“The key to retirement is to find joy in little things.” — unknown wise person
Life is filled with difficult decisions. Deciding if I should seek re-election was not a decision I took lightly. My husband and I talked about it for several months, but he made it clear, the decision was mine to make and he would support my decision, whatever it was.
Leaving something one enjoys makes the decision so much more difficult. There is no question, I could never find a nicer group of people anywhere. The city staff is such a joy to work with, the Common Council is a great team, and the citizens of this community and our surrounding townships are second to none! To say I have enjoyed serving as your mayor would be putting it lightly.
However, I am not getting any younger and it is time for me to spend some quality time with my family and friends. My house is crying for some attention and so are my Raggedys. They need their pinafores washed and ribbons in their hair. I also want to finish the book I am writing. Volunteerism is also part of my retirement plan.
For the next several months I will be writing about some of the wonderful (and a very few less than wonderful) experiences I have had during these 14 years serving as your mayor. I will talk about some of the changes that have taken place in our community during my tenure and share what I think have been significant accomplishments. I will also include some excerpts from the book I am writing.
For the past month or so, several individuals have questioned if I was planning to run for office again. They indicated if I was not intending to run again, they would consider it. There may be several folks who are interested in throwing their hat in the ring! Whoever is elected will learn what an absolutely wonderful experience it is.
The position of mayor for the city of Shawano is part time. However, I chose to make myself available to the public and staff as much as I could. One of the first things I did after being elected was move the office of the mayor to the front of City Hall. I wanted to be visible and available. I set daily hours for myself; generally I was in my office most of the day, everyday.
Your next mayor may choose to work half-days or a few full days a week. The mayor can select his/her own hours, but you, the general public, can let your elected officials know what you expect from them. There are often weekend events to attend, and both morning and evening meetings. Candidates should be forthcoming about the time commitment they are willing and able to make.
The city administrator is at City Hall three days a week and at Shawano Municipal Utilities two days a week. He is kept extremely busy, and I try to be readily available to the public and staff to give him time to tackle his heavy workload.
I am just giving you a look at what I felt was important. You, the voting public, will need to determine what your expectations are and elect the candidate that fits the bill. I am sure whoever is selected will do a wonderful job and will continue to move the city forward.
I will also miss writing this column (but will continue until my term ends in April). I enjoy telling you what is happening in the city. The tremendous response I have received makes it worthwhile and has motivated me to continue writing the weekly column.
I am grateful to The Shawano Leader for allowing me to write my column unedited. They have been great to work with.
Until April, it is business as usual for me. Talk with you next week.
The answer to last week’s question — Who was the pastor of First United Presbyterian Church in 1970? — is the Rev. John M. Dzuro.
This week’s question is : What was the name of the small family grocery store/meat market located at 312 W. Picnic St. in 1989?
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