This week, our nation observed Labor Day, paying respect to the millions of hardworking Americans who keep this great country’s economy running every single day.

Whether it be the men and women working the docks at the Port of Mobile, the peanut farmers in the Wiregrass region that I am proud to call home, the engineers in our Rocket City, or schoolteachers getting the new year started, Alabamians are certainly playing a front-and-center role in supporting the American economy.

As we celebrate these great Americans nationwide, we should also celebrate the fact that Alabama is working like never before.

Judging by every possible metric, from wage growth to job creation to the $70 billion in economic development investments secured over the last eight years, Alabama’s economy has become a major player not only in the Southeast, but nationwide.

You see it not just in the number of leading firms planting roots here, but in the quality of businesses choosing to come here.

From Hadrian’s facility supporting Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine production in Colbert County to Eli Lilly’s $6 billion pharmaceutical plant in Huntsville to the hundreds of others spread across our state – these are quality, high-paying jobs that are going to be here for generations to come.

Getting to this point has been a team effort from the top down.

Federal, state, and local partners have all played a significant role, and I wholeheartedly believe a great deal of this success can be tied back to the collective efforts of House Republicans serving in the Alabama Legislature.

Over the last four years, these men and women have delivered for the communities they proudly represent in a big way.

You see it in the dozens of road and bridge projects happening in your area, which have been a major catalyst for economic development and job creation.

You see it in the historic support your local school systems have received, which also includes your teachers receiving pay raises seven of the last eight years, culminating in Alabama having the highest starting salary for educators in the Southeast.

And you see it in the $1.5 billion in taxes that have been cut over the last four years – which also includes a cap that was placed on how much the county can increase your property taxes every year.

We have accomplished a great deal over the last four years, but to me, we cannot afford to just measure success by the number of ribbon cuttings in our communities and the dollar figures attached to them.

We should also measure it by asking ourselves if students graduating from high school can find a good-paying job without having to leave the communities that raised them.

Or if young families can afford to buy a home, raise a family, and live a good life here in Alabama.

These are the questions that families are discussing at the dinner table every night, and they should be at the center of every policy discussion in Montgomery.

What I can tell you for certain is that Alabama’s House Republicans have prioritized these concerns on a daily basis while serving you, the taxpayers, in the State Legislature.

Democrats ran this state for over 136 years until Republicans flipped the Legislature in 2010.

During those 136 years of Democratic control, Alabama had the worst schools in the nation, the worst roads in the nation, and one of the weaker economies in the Southeast.

Under Republican control, Alabama now stands as the most improved state for public education in America, boasts a top five road quality ranking, and stands as the eighth best state for doing business in the United States.

With Labor Day behind us, our state now has less than 60 days until Alabamians head to the polls and elect its new leaders in the general election.

When you boil it down, a general election is about choosing what direction you want your state to go.

The combined record of the House Republican Caucus, and Republicans statewide, has delivered win after win for Alabama, and we cannot afford to stop now.

We have a great deal of work ahead of us, and the Republicans in the State House of Representatives have proven they are the best leaders to get the job done.

The Alabama of tomorrow will be shaped by the decisions we make this November.

Let’s keep Alabama moving forward.

State Rep. Paul Lee (R-Dothan) is the Majority Leader of the Alabama House of Representatives, where he has represented District 86 since 2010 and chairs the House Health Committee.