It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend the election of Amy Marasco to Lewes City Council. Lewes will be well served and fortunate to have a tested leader and woman of great integrity and dedication to public service on its council.
Before moving to Lewes full time in 2021, Amy served on the Hillsboro, Va. town council for 12 years and as vice mayor. With Amy as my trusted colleague and partner during her tenure, together we led an unprecedented and transformative project, solving a series of critical public health and safety issues that had plagued our small historic town –founded in 1752 – for half a century.
Unequivocally, Amy’s leadership talents, business acumen, unwavering dedication and tireless work were essential to our success in Hillsboro. Amy’s expertise in securing grants, government contracting and project management were critical to Hillsboro’s ability to secure, leverage and ultimately execute a $34 million infrastructure project. The project brought safe drinking water, sanitary sewers, stormwater management, traffic calming, sidewalks, pedestrian and bike trails, fiber-to-the-home broadband and the undergrounding of all aerial utilities – most accomplished during the pandemic – in just 14 months.
Amy was integral to the years of strategic planning, public outreach and diligent legwork required to position Hillsboro – which has no town manager, planning or engineering staff – for such a complicated, multifaceted and challenging endeavor.
In our volunteer roles as mayor and vice mayor, Amy and I assumed the unpaid positions of project owners and managers for these projects, devoting thousands of hours and saving millions of taxpayers’ dollars. Amy’s project management and interpersonal skills were crucial in developing an extraordinary level of teamwork among multiple engineering and construction contractors, utilities and governmental regulatory entities at the local, state and federal levels. Her financial expertise, negotiation skills, innovative thinking and sound judgment contributed to saving additional millions in costs, and months of construction time. Amy’s excellent communication skills were critical to a much-lauded public outreach effort that included hundreds of public meetings and engagements.
Amy is passionate about public service, building community and finding ways to uplift those in our community in need. She has been selfless in her work for Hillsboro, and we do miss her. She was always clear in her intention to ultimately make Lewes, where she had owned a home for 20 years, her permanent residence. However, she kept her commitment to remain in Hillsboro until the bulk of our projects were complete, and I am grateful for that.
In addition to her work as an elected official, Amy is the founder and president of The Nature Generation, an environmental nonprofit organization now in its 20th year, dedicated to educating young people and fostering the next generation of environmental stewards.
Just as we counted on Amy as a leader to transform, revitalize and create a sustainable Hillsboro, I am certain the citizens of Lewes will find her to be an outstanding leader who will tackle the challenges – and seize the opportunities – that lie ahead.
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