“My father always told my sisters and me that we could pursue any educational degree we wanted, the choice was entirely ours, so long as we ended up with a doctorate,” Mica Strother said in a recent interview. She was born in Little Rock and raised in Mountain Home.
“I have two wonderful parents, Lane and Judy Strother, both of whom are practicing attorneys in Mountain Home. I have two sisters, Jodi Strother, an attorney in Mountain Home, and Megan Strother, a neuro-radiologist at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.,” she said. “I kept my maiden name when I married—my sisters did as well. My parents raised us to be feminists!”
She graduated in 1994 from Ouachita Baptist University with a bachelor’s degree in history. In 1999 she graduated from UALR William H. Bowen School of Law with a Juris Doctorate.
Since graduating from college in 1994, she worked in some aspect of politics, law, or government.
“When I got out of college with my history degree and no teaching hours, I found that there weren’t a lot of employers looking for history buffs! I started volunteering on Jim Guy Tucker’s campaign for Governor and caught the political bug. I worked for him until 1996 when I went to law school,” she said.
It was during those years working for Governor Tucker that she got to know Mike Beebe and Morril Harriman. “Both were state senators at the time and both are now my bosses – Morril is the chief of staff at the Governor’s office.”
She is currently the finance director for the Mike Beebe for Governor campaign, where she is directing the fundraising operation for his re-election, on leave of absence from the Governor’s office, where she worked for the past three years as Director of Appointments to Boards and Commissions. She has worked for Mike Beebe since 2002 when he ran for Attorney General and she was a consultant on his campaign. From there she went with him to the Attorney General’s office, then to his campaign for Governor and to the Governor’s Office.
“I love getting to know and work with people all across the state,” she said. “Because of my years working with Governor Beebe, there isn’t a county in Arkansas where I don’t know someone I could call for help if I had a flat on the side of the road! Arkansas is full of so many wonderful people.”
Lucky for Strother, her husband, Greg Hale, understands her busy days. He is a political consultant with the Markham Group in Little Rock and runs a cattle farm in Sevier County, where he was raised. He has worked on four presidential campaigns and multiple campaigns in foreign countries, but he enjoys most the time spent on the back of his horse in DeQueen.
Strother has a son, Eli, almost eight-years-old, who attends second grade at Forest Park Elementary.
“My days are busy,” she says. “I work, I hang out with my husband and son, I exercise, I’m involved with my church…and when I run out of something to do, I start a new project around the house. I’m fortunate to begin and end each day with the ones I love the most in the world – my family!”
It is no surprise that Strother is involved with her son’s school and is also serving on the board of Reach Out and Read, a non-profit that focuses on childhood literacy.
“The unique thing about ROR is that books are distributed to children, from ages six months to five years, at their pediatric check-ups. Parents trust pediatricians, and the gift of a book by their pediatrician allows them an opportunity to talk about the importance of reading with their child!”
“Early exposure to reading for children is critical. Reading provides such a wonderful opportunity to spend time with your child. Every night I put Eli to bed we read together. I have books memorized because we read them over and over again so many times. Now we read chapter books together. Eli is such a great reader now… but still he loves for me to read to him. He and I both love the time we spend together engrossed in books,” she said.
A great way for people to get involved is through hosting Book Bashes in their homes, according to Strother. At Book Bashes people are asked to bring board books and donations to buy books.
“A donation of $40 can provide a full set of books for a child from birth through age five at all of their well-child check ups! It’s a fun and easy way to help the organization,” she said.
Fashion File
When and how did you become interested in fashion? I have always loved clothes and fashion! I can remember as far back as the third grade being upset because my mom wouldn’t buy me a crayon belt – these were belts in all colors that had a buckle that looked like a crayon. They were the fad among my friends! I think they cost around $5 at the time and my mother told me we couldn’t afford it. Not understanding budgeting, I thought we literally didn’t have $5.
When I was in the sixth grade, my parents implemented a ‘clothing budget’ for my sisters and me. It started in August of each year and went for a full year. We were each given a certain amount of money to spend on our wardrobe. Everything we bought – from shoes and socks to coats and dresses – had to come out of that amount and was recorded in a ledger book. If we ran out of money in the first six months we were just out of luck for any more new clothes that year. But if we had money left over at the end of the following July, my parents would write us a check. There wasn’t one year that I had money left over! But it taught me to plan carefully and buy the things that I loved.
Where’s your favorite place in Little Rock to shop for clothes and accessories? I shop everywhere. Little Rock has some wonderful boutiques for clothes, shoes, and accessories, but I also love Dillard’s, Banana Republic and other chain stores.
What’s your favorite thing to wear? I dress up every day for work, and I really like being dressed up and feeling really pulled together. But I also love wearing jeans, boots, and a great top or jacket. I’m a huge fan of boots!
How would you describe your style? Eclectic. I like a lot of different styles and looks.
What are some of your rules to dress by? Two rules: 1.“Just because it’s stylish doesn’t mean you should wear it if it doesn’t look good on you.” This was my mother’s constant advice to us growing up as we dared to wear something we deemed ‘stylish’ that probably didn’t suit us.
2. “If you wore it the first time it was in fashion, chances are you’re too old to wear it the next time it becomes fashionable.”
I have a story about that second one. One time when my son was four, we were at Target and I picked up a t-shirt that I thought was fun and stylish. Because Eli was shopping with me I asked him if he thought I should buy it. He flatly said, ‘no.’ He was only four, so I was curious why he had such a strong opinion. I pressed him a little as to why he said ‘no.’ He hesitated on his answer and then finally after some pushing, said, ‘Mom, I think that t-shirt is probably for a teenager.’ I laughed, of course, after realizing he was probably right and I was probably too old to try to wear that shirt! ‘Out of the mouths of babes,’ they say.
Do you have a memorable outfit from your childhood, your teenage years? Honestly, I can remember outfits and accessories from all ages. But I think if I had to pick a couple of true favorites from my teenage years (20+ years ago) I would pinpoint a pink madras plaid dress that had a matching bow (that really dates it doesn’t it) and the other was a red and white striped mini skirt and halter top. Both were outfits that my mother made for me. I have to admit they both sound ridiculous now, but I loved them at the time!
What’s one thing every woman should have in her wardrobe? Every woman needs a pair of jeans they feel really good wearing.
Heels or flats? Definitely heels. I’ve worn flats to the office before and jokingly been asked if I wasn’t
feeling well.
What is the one fashion trend you hope to never see again? Large shoulder pads.
Complete this sentence. “I will never wear… White shoes before Easter or after Labor Day. I’ve read articles about how it’s now completely acceptable to wear white during these times, but I just can’t do it. I think it’s the southern girl in me.
If you had to wear one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Jeans, boots, and a great top.
What products can’t you live without? My Chi – I use it to both to straighten and curl my hair and think it’s essential! But also I have to have lipstick in multiple shades. Once I was cleaning out my desk, and in my middle desk drawer I found 17 tubes of lipstick and lip gloss!
What’s in your bag? Multiple shades of lipstick, gum, my Blackberry, sunglasses, and a credit card or two.