March 2011

– New job!

Personal Activities
Good news – I have found a job… I created one! When I was in the legislature, a number of colleagues recruited me to write their newsletters as well. It’s fun and easy for me. Add to that a fierce entrepreneurial streak I’ve never been able to tame, nor had the guts to pursue. Stir in a little good timing and now you have Sharp Connections, LLC, a political communications business that is “Translating Politics into English” for state and local elected officials and candidates.

My specialty is e-newsletters – helping clients build their email list and effectively use it. It has been ten years since I started writing legislative e-newsletters for the American Cancer Society and then in the legislature, but in that short time, email has hit its peak and social media has surged into the limelight. Social media, websites, media relations, and limited campaign management are just a few examples of how I am helping public servants communicate effectively with their constituents.

Part of my week is spent in Topeka and the rest writing from home. I’m realizing a single-serving coffeemaker and more pairs of sweatpants are in my future if this endeavor is to be successful!

Announcements
Spring elections have notoriously low turnout and it’s my belief that this level of government has the closest impact on our day-to-day lives. Please vote on Tuesday, April 5. Click here to see your ballot and polling location: https://voter.jocoelection.org/Search.aspx

Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees
As I mentioned in my last newsletter, my friend, Greg Musil, is running for the board and would be a great asset. Incumbent Chair and Vice Chair Don Weiss and Jon Stewart both decided to run again and I am grateful they did – we need their institutional knowledge and financial smarts on our team.
Nine candidates are running, so it will be a daunting view on your ballot machine but I hope to make it easy:
Musil
Stewart
Weiss
Want a yard sign? Reply to this email and the yard sign fairy will pay a visit!

Shawnee Mission School District
At-Large: John St. Clair
·      In a 3-way race in the open seat to replace Larry Winn, John is the only candidate with business experience, and as a former mayor (Fairway), he understands public sector budgets. For 25 years he has helped businesses find inefficiencies and developed and implemented solutions. Our school district cannot afford to wait for others to “get up to speed” while the legislature determines our fate. John will hit the ground running and bring fresh ideas to the boardroom.
·      Please reply to this email if you would like a yard sign!
Northwest: Patty Mach
South: Deb Zila
·      Both of these members did yeoman’s work on the school closings. They needed to happen and we should re-elect people who make the tough decisions, especially when it’s not politically popular.
North: Sara Goodburn – this is an open seat and Sara has been a longtime active parent, serving on virtually every committee in her attendance area. The clincher for me is her consistent support of increased local control for our schools.

Olathe School District
Rick Schier – I worked with Rick at CommunityAmerica Credit Union where he is a Senior Vice President. Great guy, very involved in Olathe and running because he wants to continue giving back to his community.
·      As an aside, I understand that while Rick would only represent one position in the district, the entire school district votes in his election. So, in theory, one could win the area they are to represent, but could lose the remainder of the district and effectively lose their race. That seems pretty contrary to democracy – other people deciding who will represent you. OK, thanks for letting me vent. I just thought that was so odd.

Olathe Mayor
Mayor Mike Copeland is doing a fantastic job as Olathe’s mayor and apparently his opponent “just wanted to get involved.” Suggestion for my readers – if you want to get involved, I wouldn’t recommend running against a competent, popular, and well-spoken community leader on your first foray…

Lenexa City Council
Andy Huckaba and Steve Lemons are both doing a great job providing cohesion to a council that has been wracked by tragedy. Andy’s communication skills are legendary and you should follow him on Twitter @andyhuckaba. Steve and Andy are both on Facebook as well. Steve is new to the board, replacing the late John Ramsey and has been very visible and accessible in this new role.

Prairie Village Mayor
Ron Shaffer: Another very competent, fiscally responsible, widely respected, and notoriously jovial public servant. Ron is definitely guilty of helping maintain the city’s nickname – Perfect Village.

Overland Park City Council Wards 2 & 6
Ward 2: Paul Lyons  - I don’t even know Paul but it seems that Overland Park is doing pretty well with him there. That being said, many voters hit the polls to vote against someone rather than for someone else. If you need that reason, check out Paul’s opponent, Bill Lindquist’s Facebook page (before he took it down): http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2011/01/bill_lindquist_overland_park_c.php. I wish this was a spoof article and not true.

