It is the time of year when people get qualified and announce their plans to run for the upcoming 2018 elections.

Robert (Bob) L. Sanders recently went through the qualification process at the Alabama Republican Party headquarters in Birmingham and will run for the position of Place 1 and a Chilton County member of the Alabama GOP State Executive Committee.

The Republican primary election will be held on June 5. Renee Powers currently serves as Chilton County Place 1 on the committee.

According to Sanders, he is a lifelong hard worker for the Republican Party, and has shown his dedication over the years by helping in the campaign efforts in Chilton County for several Republican candidates.

He has campaigned for Congressman Gary Palmer since 2014 and also worked President Donald Trump’s campaign in Alabama and Florida.

The most recent campaign he was involved in was that of Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Roy Moore, who won Chilton County despite losing the election.

Sanders is a retired marketing and business professor and entrepreneur.

“Dealing with market share is a lot of what a campaign is all about,” Sanders said.

He has spent the past 12 years living in Clanton with his wife Dr. Lucille (Lucy) Collins, who owns and operates Maplesville Clinic.

The couple lives at Magic Valley Ranch and hosted the statewide governmental waste programming training session in 2016.

The training session was conducted by the Alabama State Auditor’s Office, and it was the first time that Chilton County hosted the event.

According to Sanders, remaining active in campaigns allows him to really get to know the candidates and see first hand what they are all about.

He is also one of only nine members on the state’s voter registration board.

“I feel as if it’s my civic duty,” Sanders said.