Meet Steve

A Fiscally Conservative, Centrist Democrat

Dear Tenth District Voter,

I am a lifelong Democrat with a common sense, centrist outlook.  For the past several months, I have been actively exploring and working on a run for our Congressional Seat in 2008.  This is the seat currently held by Patrick McHenry.
 
To succeed, I need your help and support.  I am a son of the Tenth District with solid roots in Cleveland, Burke, and Catawba Counties.  Since early in 2007, I have spent time in all ten counties of our district exploring or actively campaigning.  I am prepared to serve all of its citizens and regions.  I have personal experience with, and in, our farms and factories.  My philosophy is conservative on spending and socially moderate.
 
While concerned about the growth of Federal Government spending and bureaucracy, some things are better handled on a public basis.  Military and Social Security are examples of functions that should be handled primarily as Public Functions at various levels of Federal, State, and Local Governments.  I will continue to fight efforts to privatize Social Security and Medicare.  The question of healthcare is still open, but all options should be considered.

My knowledge, skills, experience and outlook will bring new ideas and solutions to Washington.  I am a creative thinker and problem solver who has worked in Engineering and Marketing and as Owner/Operator of my own tech company.  While I reside in Hickory, I was raised in Morganton.  I still own my Grandfather’s farm in Cleveland County.

I have traveled throughout the world and read extensively in Foreign Affairs, History, Science, and Technology.  Our country is facing numerous crises with real Strategic implications for the future.  In the next few years, we must find creative solutions to pressing problems such as Energy Independence.  I will fight for fair trade and a better balance of trade.  I understand that industry clusters around groups of related manufacturers and their suppliers.  I understand this cycle and its evolution, and I can help to select the technologies that we should focus on for better jobs in the future.  I have the skills and determination to preserve and reestablish our industrial economy with business and economic development.  I will seek to reestablish the Southeast as the agricultural market/garden of the East.  These things can be done without compromise to our environment.
 
I will fight for a better healthcare system that covers everyone at a reasonable cost to individuals, business, and government.  Too much of our healthcare dollars goes for overhead and physician liability expense.  Small independents, such as farmers and electricians, and older workers are particularly exploited by the present system.  Citizens are going without, or traveling overseas to find, affordable healthcare.  The existing version of Medicare Part D, with its many complexities and its yielding to the interests of large drug companies by not allowing price negotiation, is an example of the current administration’s approach to problems (i.e., the rich get richer).

At every meal, my wife, Judy, and I pray for the welfare of our troops in the field.  I am an Active Duty Military Veteran who will fight to see that our military is wisely deployed and that diplomacy is brought to bear on problems.  The War on Terrorism cannot be wished away or ignored.  If this means growing our uniformed national military to replace high paid contractors, it will have my support.  However, you can be sure that I will not sit by and see poorly conceived, executed, and failing initiatives, like much of our Occupation of Iraq, expose our US troops to harm when better strategic alternatives are available.  Equally as important for the future of the Military, those who have served need to be cared for and rewarded when they come home.
 
For me to have a chance to change what is coming out of Washington, and try to shift the Washington priority from rhetoric, lock-step voting, special interest control, and partisan strife, I need your help.  I will not give up on our family farms, new and better industrial jobs, or better healthcare for all.  Your volunteer time, your guidance, and your contributions are the lifeblood of an effective campaign.  Please call and stop by my South Sterling Street in Morganton District Ten Election Headquarters, or contact me by Mail, E-Mail, or Phone.  Please sign up to work on, stay informed about, and/or support my campaign.

