Meet Carlton
I'm a former Sportscaster who appreciates the value of teamwork in getting things done. We work best when we work together. Politics-as-usual isn't working. It is time we get together to solve problems, which means listening first, then speaking up for what is right. I love my family and fully appreciate the value of our community. North Little Rock and Sherwood helped raise me and I want to preserve those values for my children and their children.
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Meet Carlton and The Wing Family
Carlton met Leigh, the woman who would become his wife, on Election Night in 1990. Leigh has been Carlton’s number one constituent since then, and vice versa. Carlton and Leigh married about a year later and together are raising four children. They announced Carlton’s intention to run for the Arkansas State House of Representatives on the 24th anniversary of their engagement. Considering that major events in their marriage coincided with political events, it may seem that they were meant to be in politics all along! However it's taken 25 years for the time to be right for their first venture into the political arena. Previous to this time Carlton and Leigh linked elbows to support the raising of their children and the promotion of Carlton's career as a sportscaster and television producer. Carlton is still in television production and Leigh plays violin in the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and is an accomplished violin instructor.
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"We are now in a better position in life to more fully serve the community we love," Carlton and Leigh enthusiastically say.
Carlton grew up in North Little Rock, graduating from Northeast High School. "Growing up here taught me the values of community and how working together builds unity and understanding," Carlton explains.
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After high school, Carlton attended UALR on a Chancellor’s Leadership Scholarship before leaving home for two years to carry out a service mission for his church. Working in a far away land (Idaho!) taught him the value of service. At that young age, Carlton learned from, worked with, and served, people in different walks of life.
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Carlton graduated with an undergraduate degree in broadcast communications from Brigham Young University and Masters in Business Administration from Harding University in Searcy. After a few sportscasting jobs in the West, he returned home in 1998 as Sports Director at KARK in Little Rock.
"This was my dream job." Carlton says. "My first football season at KARK was that magical 1998 run when the Razorbacks started 7-0 and ranked in the top 10 for the first time in a long time."
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After three years at KARK, Carlton was offered a job with Little Rock’s Dempsey Film Group as the host and producer of FLW Outdoors, a national fishing show. In 2008, Carlton and Leigh decided to take the risk of starting their own business. Wing
Media Group was born and continues to produce national television programs and outdoors related television programming. "I love the outdoors of Arkansas and throughout this great country," Carlton says. "I was fortunate to find a career that incorporates my hobbies."
Their two daughters are honor graduates of North Little Rock High School, and they have two sons still at home. One is a sophomore at NLR High and the other attends Crestwood Elementary.
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Why Run for Political Office?
"Our children differ from one another in their interests and passions," Carlton says, "but they are the same in their desire to be happy and to be free to choose their directions in life. We’ve covered it all in our home – ballet to golf, acting to baseball, and many more pursuits. Our oldest two children are our girls, and our home started with a decidedly pink theme. Now our girls are off to college and our boys are in charge. Our home color style changed from pink to camo! But they all are actively engaged in pursuing the life they want to lead."
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"The lesson: We are in the best position to excel in life when we are free to choose. We are increasingly burdened with more and more government, with more and more individuals in politics that don’t share our values. I believe we need more honest people serving for the right reason – to try to keep government in check, provide a safe society with family values, and offer opportunities to succeed. And that’s why I decided to run for the Arkansas House of Representatives."
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