Ward 6: Rick Collins – Collins has both the business background as well as a fundamental understanding of city issues through his many years as member and chair of the OP Planning Commission and member and chair of the OP Chamber of Commerce. City issues are generally very technical in nature and his experience will be critical to continuing the professionalism of the OP Council.

Mission Hills City Council
Former Lenexa City Councilman Dan Sullivan moved to Mission Hills and couldn’t get rid of the public service itch! You’ll see him on the ballot and his city experience makes him uniquely qualified for the post.

Board Activities
In a recent meeting, the board took action to move the meetings from video to audio online. The cameras and cameramen to operate them cost $40,000 per year. We are investigating other alternatives that might include students filming the meetings as part of a class. With the advent of free live-streaming online audio and video, I would like for us to find an option. However, I do not feel providing the audio online is any less transparent than video and it has the byproduct of reducing some of the grandstanding that happens with video. What do you think? If you were interested in an issue at our board meetings, is that information by audio less access than video?

Due to the recent shooting at a school board meeting in Florida, as well as the Giffords shooting in Arizona, the board had a security briefing and held a number of drills in case of an active shooter in a board meeting.

Learning Quality Committee
I have enjoyed serving on this committee because each meeting provides examples of how JCCC continues to adapt to the changing educational and workforce environment. At the last meeting, the committee approved efforts to provide applications development courses specifically for mobile devices. We may have the next brilliant iPhone app developed right here in Johnson County!

Speaking of, I have a new iPhone and always love to hear about favorite apps – what are yours? I love CardMunch, Dragon Dictation (voice-to-text), me360 (KC deals), Groupon, RedLaser, and Key Ring. Open Table and Yelp have proven helpful when traveling.

Foundation Board
The Foundation is very stable and recent reports show our investments have outpaced gains by the S&P 500. What is even better news is we have a record number of scholarships offered as well as a record amount accepted. Some of these awards will not be used because students leave in the middle of the semester or do not maintain a minimum GPA. Even with normal attrition, we are still on track for a record year of disbursements to students in financial need.

Performing Arts Series tickets
Congratulations to Kent Zimmerman of Shawnee, Dean Vermeire and Dan Morgan of Lenexa, Donna Lauffer of Overland Park who won tickets to various JCCC Performing Arts Series shows. 

Resources
JCCC Board of Trustees meetings on video: http://video.jccc.edu/board.htm
JCCC Carlsen Center shows: http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/001440/site/toc_events
KS Legislative Research:  http://skyways.lib.ks.us/ksleg/KLRD/klrd.html
Johnson County Election Office - www.jocoelection.org
Upcoming Board of Trustees meetings: http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/000001/site/BoardMeetingInfo/Board_Meeting_Dates
Find your long lost CASH!!! http://www.kansascash.com/prodweb/up/disclaimer_page.php

Please do not hesitate to contact me about these or any other issues of interest to you.  I appreciate the opportunity to represent you on the Board of Trustees.

Stephanie Sharp
Trustee, Johnson County Community College
12345 College Blvd
Overland Park, KS 66210
www.stephaniesharp.com
www.twitter.com/4stephaniesharp
www.facebook.com/4stephaniesharp
913-256-5862

About the Sharp Record
Stephanie Sharp was elected to represent Lenexa and Shawnee in the Kansas House of Representatives in November 2002 and started the Sharp Record as a way to inexpensively inform Kansans on happenings at the Kansas Statehouse. The newsletter boils down complicated political and legislative procedure to explain its impact on your everyday life.

Stephanie left the legislature in 2008 to further her career and start a family. In 2009, she was elected to the Johnson County Community College (JCCC) Board of Trustees where she now focuses the newsletter on a county-wide audience.

The Sharp Record is a conduit for the two-way conversation Stephanie believes is critical to representative government. To view previous editions and learn more about Stephanie, visit www.StephanieSharp.com.

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