An accomplished writer, Ron Hanks was the editor of the school newspaper at Little Rock Central High School, as well as at Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas, and was an intern writer for
Mara Leveritt at the "Arkansas Times" newspaper in Little Rock. Ron is a vocal advocate of the Freedom of Information Act as well as a defender of the rights of free speech. His efforts and personal testimony in the Arkansas State Legislature directly spurred new legislation protecting the First Amendment rights of high school students, making Arkansas only the sixth state in the country (at the time) to do so.