The Norwich Observer asked the candidates for Selectboard the same five questions. Below is the first question and the candidates’ responses. A list of all five questions, without responses, is here.
QUESTION: Background and qualifications
Background and qualifications. For those who do not know you, please provide some info about yourself. Also, what prior experience and skills do you have that make you a good candidate for the Selectboard position?
RESPONSES
Candidates running for the three-year Selectboard seat
Marcia Calloway:
My ancestors came to Vermont in the 1700s. I have lived in various places in the U.S. as well as in the U.K., but Vermont is home. My husband and I moved to Norwich in 1997 for our work at Dartmouth; our children grew up here. My training is in law. Throughout my career, listening, analysis and problem-solving skills were required. I enjoy the challenge of understanding new issues, researching solutions, and helping people. Effective board work requires listening to people, learning about the issues people are concerned about, reading, understanding the law pertaining to municipal government, and trying to solve problems with a diverse group of people. It’s a worthy challenge in challenging times, and I would like to continue working for Norwich for the next three years.
Rob Gere:
Declined to respond.
Candidate running for the two-year Selectboard seat
Pam Smith:
I have over 35 years of experience in the field of accounting and small business management. I have worked in for-profit and not-for-profit businesses. I have done forecasting, budgeting, capital planning and cash flow analysis. I have written personnel policies and employee handbooks. My husband and I started a mail order business on our dining room table that we grew to $5 million in annual sales with over 30 employees. That’s right where Norwich is today….a $5 million municipal budget with about 30 employees. I have served Norwich as a Lister for the past 4 years, a Trustee of Public Funds for 3 years and as an Assistant Treasurer for 2 years.
Candidates running for the Selectboard seat with an unexpired (one-year) term
Aaron Lamperti:
One summer, most of 30 years ago, while I was visiting my parents here in Norwich, I took a walk in the woods behind my mother’s house. I experienced a profound sense of place in the familiar landscape where I had spent countless hours building tree houses and playing kick the can as a child. Prior to that day I had never thought of returning to Norwich to live even though my partner and I were actively looking for a place to start a life together. After that day, Norwich was the only place for that life to start.
A job maintaining exhibits at the Montshire Museum followed a year or two later which turned into a 20 year career. A few years after that, the Fire Department beckoned and I began another career which is still in progress 15 years later.
My time on the Selectboard has been a third unanticipated ‘career,’ but perhaps can be seen as a logical extension of the others. My principal qualifications for the Selectboard are that I am a problem solver with a constructive, collaborative approach and that I have chosen and continue to choose a life of service — specifically, a life of service in Norwich.
Priscilla Vincent:
Our family moved to Norwich in the fall of 1991, and our children went directly across the street to the Marion Cross School and into the loving arms of Milt Frye. I enjoyed many years of involvement in the school. Volunteering in classrooms and even into Judy Pond’s classroom at the Richmond Middle School. I joined the church choir; became “Queen of Pre-consignment” for 15 years or so for the Nearly New Sale, the scholarship fund raising entity of the Norwich Women’s Club; ran Noon Neighbors for about 9 years; and generally loved living here. I have also been attending meetings of the Norwich Fire District for most of these 31 years, since my husband was chair of the Prudential Committee for a very long time. At some point, I became the auditor for the NFD, a position I still retain.
In a previous life, I managed a $20 million account for a large ad agency in Chicago. I took this job after graduating from the Harvard Business School. I loved my job, but I found that I wanted to raise my children myself. (Very few executive women had any children at all in those days.) I abandoned my career, a decision I have never regretted. I was blessed to have a husband who not only agreed with me, but was able to support us financially and emotionally. It actually cost us less to live when I was managing my own household, caring for my family, and being engaged in our life together.
I have been happily occupied living here in Norwich. Only in the last several months have I begun to pay attention to town government, and to the select board in particular. I decided it was better to engage than to sit on the sidelines and wring my hands. I do have management experience. I have hired and fired people (even since coming to Norwich!). I have been involved in budgeting. I have always tried to learn and to listen. I also think it would be helpful to have a member of the select board who is a resident of the Norwich Fire District, since there are upcoming discussions about the relationship between the town and the fire district.
CANDIDATES FORUM
The Selectboard Candidates Forum sponsored by the Norwich Women’s Club is scheduled for February 16 at 7 PM at the Marion Cross School.
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Contact the Norwich Observer at norwichobserver [at] gmail.com.