Sisters Country needs action

Spring springs fast in Sisters Country. One day we’re dodging dirty berms leftover from snowplows.

Next day, sand lilies stretch out their tender petals. Manzanitas roll out tiny pink blooms.

In my mailbox arrives another sign of spring: the voters pamphlet. I leaf through the local positions up for election.

It’s mostly guys I don’t know, running for positions I’m clueless about, in parts of the county I rarely visit.

Some provide only a few noncommittal words about themselves. I don’t get a sense of their passion or values. I sure don’t know whether they can listen to everyday people and take action on our behalf.

Many didn’t send in a photo. I don’t even know whether their eyes light up when they smile.

Then I see a smiling face and perk right up. It’s Mandee! Mandee Seeley, familiar to most of us who frequent Sisters Park and Recreation District. She’s running for Sisters School Board.

At SPRD, Mandee makes people feel welcome in a solid, honest way. Her grin is a real one — infectious and fun.

Mandee knows how to listen. She really hears what customers and other community members say.

If an issue comes up that she’s not informed about, Mandee is on it fast. She’s always reading, always researching.

Then comes the important part: Mandee takes action.

Ever notice the trash piling up in our beautiful town and surrounding woods? I often pick it up, grumbling all the way.

“Someone should hold a big cleanup event!” I’ve declared to the ponderosas more than once.

Well, someone finally did. That someone is Mandee Seeley.

Community Cleanup Day now goes on twice annually through SPRD. Over 4,000 pounds of trash got picked up by citizens in the last year, thanks to Mandee’s organizing work.

Ever think it was mighty strange of SPRD to sell unhealthy snacks and soda pop in their vending machines? I sure did.

Most of SPRD’s programming gets people moving, improving the community’s health. Yet here they were, selling addictive junk food right next to a high school. Didn’t seem right to me.

Guess it didn’t seem right to Mandee Seeley, either.

“As an advocate for healthy lifestyles, she has always been concerned about the District maintaining soda and snack machines that were frequented by students,” SPRD’s Interim Director Courtney Snead told me.

Those vending machines are gone now.

“Mandee is a staunch advocate of healthy living,” Snead said, “and SPRD patrons and staff are benefiting from her influence.”

For our kids and our whole community, Sisters Country needs action.

Not just people with long resumes chatting about their past accomplishments. Not just a committee to commission a survey to inform the visioning of a strategic document.

That work is useful. Mandee sat on the Vision Action Team for Sisters Horizons; I reckon she sees the value.

But we also need plain ol’ action.

We’ll get it from Mandee Seeley. As a Sisters School District Director, she’ll help kids of all income levels and backgrounds. She is a hands-on, active, working mom who understands the challenges faced by today’s families.

“With a focus on nature, wellness, and more student-led and interactive learning opportunities, I believe we can do better for every kid in our district,” Mandee says in her statement.

I hope you’ll stop to enjoy the sand lilies this spring. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read the voters pamphlet.

And I hope you’ll join me in voting for Mandee Seeley.

Note: These statements reflect my own opinion. Mandee Seeley has no idea I’m writing this.