                                                                                                                                                                        Sincerely,
                                                                                                                                                                        Steve Ivester

Steve's Background

LOCAL ROOTS:

  ▪  BURKE COUNTY
        •  Born & raised in Morganton
              ▫  Graduate of Morganton High School
              ▫  Morganton’s first American Field Service Summer Abroad (exchange student) – Berlin, Germany
        •  Owned and operated a manufacturing facility division in East Burke for almost a decade
        •  Owns and pays taxes on property in Morganton, East Burke, and Drexel
        •  Continues a lifelong membership at the First Methodist Church of Morganton
        •  Mother, Ruby Ivester, was Chief Designer for an important local manufacturer
               ▫  She was also active in local and regional fashion, art, fraternal, and civic affairs
        •  Father, Lloyd Ivester, was foreman of the Cabinet Room in a major local plant
               ▫  He later owned and operated Lloyd Ivester Custom Frames and Ridgeline Gallery
               ▫  He loved hunting bobwhite quail and fishing

  ▪  CATAWBA COUNTY
        •  Steve and his first-and-only wife, Judy, have lived/worked in Hickory for most of 25 years
        •  Owned and operated a manufacturing company in Hickory, with up to fifty employees
        •  Active in Transportation, Planning, and Water Quality issues/organizations that affect City, County, and Region
        •  Worked on restoration of Hickory Airport Tower service
              ▫  Active member of 2006 Hickory Airport Task Force
        •  Active member of the Reece Institute “Upper Catawba Valley Conservation Forum”
        •  Wife, Judy Lavin Ivester, has served on the Hickory Farmers Market Board and is Chair of the Hickory Library Board
              ▫  She was General Manager of a high-tech fiber optic test equipment division here in Hickory for four years
              ▫  She was Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for a large division of a major international company
              ▫  She has a Masters of Business Administration degree from Columbia University
              ▫  She has worked with the SCORE volunteer program in Catawba County, advising small businesses is her specialty
              ▫  She is active in the Master Gardener program in Catawba County

  ▪  CLEVELAND COUNTY
        •  Parents, Lloyd & Ruby, were born, raised, and finished high school in Belwood
             ▫  Mother influenced decision to locate a "cut & sew" manufacturing plant in Falston
        •  Steve still owns grandfather’s farm, now in trees
             ▫  Steve remembers his grandfather raising cotton, working behind a mule all day, and fox hunting all night
        •  Steve still has a large extended family in this county

EDUCATION:

  ▪  Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
        •  Member of Sigma Xi Society (a Scientific Research organization) since graduation
  ▪  Harvard Business School – Masters of Business Administration
       •  Attended with assistance of Veteran’s Benefits

VETERAN:

  ▪  Took military leave from a deferred job and voluntarily enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard
  ▪  Served three years as an Officer on Active Duty
  ▪  Served an additional 7 ½ years on Call-Up reserves with Rank of Lieutenant
        •  Taught college-level courses in Engineering Department of U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, Connecticut

WORK EXPERIENCE:

  ▪  Engineering Manager, Inventor (about 10 patents), Marketing Manager, Business Planner, Owner/Operator of a precision
      measuring device manufacturing company
  ▪  Now retired

PUBLIC EXPERIENCE:

  ▪  Active in civic groups - Conservation, Transportation, and Planning
  ▪  Past board membership in Music, Art, and Theater organizations
  ▪  Past leadership roles in Police-Community and Historic Preservation
  ▪  Extensive travel in other lands
        •  Europe, China, South America, and the Caribbean
  ▪  Steve has prepared and given a number of lectures across the region
        •  In the Flight Centennial Years of 2002/03, gave a slide lecture on early aviation.  This lecture was given more than twenty
           times to local Civic Groups, Aviation Groups, and School Classes (Burke, Catawba, and Alexander).  Also presented at
           the New Jersey Aviation History Museum and to the Virginia Historical Aviation Association meeting in Williamsburg.
        •  Since 2006, has been giving a lecture on the Battle Against Social Security Privatization to Civic Groups in three counties.
           This presentation is still available.
        •  In the past two years, has been giving a lecture on the Interbasin Transfer Process.  Steve became involved in this issue
           early on because of his active participation in a civic group, Water Watch Lake Hickory, that was already addressing
           water quality issues.  This non-partisan presentation is still available.

LICENSES:

  ▪  Professional Engineer in NC
  ▪  Instrument-rated pilot (3,500 hours)