good morning good no we got one there there and if it's from the mayor then it counts double so I think I'm in good shape so it is great to be back in desar Eddie Joe thank you so much for the introduction and BJ and Dan thank you for having me here at today's announcement and of course I want to say a huge thank you to the entire team here at White River energetics for choosing Arkansas I know that we're also here with some of our uh local celebrities Mayor Scott Judge Holloway and several of our local legislators representative Lynch and Senator Caldwell who we work closely with on a daily basis and are so grateful for the incredible partnership that we have with each one of you uh and for all that you did to help secure this investment here not just in Arkansas but in this part of the state I also want to highlight Clint O'Neal from ADC Clint and I have literally traveled at this point all over the world to get companies to invest here in Arkansas London Tokyo Paris soul and uh while those trips can certainly be fun and Incredibly productive I have to admit I prefer staying a little closer to home and I think Clinton does too and my team will agree that one of the best meals we've had on the road was at an airport Chili's after we spent uh a couple weeks in South Korea and Japan sometimes uh after a long few weeks on the road you just need a good American chain restaurant but it's important that we continue to stay on the road because our Economic Development Mission has a strong track record and today's announcement actually grew out of a conversation from one of those trips we were at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas not too long ago and if you enjoy hunting and fishing or shooting of any kind the SHOT show is essentially your Super Bowl and that's where I met most of the team that is here today I'll admit I actually kind of made fun of them when we first met because they're name tags read White River energetics Tampa Florida I told them that it was time to change those out and put Arkansas on the bottom so we're excited that after today's announcement BJ assures me um and whether he did or not I've now set it in front of this large group of people that next year's name tags uh will be much bigger and they will have Arkansas instead of Tampa Florida so but as everybody knows this event and this announcement is much bigger than name tags to put it into context this company currently has 14,000 square ft of manufacturing space today's announcement adds another 90,000 Square ft right now they have 125 employees in this facility 73 of whom they have added in just the past year and today's announcement will add an additional 100 employees right here this is over a $70 million investment in a small town in Arkansas but like I said it's bigger than name tags and it's even bigger than the investment it's the newest addition to one of our state's fastest growing Industries as BJ mentioned we've announced hundreds of jobs in companies like sigu foke and Walther arms talking to the executives here there are a few reasons why this industry is so happy here in the state of Arkansas certainly there are some factors that apply to every type of company we've cut taxes three times in the last year and a half we're improving education and especially Career and Technical education something that these companies will meet the Homegrown Workforce that they actually need other factors that are very specific to the industry it's not a secret that we support the Second Amendment and citizens rights to protect themselves and there are other factors that are specific to this exact company we all drove in on that long Gravel Road that you have leading here I'm sure many of you enjoyed that ride but we're going to try to make it a little better and I'm proud that part of this expansion is that the state is going to help facilitate and pave that road but there are a lot of things that can't be counted up on a spreadsheet Chief among them is what I consider our state's greatest asset and that's our people and I think BJ is a perfect example of exactly what I'm talking about BJ mentioned that he initially moved to Kentucky after school to work in another company but he is Prairie County born and raised and Arkansas is always going to be his home in fact the land that we're standing on is his family's land BJ knew he wanted to come back and not just as a passive investor but as someone who is helping build this Arkansas based industry from the ground up that's the Arkansas difference and it's not just BJ's story and it's not just in this industry it's for men and women all around this state who are building their businesses giving back and doing well for themselves in the meantime this is what Arkansas is all about that's exactly what you see represented when you look around at this group of people that are here today people who love their communities care about one another love this state and want to see it continue to be successful I know that's exactly what we're going to see from this facility and from this team here because we've already had the chance to see it uh just in the last few years I'm proud that we get to be part of this announcement I'm proud that we get to call this an Arkansas based business and I'm thankful for all of the people that are here today who helped make it possible so thank you for letting us play a small part and congratulations on this great expansion