I have been privileged to serve the Town of Hollis for 15 consecutive years as a member of the Board of Selectmen.  I am asking for your vote to return for another term of three years specifically to accomplish the following objectives:

• Negotiate the new labor agreements with Police, Fire, Communications, Department of Public Works and Town Hall staff for another three years.  Negotiations start in 2022 with the two Union Groups that represent these employees.

• Continue to provide fiduciary oversight of Town finances and Credit ratings, which during the last 15 years has gone from ‘junk’ status to the highest rating possible from Moody’s at AA2.

• Maintain the best-in-class independent certification of our Police Department by CALEA (The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies), which is one of the very few accredited agencies in New England (www.calea.org).

• Continue to secure and preserve the open space land in our community from over-development.  We have been blessed with having roughly one third of our Town protected in permanent conservation, through the valiant efforts and generous hearts of prior residents and current  members of the community.

Ever since moving to Hollis with my family in 2002, I have been enamored with the beauty, history and pristine nature of our community.  We have lovingly preserved a historic farm on 13 acres in one of the original homes on Dow Road, and have enjoyed making friends as we collectively seek to preserve our rural character, while building enduring community relationships.

Early on our family helped raise essential funding for completion of the Lawrence Barn Community Center, restoration of the Ice House, Gambrel Barn, and other projects involving preservation in Hollis.  We have long supported local charitable efforts and will continue to do so.  You may note that I have no commercial political signs, because rather than spend money on that, we prefer to make funds available through local charitable organizations to help people who have problems meeting their needs for heating during winter.

The most important issues facing the Board and the Community center on maintaining a property tax rate that is reasonable and which allows services to be delivered in an efficient and professional manner.  With inflation emerging as a significant concern, it is gratifying to know that I helped secure over $700,000 in savings to the taxpayers by refinancing municipal bonds in Hollis to low fixed rates given the disciplined approach to building our unassigned fund balance, and securing a pristine bond rating for Hollis. Managing debt on our balance sheet will be a priority as we enter more uncertain times in the world of finance.

My professional experience is that I started a company manufacturing nutritional products in 1980 which is now a public company (since 1986), and has operations in both California as well as Switzerland with hundreds of employees worldwide.  The company name is Natural Alternatives International, Inc., and I serve as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer – the NASD symbol is NAII.  As a business professional with a Degree in Letters as well as Law, I am well versed in dealing with balance sheets, personnel issues, liability concerns and best practices in contract management, personnel and operational procedures.

I believe that this experience of over 40 years has served the Community well, and I would appreciate your continued support as we focus on challenges before us.  I also serve as Chairman of the Board of the Natural Products Association based in Washington, DC which represents the entire industry of producers and retailers, with thousands of members in the US.  During ‘normal’ times this position allows me to interface with elected members of Congress, the Senate and with Regulatory Agencies in DC, which was helpful when the Town was confronted with the potential of an ill-advised natural gas pipeline that a company wanted to trench and bury through our bucolic town.  That effort was stopped with good leadership at the Board, public awareness and political and press exposure.

With an emphasis on getting things done that benefit our community, I am asking for your vote for another three year term as a member of the Select-Board.