Your Resume is "Light" Mr. Write In!

I’ve seen and heard a few comments lately about me having such a "light" resume, as well as questions of why I’m running as a write in and didn’t take the time to get on the ballot. Well, since I’m not here to avoid the issues or other’s opinions, I figured I’d take a minute to provide an explanation.


Both of these really come down to one word: timing. I’m a 29 year old father of two (a 4 ½ year old and a 2 year old), with a master’s degree in business administration. I know what you’re thinking now: “So what? What does that have to do with anything? Are you just tooting your own horn?” My answer is simply that it has everything to do with it and no, I’m not just bragging. See, if you think logically about this, I spent 18 years going through the school district (5 years pre-school and daycare, and 13 years K-12). I then spent 4 ½ years at college. I married shortly after college and started my career. I worked about 4 years and then decided to go to grad school. During that 4 year time period before I went back to school, my wife and I started a family and she went to grad school. I let her finish school first, and then went to get my Masters degree, in which I finished up in December of 2008. So, quite honestly, the timing has not been right for me until now. I was very focused on establishing my family and creating a stable environment for them. I was focused on finding and maintaining a stable career. Now that I’ve done all that: finishing my education, and creating a stable family and career, coupled with the fact that my daughters are almost to the school year age, I’m now focused on helping better our school district.

Does that mean I forgot about the school district all those years? No. I tried to stay involved the best I could. I coached. I worked part time at the schools. I stayed involved in the district through the fire department. Now that we’re settled as a family and we’re stable, I have the time it requires to be active on the school board. I know it’s a big time commitment, and I now have that time to serve.

The other thing I did to stay active in the community was serving as a volunteer firefighter/EMT. I volunteered on the Johnston Fire Department starting my senior year of high school, and continued for 6 years all through college. I would drive home every weekend and every Thursday to participate. I even left an Iowa State Basketball game to drive home to help at a house fire. I was busy, but I was committed. See, when I commit to something (like I’m doing with this campaign), I stay committed. I work hard. I see it through. That’s what I’m bringing to the school board. Energy. Passion. Commitment. Focus.

So much of my resume is centered on my education and my community involvement because there wasn’t enough time for me to worry about building my resume for the school board. Let me ask you this: Would you rather have someone on the board that has spent their time building a resume, yet has no work ethic, no dedication, and no determination. Or, would you rather have a guy like me on there: one that may have a “light” resume, but one that will work hard, be committed, and bring an energy and passion to the school district? I’ll leave that to you to answer.


“So, why didn’t you go through the nomination process then, you ask?”

Well, this has to do with timing as well. I’ve been thinking about running for school board for a few months or so now. I really spent some time figuring out if I was going to be able to commit the time needed to run. I also spent some time talking with my wife. It was a fairly long process, because I wanted to make sure I was running for the right reasons. When I came to the decision to run, there were only a couple days left, and I didn’t think I would get the papers and signatures in time. So, I actually put my campaign on hold and was going to run next time. However, I was approached by several people that were concerned with having only 3 nominees running unopposed for 3 seats. After doing some research, I became equally concerned, and decided that I would commit fully to running for the school board.

Again, it was timing. I wasn’t avoiding going through the nomination process. I wasn’t trying to avoid the issues or the debates. In fact, I think if you refer back to this website daily, you’ll see that I’m trying to address the issues and sound off on what all the other candidates have had to sound off on.

Finally, I say to each their own. I know we all won’t agree and I know we all "can’t just get along." I ask, however, that you recognize that I am who I say I am, and that I will work hard for this school district. And, I ask that you not let a “light” resume hold you back for voting for me. I’ve proven myself in other areas of my life, and I will prove myself worthy of a school board seat.

Thank you,
Eric Peterson