BIOGRAPHY
The values of sacrifice and service were instilled early in Representative Dean Arp by his family — especially by his grandfather, who served his country in World War II. With award-wining academic and military training himself, Representative Arp is serving in his third term in the North Carolina General Assembly and represents Union County. Representative Arp earned a Civil Engineering degree from The Citadel, the storied Military College of South Carolina. He was elected by his peers to serve on the Honor Court. Due to an accident, however, his dream of a life of military service would not become reality, but the military training he received was invaluable. As an award-winning Company Commander at The Citadel, Representative Arp lead his company of over 110 men to receive the President’s Cup and claim the title of Honor Company. The President’s Cup is presented annually to the cadet company with the highest combined score in academic achievement, military performance, extracurricular participation, fourth-class retention, and the fewest disciplinary cases. At The Citadel, he was a member of the The Summerall Guards – The Citadel’s elite, silent drill platoon. He was also named to the Commandant List and achieved Gold Stars in Civil Engineering – one of the college’s top academic honors. Upon graduation, Representative Arp received the George W. Walker White Award for outstanding achievement in Civil Engineering. Representative Arp is a small business owner and president of Arp Engineering in Monroe, where he is a licensed professional engineer and structural engineer licensed in forty different states. He received his Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he also serves on the Advisory Board for the William States Lee College of Engineering. In 2014, Representative Arp was presented with the 2013 Legislator of the Year Award by the Professional Engineers of North Carolina. Under his leadership on the Board of Education for over twelve years, Union County Public Schools is the most successful large school district in North Carolina — ranking #1 in Adequate Yearly Progress among the fifteen largest school districts and ranking fifth in the highest graduation rate among all 115 school districts, while having the third lowest cost per graduating student. Representative Arp has also volunteered for the H.E.L.P. Crisis Pregnancy Center, Habitat for Humanity, and Operation Reach Out, an organization in Monroe to help those less fortunate. Representative Arp also volunteers extensively at his church where he has been both a teacher and a deacon. He also helped build a school in Africa. Representative Arp serves on six committees this session: Appropriations (Chair); Energy and Public Utilities (Vice Chair); Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs; Insurance; Judiciary I; and Transportation. Based on his strong conservative principles and effectiveness representing the people of Union County, Representative Arp ran unopposed for re-election in 2014 and won a decisive re-election victory in 2016, garnering over 66% of the vote. Representative Arp has been married for the last 25 years. He and his wife Anne have two children.