Please Allow Me to Continue Serving as a Selectman in Windham

Windham neighbors and friends,

I have been serving as your Selectman with the utmost integrity, and ask for your continued trust and vote in support at the upcoming election. It has been an honor to serve with fellow Selectmen Ross McLeod, Bruce Breton, Roger Hohenberger, Jennifer Simmons, and Al Letizio. We've accomplished a lot, from passing budgets, to assembling an incredible community development, finance, and planning leadership team amidst our successful restructuring efforts. This was a team effort, accomplished through the hard work and great care of volunteers on town boards and committees, and residents who voiced their opinions and shaped the outcome. Thank you for placing your trust in us and for being involved in doing your part.

Windham is one of the fastest growing towns in New Hampshire with schools, teachers, town employees, first responders, local businesses, recreational activities, and people - second to none. I am humbled by how highly involved you all are in making this a truly special place to live. This is the environment I’d love to help improve, one where residents can become involved in a more meaningful way, have a better time doing it, and accomplish real results that serve everyone’s best interests.

To the best of my ability I have delivered upon the promises I made when I first asked for your trust 3 years ago. I have served on the Planning Board, as Welfare Overseer, and on Committees for Economic Development (WEDC), Market Square, Energy, Land Use, Strategic Planning, Broadband Infrastructure, Historic, Recreation, and Records Retention, among others. This year, the Board renewed our commitment to our Employee of the Year appreciation program and expanded it to include special recognition for Town Volunteers. We’ve also released an annual survey, enabling all employees to share feedback on their overall satisfaction and ways they feel management and our Board can support their continued growth. Our greatest strength is our people, and we value their insights.

Windham is rich with history, arts and culture – all of which are incredibly important to me – and I believe their support should be a fundamental priority for the community. Over the coming three years I will devote myself to the following goals I am most passionate about:

- See our Employee Satisfaction and Development initiative through to increasing success.

- See our Civic Engagement Website initiative through to success with a focus on increasing transparency, accessibility, and ease of engagement.

- Focus on increasing awareness and participation in the extraordinary activities and programming offered by our Recreation department and our Library, and ultimately sharing our success strategy with surrounding communities. We need to provide equal opportunities for all ages, and so I am incredibly passionate about increasing the frequency, and cultural diversity of trips and services for our Seniors.

As I look back on these past few years, I can truly say that work in public service is a privilege and that I have enjoyed making the difference I can for the residents and small businesses in our community.

Recognizing others is one of the greatest privileges of public service. And so most importantly, I encourage you to become involved. Whether you are a stay at home parent, a local business owner, or a professional – there are so many opportunities where you can make a difference.

Please consider voting this March 14th to allow me to serve you for another term. I want to see our employee appreciation and civic engagement initiatives through and continue to work with the Board to enhance the recreational and cultural opportunities we provide to all Windham residents.

Warm Regards,

Joel Desilets