When I was elected I looked high and low for a "How to be a Mayor "book or "mayoring for dummies." So when I couldn't find that particular book I thought why not write it yourself, but start right now! So 2.5 years later here I am.

The last years have been the most rewarding and the most annoying ones of my professional life. There are so many challenges with leading my town through what I perceive as the most significant period in its 100 year history.

I am a professional manager and have always wanted to get involved in the community. When my wife and I moved to this town 13 years ago, we both got involved. My wife is an elected official for a smaller agency in the area, and I won election to the local library board. I then got appointed to the planning commission which I ended up chairing for 6 years.

Then came the "conversation" with the outgoing mayor, who decided I would make a great mayor, and the workload would be small, 2-4 hours a week. We could also call this the sucker conversation, because I bit hook line and sinker. The actual time spent is close to 30-40 hours a week. Four months later at age 41 I became the 13th mayor of my town. The fourth mayor in the last 44 years as well.