Born in El Dorado and raised on the Rankin family farm in Magnolia, Arkansas, Beth Anne Rankin is a seventh-generation Arkansan who has lived in Arkansas for over forty years. She is an entrepreneur, small business owner, speaker, teacher, composer, performer, and former Policy Advisor for Governor Mike Huckabee to Capitol Hill, the White House, and the National Governors Association. An Honor Graduate of Magnolia High School, she attended Southern Arkansas University and Ouachita Baptist University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1994 with a double major in music and history and was selected the Outstanding Senior Woman as chosen by both faculty and students.
Following her year of service as Miss Arkansas 1994 when she was honored by the Arkansas House and Senate for conducting 158 school leadership programs across the state, Beth Anne was chosen to be a featured pianist as an ambassador for Arkansas with America’s Piano Showman, Dino Kartsonakis, in Branson, Missouri for one season.
In 1996 she joined the Arkansas Governor’s Office and worked with Governor Mike Huckabee for seven years, where she served in various capacities, including Policy Advisor & Director for State-Federal Affairs. Beth Anne worked as the policy advisor to Capitol Hill, the White House, the National Governors Association, Southern Governors Association, Council of State Governments and Southern Growth Policies Board. She coordinated the Governor’s Summit on Economic Development and chaired the state-wide initiative for the historical design of the Arkansas State Quarter, which led the nation in citizen participation.
In 2004, small business owner Beth Anne Rankin returned to her entrepreneurial roots by launching a full-time commitment to her teaching, speaking and music company, Beth Anne Productions, Inc., and she also serves as Vice-President of Rankin Land & Timber Inc., a family-owned timber company. She joined forces with 30-year Bible teacher Mary Camp to co-host “Scarlet Thread Conversations,” a Christian radio talk-show, and shared her message at events where she spoke and taught at women’s conferences.
Beth Anne has appeared on national television as a featured guest on Fox Business Channel’s “Dave Asman Show” as well as “Huckabee.” In her first campaign in 2010, she won the Republican Primary for United States Congress by carrying twenty-seven of the twenty-nine counties in the 4th District of Arkansas and was later officially endorsed by Arkansas Right to Life. She has served on the boards and/or committees of Arkansas Teen Challenge, the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association. She is also a member of the international women’s education organization P.E.O., Magnolia Economic Development Corporation, Golden Triangle Economic Development Corporation, National Federation of Independent Business, the Family Readiness Group with her brothers’ unit of the Arkansas National Guard, a Life Member of the National Rifle Association and an active, three-time volunteer donor with Locks of Love.