By BETH CHAPMAN / Community Columnist

The Shelby County Legislative Delegation has a new kid on the block — State Rep. April Weaver.

Winning her first elective office this year, Weaver is a woman who knows a great deal about hard work and success. She is not lacking in the area of education or service to the community either.

After completing a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Alabama, she became a registered nurse while holding a full-time job in healthcare management at Bibb County Medical Center.

She later completed her MBA and obtained her legal nurse certificate, then served as the director of public, community and governmental affairs at Brookwood Medical Center.

While Weaver is a new face to the Shelby County Legislative Delegation, she is no new face to Shelby County. For the past nine years, she has worked at Shelby Baptist Medical Center as the director of business development and has been an integral part of the hospital’s phenomenal growth.

Weaver is also no newcomer to public service. Her mother, Pat Clark, is the longest serving member of the board of registrars in our state. She presently serves in Bibb County, which is a part of Weaver’s district.

Weaver’s first legislative experience was a successful one in the most recent special session held earlier this month. She had the opportunity of a lifetime, participating in sweeping ethics reform of a historic proportion. Not a bad way to start your political career.

“Now that successful passage of ethics legislation has been accomplished, although other bills will be debated and passed in future sessions, we can now turn our attention to the hardest job at hand — turning Alabama’s economy around and creating jobs and opportunities for the citizens we serve,” Weaver said.

Weaver has long been an active member of the Republican Party on both a state and local basis and is a graduate of Leadership Shelby County.

She, her daughter and her husband, Dr. Darrel Weaver, are members of Westwood Baptist Church in Alabaster and are involved in numerous community activities.

They also have three children attending Auburn University.

We should expect big things from Representative April Weaver. She brings a refreshing newness to the Alabama House of Representatives and all the skills, talents, abilities and a strong work ethic to go with it. Her future is bright and so is ours with her representing us.

Beth Chapman, Alabama’s secretary of state, is a Shelby County resident and writes a weekly column for the Shelby County Reporter. You can reach her at bethchapman@bellsouth.net.