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{{Infobox officeholder  

{{Infobox officeholder  

| name=Mathew W. Pitsch

| name=Mathew Wade Pitsch

| image=Mathew Pitsch of AR.png

| image=Mathew Pitsch of AR.png

| birth_place=Buffalo, Johnson County<br>[[Wyoming]], USA

| birth_place=Buffalo, Johnson County<br>[[Wyoming]], USA

'''Mathew W. Pitsch''', also known as '''Mat Pitsch''' (born August 19, 1963),<ref name=mylife>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/matthew-pitsch/e670896942420|title=Mathew Pitsch|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=October 20, 2020}}</ref> is a [[business]]man in [[Fort Smith, Arkansas|Fort Smith]], [[Arkansas]], who has been since 2019 a [[Republican Party|Republican]] state senator for District 8 in Sebastian County in the western part of his state. Formerly, he was the state representative for District 76 in a portion of Sebastian County.<ref name=mwp>{{cite web|url=http://www.arkansashouse.org/member/378/Mathew%20W.-Pitsch|title=Mathew W. Pitsch|publisher=arkansashouse.org|accessdate=April 9, 2015}}</ref>

'''Mathew Wade Pitsch''', also known as '''Mat Pitsch''' (born August 19, 1963),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/matthew-pitsch/e670896942420|title=Mathew Pitsch|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=October 20, 2020}}</ref> is a [[business]]man in [[Fort Smith, Arkansas|Fort Smith]], [[Arkansas]], who has been since 2019 a [[Republican Party|Republican]] state senator for District 8 in Sebastian County in the western part of his state. Formerly, he was the state representative for District 76 in a portion of Sebastian County.<ref name=mwp>{{cite web|url=http://www.arkansashouse.org/member/378/Mathew%20W.-Pitsch|title=Mathew W. Pitsch|publisher=arkansashouse.org|accessdate=April 9, 2015}}</ref>

==Background==

==Background==

Pitsch was born in Buffalo in Johnson County in northern [[Wyoming]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ballotpedia.org/Mathew_Pitsch|title=Mathew Pitsch|publisher=ballotpedia.org|accessdate=October 20, 2020}}</ref> to Leland Alexander and Della Ann Skiles Pitsch (both born c. 1941).<ref name=obit/> He is listed in the Sheridan County Historical Index as a former resident of Sheridan, Wyoming, dates not specified.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wysherid/heritage/p.htm|title=Sheridan County Heritage Index|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=April 9, 2015}}</ref>  

Pitsch was born in Buffalo in Johnson County in northern [[Wyoming]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ballotpedia.org/Mathew_Pitsch|title=Mathew Pitsch|publisher=ballotpedia.org|accessdate=October 20, 2020}}</ref> to Leland Alexander and Della Ann Skiles Pitsch (both born c. 1941).<ref name=obit/> He is listed in the Sheridan County Historical Index as a former resident of Sheridan, Wyoming, dates not specified.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wysherid/heritage/p.htm|title=Sheridan County Heritage Index|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=April 9, 2015}}</ref>  

He was reared in several communities in [[Nebraska]] and [[Kansas]], where his father was a teacher and a coach of various sports. In 1983, he received an Associate of Arts in [[Engineering]] from Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas, at which in 1982 he was the captain of the Hutchinson Blue Dragons [[football]] team.<ref name=ciclt>{{cite web|url=http://www.ciclt.net/sn/pol/po_detail.aspx?P_ID=&ClientCode=nclm&MemID=27018|title=Mathew W. Pitsch|publisher=ciclt.net|accessdate=April 10, 2015}}</ref>  

He was reared in several communities in [[Nebraska]] and [[Kansas]], where his father was a teacher and a coach of various sports. In 1983, he received an Associate of Arts in [[Engineering]] from Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas, at which in 1982 he was the captain of the Hutchinson Blue Dragons [[football]] team.<ref name=ciclt>{{cite web|url=http://www.ciclt.net/sn/pol/po_detail.aspx?P_ID=&ClientCode=nclm&MemID=27018|title=Mathew W. Pitsch|publisher=ciclt.net|accessdate=April 10, 2015}}</ref>  

