While I decided not to run for school board here in Beloit this year, a couple excellent candidates asked for my support, and I was all too happy to give it to them: Amy Oselio and Missy Henderson. Both are wonderful women and dedicated parents who truly have the interests of Beloit’s kids at heart.
Amy lives two doors down from me and has two sons near in age to my son Marty, and the boys often play together. She and her husband Rick are great people, and we’re thrilled to have them as neighbors. Amy’s been involved with the school system since she moved here. She started out on the Todd Elementary PTO and the Superintendent’s Roundtable (which is where I first met her) and then joined the Ad Hoc Committee on the Gifted and Talented.
Last August, one of our school board members resigned, and Amy was appointed to fill out the rest of her term. That makes her an incumbent, even though this is her first campaign. She’s done a fantastic job in office, charging up a steep learning curve and becoming a strong and vital contributor to the board. She asked me to be her campaign’s treasurer, and I was proud to accept that responsibility.
Missy is one of the all-time greats. I’ve known her since I was two years old, when she and my mom used to swap babysitting with each other after we first moved to Beloit. She’s worked as a school social worker (just like my wife, Ann) for many years and knows the school system inside and out. She and her husband Bill (who’s our municipal judge here in Beloit) are also both Michigan alumni, which makes me doubly proud to know them.
Missy lives just down the street from me too. She retired just last year, and she spends a great deal of her time with her daughter Brooke’s children, who are some of my kids’ favorite friends. That increased last year when her son-in-law, Brooke’s husband Greg Joos, passed away, but she still found time to be on the Ad Hoc Committee on the Gifted and Talented with Amy.
I designed websites for both Amy and Missy and set up their online donations systems through PayPal. I’ve learned a lot more about how to run a campaign this year, which only increases my respect for all of my family members who have been at such things for so long. It’s no easy feat, but it’s such a vital element of our democracy that it’s important to get it right.
So, if you happen to live in the School District of Beloit, I encourage you to get out and vote on April 7. We have five people running for three slots this year, so you can vote for up to three candidates. Please put Amy and Missy right where they belong: on the top of your list and on our school board together.
Thanks!
