I married my high school sweetheart, Mike, almost 55 years ago. We have one daughter, 4 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandson, who all live near us! Mike and I have a sweet jack Russell Terrier, a rambunctious Cockapoo puppy, and a talkative African Gray parrot. We have lived in Ocala since 1972. Living in Ocala/ Marion County for over 50 years has given me the opportunity to see our community grow from about 78,000 in population to over 400,000 today. What makes my perspective unique is that my husband was an Ocala City Councilman for 16 years, followed by 4 years as a Marion County Commissioner. During that time we owned and operated a sign business (for 36 years), which drew directly from growth and change. Because of all this, I've always been very aware of what was going on in the community, and have played a part in many community service projects. I've stayed current with local economic development, the growth of our fabulous medical community, and the transformation of commercial, industrial and residential development. I remain knowledgeable about improvements to our infrastructure to meet the community's growing needs.
Through our years in the sign business I had many opportunities to represent customers before the Board of Adjustment, the Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Ocala Historic Preservation Advisory Board. As a sign professional, I served on committees to address needed code changes. I spent years as a volunteer at Project Hope (a transitional housing program for homeless women with children), was on the Board of Directors at ARC Marion for 23 years (serving as president for 2 years), volunteered for fund raising projects to raise money for the Humane Society of Marion County and the Marion Cultural Alliance, and participated in every "Santa's Holiday on Ice" Christmas Party that was put on 6 years in a row for the homeless and disadvantaged children in our community - just to name a few. I am currently a member of the Ocala Silver Springs Rotary Club to continue to give back to my community. I am a grateful partner at Church of Hope.
