Local Experience
Town Meeting Member and
Blogger
Town Meeting Coordinating Committee
Shelter Sunday - Board of Directors
Amherst Survival Center - Board Chair
Select Board Recapper
Since December of 2006, I have been attending Select
Board meetings, and writing detailed recaps of those meetings on inAmherst.com. I started doing this because the meetings are
long, and too few among us can spare the multiple hours necessary to watch the
ACTV broadcasts, and the newspapers don’t have the space to include lots of
details on every discussion. Because I
believe that our community is best served by more people knowing and caring
about what Town government is doing on our behalf, and how it is doing it, I
committed myself to making those meetings more accessible to a wider audience.
In doing so, I have learned an extraordinary amount about
the work of the Select Board, and I have learned it more comprehensively than
had I just been observing the meetings.
In order to write accurately about the discussions, I need to have a
clear understanding of what the participants are talking about, and those
participants include not only the Select Board members, but also the Town
Manager, the Finance Director, the Assessor, boards and committees, members of
the public, and many others. This has
been an incredibly valuable learning experience, one that would enable me to
serve as a new Select Board member with a veteran’s knowledge of the issues and
processes.
Town Meeting Member and Blogger
When I considered running for Town Meeting in spring of
2006, I was troubled by the inscrutability of that body, and how most people
have little choice but to elect members about whom they know nothing. I decided to start a blog that would
chronicle my Town Meeting experience, and would explain how I was voting on
issues and why. I went door-to-door in
my precinct, introducing myself and explaining that concept. The response was very positive, and people
appreciated my efforts to be accountable rather than anonymous. In a crowded race, I won my seat.
The blogging prepared me well for writing the Select
Board meeting recaps, though the style and content of the two are very
different. In addition to making me
accountable to voters, it provided a forum for other Town Meeting members, Town
officials and members of the public to comment on issues and learn from each
other.
A further level of accountability and access was provided
when my husband created a database of all Town Meeting tally votes, allowing
anyone to see, sort and compare the voting records of members past and
present.
The Select
Board recaps and the Town Meeting blog
demonstrate my intricate knowledge of the issues and functioning of these two
important bodies of our Town government.
Together with the Tally
Vote Database, all show my commitment to the belief that good
government requires accountability, transparency and access, and they highlight
my initiative in the advancement of that belief.
Town Meeting Coordinating Committee
During the spring 2006 session, I was elected by Town
Meeting to serve on the Town Meeting Coordinating Committee. On this committee, I have prioritized making
more Town Meeting information available not only to Town Meeting members, but
also to the general public, to help all be better informed about the issues
being voted on at Town Meeting. Reports
and recommendations to Town Meeting are now posted in advance of their votes on
the Town web site. In addition to
encouraging better information and engagement, this creates a more complete and
accessible historical record of Town Meeting’s work, and I am proud to have
helped make that happen.
During my tenure, this committee has been comprised of
Town Meeting members with strong divergent opinions, and I believe that my
primary contribution has been to help the group find common ground to work
effectively together.
Council on Aging
I was appointed to the Council on Aging in the summer of
2007. I have been delivering Meals on
Wheels almost every weekday since October of 2003, and that has made me keenly
aware of and concerned about the factors facing seniors as they seek to
maintain independent living with dignity.
Issues of health and health care, transportation, finances, nutrition,
family, loneliness, managing life’s complicated logistics and so much more,
become particularly challenging as we age, and finding ways to help navigate
and mitigate those challenges is very important to me.
Though I have only been on the Council a short time, I
have helped the group to consider new ways to think about its mission and frame
its messages. I organized and
facilitated this year’s annual “retreat” — a three-hour meeting where I
conducted structured brainstorming on the
Meals on Wheels
As mentioned above, I have been delivering meals for more
than four years. Mine is the “walking
route,” and with my trusty shopping cart, I deliver meals four days a week to
residents of Clark House and Ann Whalen Apartments. While I know that my doing so addresses many
needs of those on my route, it would seem impossible that the benefit to them
could be greater than the pure joy and extraordinary lessons that the
experience gives to me.
I include this service here because it is evidence of my
commitment and dependability.
Shelter Sunday - Board of Directors
I have been a member of the Board of Directors for the
Amherst Friends for the Homeless – the group that puts on the annual Shelter
Sunday fundraising event – since early 2004.
Shelter Sunday raises more than $25,000 a year for local human service
agencies serving the homeless and others in need in our community. The event is a giant logistical puzzle,
featuring more than 300 volunteers going door-to-door for donations. I am fortunate to work with Board members who
make every aspect of the event run smoothly.
My primary role is publicity and promotion, but helping to identify and
encourage new ways of doing things may be my greater contribution.
Amherst
Survival Center - Board Chair
I went to the
I served my final two years on the Board as Chair, and
brought new efficiency and productivity to meetings, with detailed agendas and
effective meeting management. I was part
of a larger effort to create increased standards and expectations for service
delivery, record keeping and professionalism while staying true to the
My service to the
For details of my life and work click here.