Archive for August, 2014

My Political Journey…so far!

Posted: August 20, 2014 in Uncategorized
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Sky2

Ten months ago I asked myself the questions: “Why did I decide not to run for Mayor? What about the School Board? Do you think you can do both?” I KNEW the right thing to do was to step down as a candidate for Mayor and do what I had planned to do initially. I would run for town council and run again for the school board. Could ‘I’ do this? Absolutely! So where do I sit this many months later.

 

1 | I Still Understand the commitment
Before I agreed to put my name on the ballot, I took the time to understand the commitment involved. I had gone through the learning curve for School board and I can assure you I have a significant knowledge of the work involved there and of the evolving state of education in Alberta. I am a super-engaged, present and prepared individual. It makes all the difference in the world in terms of my ability to work as a team to make good decisions, and move our region forward. I am keenly aware that there is a scope of work that happens outside the view of the council and board chambers that needs to be fully understood. I also knew that I was signing up for a four-year stint. Some people were concerned about my ability to serve on both school board and town council. The one’s who were concerned are those that don’t know me. I have very high energy and learn very quickly. I am a sponge for knowledge and have a governance understanding beyond many more seasoned politicians.
2 | I Read everything I can get my hands on
There are a myriad of documents, plans and meeting minutes. With regard to the school board I hit the ground running. I can say confidently that I am at least as well informed and prepared as any school trustee in the province on being up to speed on legislation, regulations, and policy while still taking the time to work on the softer visionary perspective necessary for our students. As far as the town council goes I have spent significant time on the Municipal Government Act , minutes, bylaws, the Municipal Development Plan, and other local documents and believe I have a solid understanding of the foundational documents necessary to do the job. I had the opportunity through my challenging a section of the land use bylaw a few years ago to learn a lot. I understand the basis for where we are going as a region, shaped by many voices, likely including your own.
3 | I Attend meetings
Prior to running for the school board I attended months of school board meetings. I was able to gain a lot of knowledge of what I could learn ‘outside of the minutes.’ I had of course done the same thing in preparation for my run at town council. I am significantly involved and believe I have the pulse of the community. I know the personalities and nuances of the existing council and management team.
4 |I have done Research
I have done my research. It is often said that the best perspective you are ever going to get is from those who have been in the roles the last three years, or in several cases, longer.I have taken the time to speak to many of our elected officials. Additionally I have spent time with community leaders, small business owners, and members of the greater community asking what they see as challenges and successes in our community.
5 | I Seek first to understand
This is one of my favourite mantras, one of the seven habits espoused by Stephen Covey: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. I did not run for either position propelled by a burning issue that I want to use as the fulcrum of my campaign strategy. I am keenly aware that for both the school board and town council that I am only one vote among 7, that there are 6 other sets of eyes looking at an issue. I know how to pull myself back from a potential emotionally-charged position on a certain topic, take an objective 360-degree view of the issue, listening to all sides, researching and reflecting on the strength and viability of my position. At the end of the day as an elected official I am charged with the responsibility of making a decision that is for the greater good of our community and region, based on all available facts and opinions.
6 | I am ready to engage
I believe that anyone who knows me is very aware of my belief in the necessity of community engagement. I take every opportunity to talk to people both formally and informally. I never back down from responding to a hard question. Sometimes that involves me doing some research. I am visibly present wherever and whenever I can be. I continue to connect with my community and they know I am always available to hear their questions and concerns and I ALWAYS get back to them. Proper engagement does not mean you just receive information. It means showing you heard them and then coming back with next steps.
7 |Who is Nancy?
I believe that I help people get to know me and what I stand for. This is done in many different ways: social media, website, blogs, news releases, special events, appearances, etc.
8 | I Keep it positive
OK, I know some people aren’t going to agree on this one, but I am resolute. I will choose the high road.
9 | I Embrace the fear! Was I a bit apprehensive at the prospect of actually fulfilling the responsibilities of these elected positions? No! Or at least so minimally that it isn’t worth being concerned. There is always the internal reaction to the prospect of putting myself in the public eye, of being held to a higher account, of having to keep my head when all about me are losing theirs and blaming it on me. Leadership is leaping into the abyss!

