To the Editor:
We support Jim Dodson for Oak Ridge City Council. Jim’s extensive résumé includes his work as an educator, an athletic coach, and as a local, area, and state volunteer in several capacities.
He has received many honors, including an invitation from Governor Haslam to serve on the Humanities Tennessee Board of Directors, a position he currently holds. A graduate of Leadership Oak Ridge, Jim exemplifies the role of community leader: president elect of the Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club; co-chair of United Way of Anderson County in 2015-16; current chair of the Explore Oak Ridge (formerly Convention and Visitors Bureau) board; and local Arts Council board member for seven years, including time as its executive director. These are but a few of the many jobs Jim has stepped up for in the last 29 years while he has been teaching and volunteering to make Oak Ridge’s young people and the community itself a better place.
Jim is much more than a list of achievements, however. He thinks both critically and creatively. He is an artist who has the discipline to teach and encourage. He sets an example for others and is never strident or close-minded. Jim Dodson has the courage to collaborate and listen, as well as to offer ideas. He’s not afraid to take on a project that seems difficult. His creativity often helps him arrive at solutions not seen by others, and he has the skills to persuade others to his join him and the drive to carry out the plan.
We need a person like Jim Dodson on City Council. A person who can help our city move forward as we work towards a more unified and positive future. Many good things are happening here, and many issues remain. We need more people like Jim and Becky Dodson who decide to live here, raise a family here, and contribute their time towards making Oak Ridge a better place. A place where people want to live, not just work. Choosing to live in Oak Ridge for almost 23 years, they exemplify the people we want to attract to become a part of our town.
We give our unequivocal endorsement to Jim Dodson for City Council.
Emily and Charlie Jernigan
Oak Ridge
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