Thanks to Everyone Who Attended Resident to Candidate

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Nazareth News Agency last night for the "Resident to Candidate" program. I thought it was a great success (if I may say so myself;-) and spoke volumes about the people in this community who are interested in helping make it a better place.

I was hoping to have twenty people and thought that would be a good number and I'd guess forty were there including the panelists (I tried counting, but it was tough to do while listening and moderating, which is also why the photos are from after the event instead of during - should have brought a photographer, but hey, I remembered the camera!).

For those who did not make it out, but are interested in becoming a candidate for office or learning more about it you can view the notes I distributed here (in PDF format, if you'd like a Word document email me and you can modify it in the future or for your area). You should also visit or call the Northampton County Election Office.

I was also able to make an audio recording of the panels and Q & A, will work on getting that online over the weekend.

The program was delayed in starting so we could get more chairs but did end in one hour from when we started so that worked out as well and more importantly the information about running for office and being a candidate that was provided by the panelists was great insight for people considering a run for office themselves.

Thanks to Jack Herbst and Cindy Werner, members of Borough Council who shared their experience running for office and being on Council (both are not up for re-election in 2007) and to Joe Long and Roy Shuman, County chairpersons of the democratic and Republican Committees, respectively.

I also want to thank Lori Bernardo, Bernie O'Hare, and Joe Owens for helping to spread the word about the event (and anyone else who did!) and Al Smith who was able to map out the ward boundaries for the Borough providing a nice visual for people to better understand the Ward locations in Nazareth.

I'd also like to thank Mike from the Nazareth News Agency who not only let us use his space at no charge but was a great host getting extra chairs at the last minute and making a great cup of coffee! The News Agency is open nights and has entertainment (Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday as I recall), but if you are looking for a place to have a meeting, on Wednesday or Thursday (or in the morning or during the day for that matter), talk to Mike. He was very accommodating and easy to work with.