10 | Identify my compelling WHY!  There are life circumstances that put us in a position of seeking public office and community passions that have inspired us to take the next step in our leadership journey. Mine starts with the very basic concept that I believe in community service and have a passion for it. My service on the school board and town council strengthen my community, my family, and ultimately, you. But on a deeper level than that I believe I must do this because I have the capacity to make a difference. I am able to understand the complexity of the issues, I know how to work with a management team in a way that will move matters forward in a truly generative way, and most importantly I can deal with the high level process and still remain connected to my ‘people’. I am as passionate and concerned about economic development as I am about social policy. I believe it is imperative that I am able to do the governance work but at the end of the day talk to my constituents in a manner that reminds both my community and myself that I am but a representative of them. No more and no less!

The past four years have been extraordinary. I was elected to the school board in 2010 passionate and ready. The opportunity to serve, has been everything I thought it would be and much more. And now almost a year on Town Council has reenforced this. I’m grateful to my respected colleagues for their mentorship, support and dedication. I’m honoured by the citizens of this area who have allowed me to represent them on the Board of Wild Rose Public Schools and now the Drayton Valley Town Council. It has been a thrill to give voice to the students and families and I look forward to continuing to do so as a trustee for Wild Rose Public Schools and as a councillor for The Town of Drayton Valley. I have been so fortunate to share the positive attributes of my community with people from around the province, country and world. I have a passion to serve and I will look forward to continuing to make Drayton Valley and Brazeau County a great place to live, work and bring up your family.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. Mahatma Ghandi.

 

 

 

In The Eyes Of A Child……..How I need to see life.

Posted: August 8, 2014 in Uncategorized
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intheeyesofachildLife is not complex.  We are complex.  Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing

Oscar Wilde

When I was young life was easier-I think.   Or at least sometimes it seems that way.  But the truth is life still is easy.  It always will be.  The only difference is I’m older, and the older I get, the harder I make things for myself.

You see, when I was young I saw the world through simple, hopeful eyes.  I knew what I wanted and I had no biases or concealed agendas.  I liked people who smiled.  I avoided people who frowned.  I ate when I was hungry, drank when I was thirsty, and slept when I was tired.

As I’ve grown older my mind has become gradually disillusioned by negative external influences.  At some point I began to hesitate and question my instincts.  When a new obstacle or growing pain has arisen I have sometimes stumbled and fallen down.  This happened several times.  Eventually I decided I didn’t want to fall again, but rather than solving the problem that caused me to fall, I avoided it all together.

As a result, I eat comfort food and find ways to numb my wounds and fill my voids.  I’ve worked late nights on purpose to avoid unresolved conflicts at home.  I’ve sometimes held grudges. Over the course of time, I’ve made my life harder and harder, and I sometimes lose touch with who I really am and what I really need.

How can I get back to seeing life through childhood eyes?  Here goes:

