Thank you for your support!

I am very humbled by the support that residents in Orleans & Cumberland have placed in me as their school board trustee.  As your trustee, I promise to deliver the same amount of passion, energy and commitment to our students and community as I have over the last four years.

I also want to congratulate all the candidates who put their name on the ballot and had the courage to run.  Elections are never easy - they take a tremendous amount of hard-work and commitment.

Again, thank you to all - I promise not to let you down!

John

Choose hard-work, energy and experienced leadership

Since I was first elected on November 13, 2006 I have never given our community’s students and taxpayers anything less than 110% of my time, commitment and energy.  By having the best board meeting attendance record of any trustee, I have been able to articulate our community’s needs all while having a cautious approach to spending precious education tax dollars.

I have helped guide hundreds of parents through the school board bureaucracy to ensure their children get the services they deserve.    I’ve attended hundreds of Parent Council meetings to hear the concerns of parents and to ensure the board collects their input on new policies.  I have regularly met with municipal, provincial and federal representatives to make certain that our board’s funding inequities are properly and permanently addressed.

Over the course of the campaign, I’ve gone through two pairs of shoes, delivered over 20,000 flyers and have spoken with many of you on your doorstep about how our public schools can be even better than they are now.  With your support, I want to be the catalyst for change.  I want to be our community’s voice at the board table.  I want to serve you and your family with the same energy I’ve given our community for the past four years.

I would be honoured to have your support tomorrow.  Together, let’s make all public schools better than ever!

Best wishes,

John Shea

Lori Nash, the unofficial 'Queen of Queenswood Heights', endorses John!

It is with  pleasure and pride that as a community activist and longtime volunteer in Queenswood Heights, Orleans, and Ottawa , that I fully support and endorse John Shea for his years of service and his future good work as our Public School Trustee. John must be commended for an excellent job and support he has given to many community events.

                    

Lori Nash

Past President Friends of the Ottawa Public Library

Secretary of The Ottawa Public Library Foundation

Former Vice President of Queenswood Heights Community Association

Supporters continue to grow!

This past weekend, municipal candidates were permitted to place their election signs on public property.  My sign team was out very early Saturday morning to put up signs across Orleans & Cumberland.  The sign team reported a lot of car honking and ‘thumbs up’ from passing motorists.

With signs erected across both wards, our campaign was inundated with new lawn sign requests.  I’m very humbled to have the support of so many residents and appreciate your continuous words of encouragement.

With 27 days to go before the election, all candidates are working hard with their teams to deliver flyers, meet new people and lock in support.

It’s a privilege to be running in an election race with candidates who care about kids and are concerned about ensuring they receive the best education possible.

Lunch with hockey moms and Don Cherry!

Today I was invited to a special luncheon with community leaders, local politicians, hockey moms and Don Cherry!  The luncheon was organized by Cold FX to honour hockey moms for the countless hours they spend at the rink and the big role they play in the community for our kids. 

I was lucky enough to be sitting at the same table with Ottawa's Chief of the Fire Department, my good friend and colleague Cathy Curry (Chair of the OCDSB), Gord Butler (Chair of the Ottawa Catholic Board), the event organizer, the creator of bobble heads and two local city councillors.

Over the hour we heard Don Cherry discuss the importance of recreational activities for youth and how the community can help make them more accessible. Don was definitely as "colourful" in person as he is on TV!

The event today was a great way to recognize a group within the community who rarely receive any recognition for the work they do. 

A day to mourn

Tonight I took a break from the campaign trail to attend a memorial ceremony on Heuvelman road for Brad Rivington, Chris Sabean and Ginny Marko.

Sunday September 20, 2009 is a day that will never forget.  I was awaken by a phone call from my sister, Candace, who was in near hysterics as she relayed the awful news of a car accident that took place the night before in Navan. The crash claimed the lives of Ginny Marko - a grade 12 student at Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and Candace's two very close friends, Brad and Chris - who had just graduated from Cairine Wilson in June.

I have known the Rivington's for many years as Brad's two older brothers (Steve and Chris) were friends of mine from high school. Steve and Chris are two of the nicest people one could ever hope to meet - the type of people who would literally give you the shirt off their back.  The same is said about Chris Sabean's two older brothers, Alex and Justin.

I've lived my whole life in Orleans and have never seen anything like the outpour of support from our community in the days that followed the accident. I waited in line for hours with thousands of other people to attend Brad and Chris' wake.  I packed the Orleans United Church with what seemed like all of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and half of Orleans for Ginny Marko's funeral.  Everywhere you went, people were talking about the accident. Everywhere you went, people were grieving.

There were several hundred people at tonight's ceremony.  Many had not seen each other since this time last year.  This evening's gathering served as a reminder to all those who attended that life is too short and often not fair. It's in the love we have for family and friends that we find strength to keep going.

Rest in Peace Brad, Chris and Ginny

Weekend Blitz

This weekend our campaign made a lot of progress! We door knocked, flyer dropped, put up lawn signs and recruited more volunteers!  As we go door to door a lot parent council members whom I've worked with over the years are offering their support in all kind of different ways.  We seem to be hearing a lot of, "of course we're going to vote for you - you're one of the only politicians who has some common sense!"

While canvassing in Queenswood Heights I ran into a lady who informed me that she has greatly enjoyed reading my monthly community reports in the Orleans Star over the last four years - she wanted to ensure that she could continue to read them over the next four!

So far, momentum appears to be on our side!  We have to keep working hard over the next 35 days!