Not all Atmore residents know each candidate in the running for the upcoming municipal races on a personal level or have a complete idea of where they stand on important issues. Next week the Leadership Atmore Alumni Association is hoping to fix that, as they will host a candidates forum Thursday, featuring all candidates running for Escambia County, Atmore Mayor and Atmore City Council positions. This forum is the first of its kind since 2001, when the Leadership Atmore class hosted a similar event.

As qualifying came to finish just last week, officials with the Leadership Atmore Alumni Association realized the amount of persons on the ballot was large. Nancy Helton, president of Leadership Atmore Alumni association, said she wants people to utilize this forum and be knowledgeable of each candidate and his or her views.

“With so many candidates running in the local election we thought this would be a good way for people to meet the candidates,” Helton said. “Every vote counts. We are giving you a chance to meet the candidates and be an informed voter.”

To begin the forum, each candidate will be allowed a three-minute introduction during which they may give background information on themselves. After the introduction each candidate will be asked two non-bias questions. He or she will each have two minutes to answer each question. To begin the two-minute portion, a green card will be shown, while a yellow card will signal the 30-second warning, and a red card will inform the candidate to stop. Keith Castleberry, treasurer of the Leadership Atmore Alumni Association, will moderate the forum.

In hopes of involving the community in more than one way and focusing on topics that are important to the people, the association asks that Atmore residents submit questions for the forum before hand.

“We are soliciting questions from the community,” Helton said.

A questionnaire is included in today’s edition of The Atmore Advance and may be dropped off at the Atmore Area Chamber of Commerce Office on Pensacola Avenue, faxed to (251) 368-0800 or emailed to swilli@frontiernet.net. The deadline to turn in questions is Monday, July 30, at 4 p.m.

The candidates forum will begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at The Club on Alabama 21 in Atmore. There is no charge for admission.

Hot dogs, chips and Pepsi products will be served. Monetary donations for the food will go to the maintenance and upkeep of Heritage Park on Main Street.