State Representative Rick Saccone, Republican Candidate for US State Senator in 2018 will be hosted for a Meet & Greet by Venango County Tea Party Patriots on Saturday, July 23, at 9:00 am at Kings Restaurant in Franklin. The public is invited to attend.
Dr. Rick Saccone was first elected to serve the people of Washington and Allegheny counties in November 2010. He has since been re-elected three times.
During the 2017-18 legislative session, Rick serves on the following House committees: Judiciary, State Government, Children and Youth, and Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness.
He served our country for more than a decade as a United States Air Force Counterintelligence and Special Agent conducting felony, criminal, fraud and counterintelligence investigations and operations worldwide.
After retiring from the USAF, Dr. Saccone remained in South Korea to work as a TV news anchor and later moved on to work in international business for several corporations operating in South Korea and Central America. He later became a representative for an international organization implementing the Agreed Framework with North Korea. As the only American citizen living in North Korea during this time, Rick gained invaluable diplomatic experience working and successfully negotiating with international officials to build nuclear power plants.
Returning to the U.S to complete his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, Rick became a full-time professor at Saint Vincent College teaching Political Science, Government, International Business and other international courses.
When America went to war with Iraq, Rick volunteered for an assignment to the U.S. Army as a civilian. He served in Baghdad and in the hotspot of Mosul as a Senior Counterintelligence Agent responsible for identifying, capturing and interrogating insurgents.
After returning to the United States and Saint Vincent College, Dr. Saccone embarked on a Fulbright-Hayes summer scholarship to Egypt studying Islam, history and politics, and, most recently, an education and research scholarship to Africa.
Rick has traveled to 75 countries; contributed numerous articles on international politics, business and culture to top national and international newspapers such as USA Today, the Baltimore Sun and the Korea Times; and authored seven books on North and South Korea and one on Iraq. His ninth book was released in 2013 and chronicles the faith convictions of our nation’s founders and how they understood the relationship of God and government.
Just as active in his local community, Dr. Saccone has served on the Elizabeth EMS Ambulance Board, the Elizabeth Forward School Board and many years as a church youth leader. He is also a graduate and member of the American Association of Christian Counselors, as well as a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the American Legion, the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), and a life member of both the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Firearm Owners Against Crime (FOAC).
During his school board service, Dr. Saccone was successful in his efforts to cut school property taxes twice, eliminate a wasteful spending project that was strongly opposed by the public, and increase the overall level of government transparency and accountability.
Rick resides in Elizabeth Township with his wife, Yong. Married for 37 years, they are the proud parents of two adult sons, Nick and Matthew, who are both officers in the Air Force.