William Natcher

Never Late
Never Absent.



What I learned from Congressman William Natcher:

For more than thirty years I have worked every day from 6am to 6pm, never missed a day of work, never late, never been out sick. It's an obsession that I call principle and others call madness - but it's me. Congressman William Natcher had the same principled madness.

40 years as a congressman and he NEVER missed a vote.

The newspaper article was very small and less than a paragraph but it certainly caught my attention. This is the stuff that I love.

William Huston Natcher set a record of 18,401 consecutive Congressional votes between 1953 and 1994 and the man, as a matter of principle, refused to accept any campaign contributions - EVER.

In March of 1994 Congressman Natcher was in hospital fighting for his life but assured his constituents that he would make the next scheduled vote on the floor just as he had done for over forty years.

Much like Cal Ripken or Lou Gehrig these guys mean a lot to me.

So I wrote him a card and pretty much said - "You are a man that I respect tremendously - Get better soon."

Within a few days I received a hand written note back from the man himself, in a very shaky script, with a photograph and a very personalized letter - From his hospital bed.

William Huston Natcher died that very same week.

I treasure the handwritten note and photograph to this day.
I respected this man and his indomitable spirit enormously.

Never Late - Never Absent.

That's what I learned from Congressman William Huston Natcher.

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