Pitsch is chairman of the Bethel [[Lutheran]] Church–Missouri Synod, a [[Christian]] denomination in Fort Smith.<ref name=mwp/><ref name=ciclt/> His paternal grandmother, Eunice "LeOra" Mathew Pitsch (1915–2006) of Sheridan, the wife of his grandfather, Alexander Pitsch, became in 1969 the founding president of the Wyoming District of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. An active member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sheridan, she conducted devotional services at the Sheridan Manor nursing facility for more than fourteen years prior to her death.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/obituaries/eunice-leora-pitsch/article_0c736b6e-118f-59f7-8dde-8727cffabaa6.html|title=Eunice "LeOra" Pitsch obituary|publisher=''The Casper Star-Tribune''|date=September 6, 2006|accessdate=April 9, 2015}}</ref>

Pitsch is chairman of the Bethel [[Lutheran]] Church–Missouri Synod, a [[Christian]] denomination in Fort Smith.<ref name=mwp/><ref name=ciclt/> His paternal grandmother, Eunice "LeOra" Mathew Pitsch (1915–2006) of Sheridan, the wife of his grandfather, Alexander Pitsch, became in 1969 the founding president of the Wyoming District of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. An active member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sheridan, she conducted devotional services at the Sheridan Manor nursing facility for more than fourteen years prior to her death.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/obituaries/eunice-leora-pitsch/article_0c736b6e-118f-59f7-8dde-8727cffabaa6.html|title=Eunice "LeOra" Pitsch obituary|publisher=''The Casper Star-Tribune''|date=September 6, 2006|accessdate=April 9, 2015}}</ref>

==Career==

==Career==

In 1987, Pitsch began nearly fifteen years of employment with the Whirlpool Corporation. He lived in many locations across the country. He settled in Fort Smith as the chief executive officer and president of McCourt Manufacturing Company.<ref name=ciclt/> He has lived in more than a dozen cities, including Sherwood and Paragould, Arkansas; [[Baltimore]],  [[Maryland]]; Marietta and

In 1987, Pitsch began nearly fifteen years of employment with the Whirlpool Corporation. He lived in many locations across the country. He settled in Fort Smith as the chief executive officer and president of McCourt Manufacturing Company.<ref name=ciclt/> He has lived in more than a dozen cities, including Sherwood and Paragould, Arkansas; [[Baltimore]],  [[Maryland]]; Marietta and

Kennesaw, and Jasper, [[Georgia]]; Beloit and Sylvan Grove,  Kansas; and St. Charles, Missouri.<ref name=inteli/>

Kennesaw, and Jasper, [[Georgia]]; Beloit and Sylvan Grove,  Kansas; and St. Charles, Missouri.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.intelius.com/people-search/Mathew-Pitsch/|title=Mathew Pitsch|publisher=Intelius.com|accessdate=October 20, 2020}}</ref>

After he sold his interest in the McCourt Company, Pitsch in 2001 joined the faculty and became the dean of the College of Applied Science and Technology at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, formerly Westark Community College. In 2007, he became an economic development specialist for the Greater Fort Smith Regional [[Chamber of Commerce]]. In 2009, he  was invited to direct the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority (RITA) of Western Arkansas, which encompasses Fort Smith and Van Buren in Crawford County.<ref name=mpitsch>{{cite web|url=http://ballotpedia.org/Mathew_Pitsch|title=Mathew Pitsch|publisher=ballotpedia.org|accessdate=October 20, 2020}}</ref> Pitsch is also an adjunct professor at the private John Brown University in Siloam Springs in Benton County, Arkansas.<ref name=ciclt/> Pitsch is a member of the boards of the [[United Way]], the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and the Arkansas/Oklahoma State Fair and Rodeo, held each September at Kay Rodgers Park in Fort Smith.<ref name=mwp/>

After he sold his interest in the McCourt Company, Pitsch in 2001 joined the faculty and became the dean of the College of Applied Science and Technology at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, formerly Westark Community College. In 2007, he became an economic development specialist for the Greater Fort Smith Regional [[Chamber of Commerce]]. In 2009, he  was invited to direct the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority (RITA) of Western Arkansas, which encompasses Fort Smith and Van Buren in Crawford County.<ref name=mpitsch>{{cite web|url=http://ballotpedia.org/Mathew_Pitsch|title=Mathew Pitsch|publisher=ballotpedia.org|accessdate=October 20, 2020}}</ref> Pitsch is also an adjunct professor at the private John Brown University in Siloam Springs in Benton County, Arkansas.<ref name=ciclt/> Pitsch is a member of the boards of the [[United Way]], the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and the Arkansas/Oklahoma State Fair and Rodeo, held each September at Kay Rodgers Park in Fort Smith.<ref name=mwp/>