By BETH CHAPMAN / Community Columnist

This article is satirical — totally meant to be funny for those who love Mike Hill, and who in this county doesn’t except those who know him best?

One couldn’t help but laugh when he made a Top 40 Influential and Powerful List released by Yellowhammerpolitics.com. He’s so powerful, that after writing this article I could end up with a horse’s head in my bed.

Hearing Mike speak on the floor of the House of Representatives is like hearing Gomer Pile give a Shakespearean soliloquy. Asked important political questions like what he thought about defense, he said, “We should paint it.” About the energy bill, “We should pay it.” About the Mid-east position, “It hurts my back.”

You can’t help but love Mike and pity Carol and the kids. They say marriage is an institution, Carol says San Quinton is, too.

Mike is loved for his plain, down-to-earth style, his genuineness and sincerity. He is known for being able to laugh at life and never take it or himself too seriously.

On the cloudiest of days, Mike can say something goofy enough to get you to smile or he’ll put his arm around you and say, “I ‘preciate ya,” with that big goofy – mule-eating-briars grin that makes you feel like the most important person in the world.

While his prowess on the Top 40 list may impress some, not those who know him best. Power isn’t important to Hill, who has been on Columbiana’s Top Five list for decades — just behind God the father, Son, Holy Ghost and well, Butch Ellis.

There are few people nicer than Mike. He greets everyone he sees with a smile.

They say the most powerful people don’t have to show it. How true of him. His power comes not from politics, but from within and from his ever-present, positive attitude and the friendships he has made throughout the years.

Most people would take a bullet for Mike; I’d rather take one for Carol and the kids. But Mike is one of the greatest guys I’ve ever known and I, like everyone else in this county, love him tremendously.

Honestly, no one has worked harder than Mike and gained the respect of so many in an often difficult profession. If anyone deserves to be named on an influential and powerful list in our county, truly Mike Hill does.

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.