My name is Mike Cool and I am running for the Town of Verden Trustee position that is to be filled in the April 7 general election.

I was born in Plattsburg, New York on Sept. 10, 1959. My father was a Gunnery Sgt. for the U.S. Marine Corps. In 1963, he was transferred to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego as a Drill Instructor. His 20-year enlistment was completed in 1966. My Mom worked as a waitress. I am the youngest of four children, with two brothers and a sister.

  I graduated from El Capitan High School in San Diego in 1978. Upon graduation, I enrolled in a shipfitting course at the San Diego Community College. After completing the 15-week course, however, I was offered a job as a welder at a fence company. A year-and-a-half later, Dad and I took what I had learned from both school and work to start our own company, “Cool's Corrals and Horses,” manufacturing horse feeders, portable stalls, shelters, livestock panels, arenas, and portable corrals.

In 1997, after working for 17 years, some friends in Verden told me about the quiet environment and calm pace Verden has to offer, so I moved to Verden on July 5, 1998. Over the past 11 years, I have been involved with the Verden Centennial Celebration Board, the Verden Centennial History Book Committee, and the Verden Senior Citizens Meals on Wheels. 

I have taken several courses at the Canadian Valley Technology Center, including welding, introduction to computers, autocad and basic photography. I was formerly employed with Hart Manufacturing in Chickasha.

Over the years, I have attended many town council meetings and I have seen that community attendance is very low if nonexistent. I believe that for a governing board to be effective in its actions and concerns, it is important that it realize there are people out there for whom it is making decisions, decisions that affect their way of life in some respect.

Public participation with positive input can make a notable impact on the decision of the five individuals who oversee the decision process. Policy, procedure, and practice, in my opinion, are necessities for any governing board to function properly.

With the initiative, cooperation, communication and goals set within the council, we the community as a whole stand a higher percentage of fulfillment of our needs.

As a candidate for this position, it would be unfair for me to make a statement now as to what I plan to do if elected should it involve a financial matter. With the situation the economy is in at present, I cannot allow this. However, I will, to the best of my ability, do what I can to be active within the governing structure and the general public to work with what we have.