To the Editor:

Experience and service matter. Especially when it comes to such an important matter as electing a member to our school board, which is what we will be doing very shortly. I am writing to ask you to support Ed Ackroyd.

I have known Ed since he was a student at Berne-Knox-Westerlo and worked part time stocking shelves and running the cash register at our supermarket, his first venture into the business world. After BKW, Ed went off to war in Vietnam, as did so many of our young men.

Returning from the war, Ed discovered the exposure to Agent Orange had left him disabled and fighting heart problems and cancer but that didn't stop Ed from living life to the fullest. He married, and had four beautiful children; two are BKW graduates like their dad.

He also became involved in veterans issues. As a member of the Boyd Hilton Veterans of Foreign Wars post he saw that Glen Gilbert, killed in 1970 in Vietnam and a fellow BKW graduate, was not listed as a member, nor was he memorialized on an plaque as being a casualty of the war. Ed set out to change that and change it he did.

Glen is now listed on a commemorative plaque listing him along with every other young man from the local area who has died in battle, in any war. The best part is that Margaret Gilbert, Glen's mom, got to see the plaque before she died. I am so proud of him for remembering his classmate.

Ed started his own successful business, which he operated for over 30 years, gaining business experience that would become invaluable. He became re-involved in school activities, attending board meetings, serving on the Budget Advisory Committee, and being elected to the school board for three years.

I think this leaves him uniquely qualified to once again step up and help our school as we move forward during difficult budget times. He knows where we came from, he was here during our building phase, he's aware of what works and what doesn't. He knows what needs to be repaired, and he knows how to finance and budget for where we want to go next.

When you enter the voting booth, please vote for Ed Ackroyd; he won't let you down!

Vicki Crosier

Berne