VOTE Tuesday, November 4 at your Township Hall Hopkins Public Schools - School Board Candidates Ben Brenner - Employed at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services for 16 years as a Staff Development Manager. Attended Hopkins Public Schools, Kellogg Community College and Ferris State University I am married and have three daughters. My wife is Stacy and my daughter’s names are Grace, Olivia and Claire. I have been in the school district for 35 years I am running for a school board position because decisions that are made by the school board have a direct impact on my children’s education and I want to be part of that decision making process. In addition, I believe that Hopkins has an incredible school system and I want to help assist in keeping it that way. Lastly, I am very proud of the school system our community has and I want to see it continue to thrive. I serve on many professional committees which include the Michigan Federation for Children and Families, Michigan Association for Behavioral Health, Mercy Health (St. Mary’s) Leadership Academy as well as the Hopkins Village Council. All of these are important, but serving on the Hopkins School Board is especially meaningful to me. My family is paramount in my life and anything I can do to help with my children’s future is important to me. I look forward to the opportunity to serve my community and my kids if I am elected for one of the School Board positions. Jay Gibson - I have been a Police Officer for the City of Allegan for 17 years. I am our Union President, Field Training Officer, and am a team leader on the Allegan County SWAT Team. I attended Hopkins Elementary until the 5th grade, living in the Gordens Funeral Home in town during that time. We then moved to Allegan where I graduated High School in 1993. I attended Ferris State University from 1993-97, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice. I returned to the Grand Rapids Campus of Ferris State University from 2009-11 where I earned a Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Administration. I am married to my wife Alexis, who works in the Human Resources Department at Perrigo, and I have two boys. Noah is 4 and attends the St. Stan’s pre-school program. AJ (Alexander John) is 1 and into everything he can reach. We moved into the school district in 2006, living in the Secluded Acres subdivision near 30th St. and 138th Ave. until 2012. We moved into our current home on 132nd Ave., north of town, in January 2012. The school district was the driving force behind the purchase of both homes which stem from my fond memories and experiences in the school system. My wife and kids are where my day starts and ends. I enjoy being physically active, following all Detroit pro sports teams and may be a bit fanatical about University of Michigan sports. I cant wait to follow Noah and AJ in whatever endeavors they become involved with here in Hopkins. I was happy to see that there were 5 candidates to apply for the 3 open school board seats. Some area jurisdictions do not have that luxury. A lot of experience is lost with Dawn and Anita stepping down, but the voters will be blessed with several candidates to choose from. I think any candidate elected who is not an incumbent will certainly have a learning curve. I hope to attend as many school board meetings as possible from now until the election so that I can try to gain as much insight as possible, allowing me to hopefully transition into the position easier if elected. A 6 year term is a big commitment, but I certainly did my due diligence before submitting the paperwork to the county clerk. I talked to my uncle, Steve VanderVeen, who served on the Allegan school board for many years, Dawn Buist, and many others before committing myself. I think my professional/life experience background illustrates that I believe in continued education. I have to use problem solving skills often, and am required to make decisions that can often be scrutinized. I have never regretted making the right decision over what may have been the more popular one. Go Vikings! John Myers - I am a self employed contractor. I graduated from Hopkins High School and have a Construction Administration Certificate from Ferris State University. My family consists of my wife of 22 years Janine, and 3 children; Nicholas, Jacob and Lauren. I enjoy hunting, woodworking, and baseball. I am re-running for a school board position because I would like to continue the work that so many good people before me have done as members of the school board. I enjoy being involved in local government. These are difficult times financially for our school. I believe my experience will be helpful moving forward. Traci Rhoades - I have lived in the district for 18 months with my husband Ryan and daughter Allie. My interests include gardening, canning, cooking, reading, blogging and volunteering at school and church. I am a stay at home Mom/Writer. I graduated from Chillicothe High School (Chillicothe, Missouri) and have an Associate of Arts degree from North Central Missouri College (Trenton, Missouri) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication from Missouri State University (Springfield, Missouri) I am running for school board because my husband and I both grew up in small towns. His just down 131 and mine in rural Missouri. When we decided to start a family, we knew it was time to stop transferring for work, leave the suburbs behind and begin searching for a small town that held the same values we did, a place where we could teach our daughter a simpler way of life among true neighbors. We found all that in Hopkins. With a career background in communications, marketing and higher education, I feel serving as a school board member would be an excellent way to use my abilities and experiences to give back. Hopkins Schools have something special. We heard about it from others all over Allegan County during the years we searched for our home. We have just begun to live it as we settle into our neighborhood and send our daughter to Hopkins Elementary. Through my voice on the school board, I hope to help bring the community and the staff together at a common table and ensure these values stand the test of time. I believe every child should graduate from high school with a foundation of ABC’s: • Academics that prepare them for higher education, technical training, or the workforce. • Base curiosity to make them a lifelong learner. A good teacher awakens a natural curiosity that already exists in every child. A good administration gives those teachers the resources and freedom needed to establish this love of learning. • Confidence instilled in every child to be themselves, while allowing others to be themselves as well.” Tamara Sevenski-Popma - I currently work as a Strategic Account Executive at United Healthcare for the past 16 years. I provide consultative input to customers for short and long-term strategic planning of budgets and benefit designs. I majored in Computer Science at Lansing Community College and earned an Agent Insurance License in Accident, Health and Life at Michigan State University. I currently hold agent Licenses in the States of Florida, Indiana, Michigan and Texas. I am married to my husband Bob and we have one son, Seth. I have been in the school district for 9 ½ years. When I am not watching my son play sports, I love gardening, camping and spending time with my family and friends. I am running for School Board because I am a parent and taxpayer and am concerned about past and somewhat recent events in the Hopkins school district. As a proud resident of Hopkins, I am very pleased with the education my son is receiving in our schools. However, the economic well-being of this district is threatened by the size of the current school budget. I am frustrated at the amount of taxpayer money spent over the past few years on line items that may have been unwanted, unnecessary and not in furtherance of its mission to provide our students with a world class education. As the current President of the Hopkins Middle School Partners Group (PTO), I interact with other parents, administration, teachers and staff in our district. I have witnessed frustration regarding some decisions in our district which have affected all parties. Our administration, teachers and staff have historically done an excellent job (it shows in our district’s test scores), and I want to work to nurture that legacy through the promotion of a positive working environment. As a new School Board member I would help to refocus Hopkins on the mission of educating students and creating a responsible budget to accomplish that. If I am elected to the School Board, I will do my best to make sure that focus is put back into all parties working together, not against each other.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 18:50:02 +0000
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