The Presidential campaign is heating up. With less than two weeks to go until election day, both candidates are hitting Iowa hard, especially the Quad Cities. President Obama was at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds last week. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney will be in Davenport Monday speaking to crowds at Seven Cities Sod.
"We were ecstatic. It's been really a whirlwind," said Keaton Frye, Owner of Seven Cities Sod.
Frye said if you would have told him two months ago Mitt Romney would be campaigning in the backyard of his family business, he wouldn't have believed it. However, he says a simple email soon changed his train of thought.
"I was watching on TV one of the Mitt Romney campaigns in a small town in Iowa, and I got to thinking how do they select the businesses to go to? I jumped on Mitt Romney's website and saw a link that said 'invite Mitt to come to your business.' I clicked on it sent an email."
In that email Frye told his family's story. It's a tale of hard work, strong values, and building business from the ground up.
"I am a 6th generation farmer on this land itself, I am the third generation farmer of the sod farm itself, and it's been passed down from generation to generation in our family. They were the ones that started it, grew it and have kept it successful ever since the 1800's. We rely heavily on the foundation that the we built it and the government didn't."
It's a belief Frye and Mitt Romney have in common. Frye says small business is a topic that hits close to home and it's one that's been a popular talking point on both sides. He says while his family sod business has endured the ups and downs, more recently sales have been down.
"This July was real tough with the drought, 105 degrees for a month straight and no rain for a month and a half."
However, he says things are starting to rebound and he hopes that Romney will deliver even more encouraging news in his speech Monday.
"I think one of our biggest things is the corporate tax rate, he wants to keep it low and maybe even lower it. That is a big deal to us. We would be able to put that money back into the business and maybe update old tractors and stuff like that. We could get those babies updated so they are running well, running efficiently so we are not wasting money in other areas, that is what we are really looking forward to hearing."
