were flawed yet good men who loved God, freedom, and liberty. Then I compared what these men did, to what many of our elected leaders in Washington DC were doing and the differences couldn't have been more dramatic. During this time of research I truly started understanding that Politics wasn't about a political Party, and frankly it wasn't about having a party. Being in politics, for the right reasons is a calling to fight for the greater good.
Throughout 2009, I continued my work with the Tea Party movement and I started hosting a Saturday morning political talk radio show on Mountain Talk 97.1 with Chris Tuthill…all the while continuing college. Also, in 2009 I won the Patrick Calhoun Scholarship to attend the Leadership Institute in Washington DC. It was a tremendous learning experience which prepared me to make the decision to run for office in Baxter County when the opportunity presented itself. On May 18th 2010 I was elected to the Baxter County Quorum Court with 75% of the vote and at the same time became the youngest elected official in Arkansas history.
While the next few years of my life are completely unscripted I can tell you this, I will never waver in my love for my Country. I will always lead my life with honesty, integrity and hard work. And I will never give up on my American Dream; to preserve and pass on to my children a freer America.
