Searcy became Mat Faulkner’s home 24 years ago when he moved from Florida to attend Harding University. It was there he met his wife, Shelley (Lawson) who teaches 4th grade at Southwest Middle School. They have three boys — Easton (17), Lawson (14), and Jace (12) — who attend Searcy Public Schools. For the past 20 years, Mat has served as CEO of Think Idea Studio, a marketing agency that has worke
d with over 2,000 businesses in a wide range of industries, many from Searcy. He has served the Searcy Regional Economic Development Corporation, Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce, Jacob’s Place Homeless Mission, Searcy Beats & Eats, among many other organizations. Mat is open about his values and priorities; God, family, and community. He believes we should “bloom where we are planted" and has used his God-given talents to volunteer thousands of hours to help make Searcy a wonderful place to live. Mat has the unique ability to see a need, envision a solution, and then put a plan in place to make positive change. He realizes progress happens when an entire community of people works together. On a personal level, Mat is a Christian, husband, father and friend. On a professional level, he is an open-minded, creative entrepreneur and leader. On a community level, Mat is a visionary, servant-minded volunteer. While his list of accomplishments and professional experiences is extensive, perhaps his best qualification to be mayor is his heart. It only takes working with him for a short time to realize he is honest, trustworthy, hardworking and dependable. Searcy needs a strong leader who will make intelligent decisions to move Searcy forward.
