"In The Struggle Lies The Joy," Dr. Maya Angelou
Today, December 19, 2017, marks a momentous moment for the Kalamazoo County Board of Commission and for myself personally.
It seems as if it was only yesterday when I raised my right hand swearing the oath to provide leadership, as Vice Chair, to my utmost ability. I experienced both an air of excitement but also a huge burden as I’d done the unthinkable and broke rank with my party to support my colleague and now friend, Dale Shugars, as Chairman. Upon reflection, however, I believe the risk I took was worthwhile because of what we have been able to accomplish together in spite of our differences in party affiliation. The adversity created by my voting across party lines could have been disastrous, but we were determined to work hard to make the Commission stronger and more productive today than ever before. Colleagues, I could not be more proud of what this Board of Commission has accomplished together despite our differences.
As Vice Chair, I endeavored to focus on three things: Transparency to constituents, Forge relationships across and within party lines, and Providing transformational, action-driven leadership. All of these have been accomplished.
As a Commission, we not only maintained the current workload of passing the annual budget, hiring an Administrator, and publishing several Resolutions; but, we’ve done so much more! Consider the following bi-partisan accomplishments that WE, as a Board, have accomplished and should take pride in reporting these accomplishments back to each and every district because our constituents and County have benefitted. This year’s County Board of Commission accomplishments include the following:
- Hiring of Administrator Tracie Moored
- Appointment of bipartisan County *Commissioners on key Community *Stakeholder Boards
- Passing of Enbridge Policy to stop the building of pipeline #5
- Creation of County ID program
- Creation of Equity Taskforce and completion of Equity Training by County Administration
- Transfer of Veteran Services to KCMHSAS to ensure streamlined, effective, and efficient services
- Approved plan to form a non-profit, non-governmental Public Defender’s Office
I have been proud to represent the County Board of Commission at the following:
- Chair, Board Appointment Committee
- Representative, National Association of Counties (NaCo) annual conference, Columbus OH
- Representative, Bicentennial Commencement of Michigan State University
- Representative, National Association of Counties (NaCo) legislative conference, Washington, DC
- Representative, MI County Commission White House Conference, Washington, DC
- Co-Presented “State of the County” message to multiple organizations throughout the county (first time this has been done with Board Leadership and Administration).
I have learned the meaning of Dr. Maya Angelou’s words, “In the struggle lies the joy.” This year’s journey has been full of struggles and challenges, but the joy lies in the personal growth that has resulted. For this, I sincerely thank each of my colleagues who worked with me and challenged me to activate skill sets that have made me a better leader. I also thank my mentor and colleague, Mr. Shugars, for his prayers, advice, and friendship. And thanks also to Administrator Tracie Moored for her dedication, passion, and leadership. Lastly, thanks to my District 1 constituents and supporters outside of my District whose prayers, support, and words of encouragement meant more to me than you know.
Today marks the ending of a great journey and the beginning of a new one. I excitedly look forward to the future.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stephanie Moore, Vice Chair
Kalamazoo County Board of Commission