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Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my support for Karen Herrick for Select Board.
I would like to offer what I have learned about her background and what has made her the town official she is today. Karen took time out of her busy schedule to speak with me one afternoon.
Karen grew up in Lynn, right near the Fluff factory, in a house her great-grandfather had built. She was the oldest of three sisters, and in her teenage years Karen was a competitive ice skater. The first movie she remembers seeing is Race to Witch Mountain, and the first concert she went to was Heart.
Karen’s father owned and ran Gately’s Roast Beef in Wilmington for many years. Once she was old enough, Karen worked there as well, which gave her an understanding of the challenges of small business ownership. At Boston College she majored in philosophy and computer science (a combination that seems increasingly relevant). After college, she worked for a time as a computer programmer and as a consultant, and met her husband Steven. They moved to Reading in 1996. Eventually, Karen decided she wanted a job where she got to meet and work with more people. She became a realtor, helping match people to their ideal homes.
Her daughter Madeleine was born, and Karen became more involved in Reading’s community. She joined town meeting in 2002; she spent five years as a member of the Financial Committee before becoming a Select Board member. She has also served a member of the Solid Waste Commission, an associate member of the Historical Commission, and served on the Wood End School Council. In all these roles, she has always encouraged her fellow residents to reach out to her and to participate in their town government.
As I spoke to Karen, the picture that emerged was of someone for whom participating in town politics, like her work as a realtor, came from a desire to help people and make their lives better. My father served for nearly three decades as a Select Board member in my hometown, so growing up I was very aware of what went into keeping a town running, and just how much of what many people in the town took for granted — schools for their kids, public safety, sanitation, parks and recreational facilities, and even small stuff like getting a pothole filled – was the unheralded result of the hard work of many people (something Karen is also quick to point out whenever her own achievements are mentioned to her).
Karen has already served one term as a Select Board member, and she is humbly asking Reading for another term to continue the work she has already done to make, and keep, the town as great a community as it can be. On, or before, April 4, please vote for Karen Herrick for Select Board.
Sincerely,
Jason Clarke
Ash Street