  1. I am going to try to stop looking to someone else for the answers I can give myself. – For much of my life – especially at the beginning of my venture into adulthood– I got told what to do, how to think, what looks good, what “success” is, etc.  I don’t have to buy into any of it anymore.  I will feel free to peel back the layers.  Think for myself.  Listen to myself.  I will break the mold. I think that when I stop doing what everybody else wants me to do and start following my own intuition, I will find exactly what I am looking for.
  2. I will NOT let others make me feel guilty for living my life. – As long as I’m not hurting anyone else, I’m going to keep living my life MY way.  Sometimes I get lost in trying to live for someone else, trying to meet their expectations, and doing things just to impress them. I am going to focus on doing things I truly believe in.  I will  remember my own goals.  I need to live, do and love so that I am happy, because when it comes down to it, it is me I have to live with for the rest of my life.
  3. I will NOT allow toxic people to get the best of me. – I don’t have to feel guilty about removing toxic people from my life.  I will not make room for people who cause me pain or make me feel small.  It’s one thing if a person owns up to their behavior and makes an effort to change.  But if a person disregards my feelings, ignores my boundaries and continues to treat me in a harmful way, they need to go.  I will just walk away! At the same time I will not be the toxic person who assigns negative intent to other people’s actions.  Cliche as it sounds I will TRY to look for the good in everyone I meet..
  4. I will TRY not to compete with everyone else. – Okay I am competitive.  Sometimes it creates an unnecessary bitterness.  So my plan is to simply compete with a previous version of myself.  This is going to be hard.  Driven as I am it is natural to be competitive.   It’s as simple as that.
  5. I will be a giver-but not till it hurts– One way I deal with stress and loss is immersing myself in doing good for others.  I Volunteer. I get involved in life. But it is exhausting me.  I will try a new approach to giving….just saying a kind work, or visiting someone who is alone.  When it comes down to it, there are two types of people in this world.   There are givers and there are takers.  Givers are happy.  Takers are still unhappily wondering what’s in it for them.  I have always been a giver but I have to find a balance in this.
  6. I will focus on effectiveness over popularity. – I try to seek respect, not attention.  It lasts longer and it’s far more useful in the end.  I will continue to do things and make things that make a difference.  I will not confuse popularity with effectiveness.  Being popular means I’m liked for a while.  Being effective means I’ve made a difference.
  7. I will not put off making decisions. – Bad decisions are almost always better than no decisions at all.  Indecisiveness just delays, while bad decisions teach me to yield to better ones.  In the end, I tend to most often regret the chances I didn’t take, the relationships I was afraid to have, and the decisions I waited too long to make.
  8. I will focus on NOW. – I can’t change yesterday, but I can sure ruin today by worrying about tomorrow.  I will be present.  Tomorrow will reveal itself exactly as it should, just as yesterday already has.
  9. I will be resilient! – There’s no such thing as perfect success, just as there’s no such thing as perfect failure.  This is why labeling things in extremes – all or nothing – success or failure – is an exercise in futility.  I do it too often. As a child would,  I am going to try to see life as a continuous series of imperfect moments filled with infinite possibilities and opportunities.  I will think about the Yin and Yang in Chinese philosophy, which states that opposite forces are often interconnected.  In suffering, I can (and will) find great strength, in heartbreak I can find resilience, and in loss I can find a renewed appreciation for life.  Life is always Yin and Yang.  Opposites are interdependent and interconnected.  I can’t completely shield myself from sadness without also shielding myself from happiness. And above all, I will try to not let success get to my head or failure get to my heart.  I will continue to have loss and disappointment.  But in a sense, true happiness would not be possible without it.  My life, after all, is not a life absent of problems, but one where I’ve been able to rise above them.  So most of all I will foster the resilience I already have.

Communities In Bloom-Time To Get This Right

Posted: August 4, 2014 in Uncategorized
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CIB
Today I’m a little defensive.  That feeling relates to comments I am reading on social media about Communities in Bloom.  There is criticism of the the Town of Drayton Valley  for it’s involvement in this program.  So let’s set this straight once and for all!  First of all Communities In Bloom is a Canadian non-profit organization committed to fostering civic pride, environmental responsibility and beautification through community involvement.  People, plants and pride….growing together. A Community In Bloom is one that pulls community together and speaks to economic development, social development, historical preservation and all other factors that contribute to a community in ‘bloom’.  In Websters Dictionary we find that the the verb ‘bloom’ (yes it’s a verb; not just a noun) is to change, grow, or develop fully, to mature into, achievement of one’s potential.  I have been involved with this program for 3 years as a VOLUNTEER.  There is some financial support from the town but most of the planning and preparation is driven by non paid individuals and non municipally funded initiatives.  The ‘flower’ part that everyone talks about are generally corporately sponsored flower beds.  Through our communities involvement in this program we have identified gaps in our community such as attention needed to historical preservation and an off leash park;  both of which are or were addressed as a result of this. We won Provincially two years ago with specific credit to youth involvement.  We are competing Nationally this year with our competition including town’s with significant natural beauty such as mountains or the ocean and some with history dating back hundreds of years. How do we compete with that?   If this was just about how our community looks we couldn’t plant enough flowers.  Perhaps some of you only see the negatives around you.  I came to this community eight years ago with a focus on making a difference and darn it I will keep doing that through initiatives such as Communities In Bloom. As one of the judges said when they were here in July; “It’s not what you see in Drayton Valley; it’s how you feel.”  So folks we don’t know until September if we win any award but I can guarantee those words from the judge were prize enough.