These are part of a series of Camp Verde Town Council candidate essays that will be published over the next weeks.
I am not a politician. My wife Pat and I moved to the Verde Valley and to Camp Verde after a career with AT&T. The climate is wonderful and the feel of a small town attracted us to our little spot of paradise.
Soon after settling here, I noticed a lack of recreational opportunities for families, so I volunteered to be on the Parks and Recreation Commission to help promote and advocate for more sports and recreational facilities. When the recession hit, the Town Council disbanded the commission, so I decided to run for Town Council, again seeking to help with recreation. Once on the Town Council, I was challenged to decide many issues that would come up before us and I honed my research skills and used common sense to make the decisions that would benefit the people who like to live here.
I took night classes while serving my country in the U.S. Air Force and then correspondence classes while I worked for AT&T. Later, I took online courses before obtaining my degree in liberal arts.
I am not a developer or a builder, and I am not running for council to further my personal interests. I have no special interest except for those which benefit the Town of Camp Verde, and when I look at an agenda item that the council must decide upon, I think about the entire town and not just my neighborhood or my backyard. My dedication to the town was evident in the many hours spent learning about the issues facing all of us.
Volunteerism is in the news a lot lately, and I know firsthand how hard it is to attract and keep volunteers. I am a local coordinator with the AARP tax aid service here in Camp Verde, and it is a struggle to have enough volunteers to get the job done. Jim Ash got me started doing this over a decade ago and I still enjoy the feeling of helping people. By the way, we helped more than 700 people with their taxes this year and that is quite an accomplishment.
I have volunteered at Fort Verde setting up tents for events and painting the buildings. Several years ago the Old Guys came to council asking permission to build the cook shack, and I said not unless I could help and be an Old Guy also. We built the cook shack and then later we were invited to Phoenix to receive the State Parks Volunteer Award of the year. We are still very active in doing projects that benefit the town. Look around and you will see something the Old Guys have done. Do you hate to see vandalism at old ruins and pioneer sites? Well I do too, so I became an Arizona State Parks site steward who goes out and checks periodically to try to stop this vandalism.
I am especially proud of my volunteer work with the Trash Tracker Program at Lake Powell. Since 1990, Pat and I have volunteered to pick up trash on Lake Powell and then in 2002 we were hired to supervise and take other volunteers out to clean the shores of the lake. This program received the Keep America Beautiful award in 2008. Our manager was invited to Washington to receive the award from the Secretary of Interior. Quite an honor.
Since the last election, I have stayed involved in the town by first being appointed to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals and then becoming a board member on the Planning and Zoning Commission. When we have an agenda item I research it, then ask questions of the staff and frequently drive to the location to check it out to make sure that what we are proposing will fit with our codes and our General Plan.
The future of Camp Verde looks bright and I can’t wait for State Route 260 to be completed. This will help the growth of our town and I know we have already laid the groundwork with infrastructure so when a business wants to build, then the sewer and utilities will be there ready for them. The library was a long-awaited achievement and our residents love it with all the programs that are there for them. With the completion of the new Sports Complex, families will look favorably to raising their families here. I look forward to the future of Camp Verde.
