Corker to visit for town hall meeting

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker will hold a town hall meeting at the Blue Ribbon Circle on the Celebration grounds in Shelbyville this Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. to talk to citizens about health care reform and the economy. The event is open to the public.

During the Senate's August recess, Corker's staff reports that he is visiting 30 counties across the state and holding 20 town hall meetings.

Tennesseans seeking more information about the event should contact Corker's Nashville field office at (615) 279-8125.

Various congressional open meetings across the U.S. in recent weeks have served as forums for intense debate and protest related to health care reform proposals.

Corker, a Republican, was elected to the Senate in November 2006 and serves on the Banking, Energy, and Foreign Relations committees.

During his service in Washington, Corker has focused on economic and fiscal issues, energy security, and health insurance. Corker grew up in Chattanooga and graduated from the University of Tennessee. He was a successful contractor and developer whose projects included the former Bi-Lo shopping center on Madison Street before serving as Tennessee commissioner of finance and administration and mayor of Chattanooga.

He and his wife, Elizabeth, have been married for twenty-two years and have two daughters, Julia and Emily.

* Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon will have a town hall meeting 7 p.m. Monday at Tucker Theater on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. The event is sponsored by The Daily News Journal. Gordon agreed to the meeting after originally saying he would seek input primarily by telephone during this congressional break.