My name is Neal Appelbaum and I am running for Cannon County Executive. I made the decision to run for this office three years ago, and have since completed my community and personal business matters so that I can devote myself fully to the functions of the Executive's office.
Having recently turned 50, I've been reflecting on my past 25 years of doing business, the ever-growing pool of wise professionals and mentors who have guided me, and on my continuing ability to turn lemons into lemonade.
My family life was shaped by the pursuit of the American Dream. My grandparents were born in NYC and achieved high school educations. My father went to college and graduate school. With his Master of Business Administration degree in hand, my father climbed the corporate ladder at Ford Motor Company, requiring our family to move often. When I was 12 years old, he left corporate and bought his own Ford dealership. Our whole family worked for the business and as a teenager I learned accounting, budgeting, customer service and facility management.
I have a bachelor's degree in economics, and in my late 20s passed the Certified Public Accountants exam. Although I do not practice accounting as a profession,
I can strategically apply the tools and techniques of the trade to assist private businesses, community organizations, and individuals in meeting their mission.
That is my mission.
Since moving to Cannon County in 2002, I have volunteered my experience and expertise to improve the cultural and economic lives of the residents of this county:
• Served six years on the board of Cannon County Chamber of Commerce, two as President. In that time we refocused the board's mission toward marketing and obtained additional operational revenue for the board.
• Served four years on the Cannon County Industrial Development Board, two as Chairman, where we resolved a federal lawsuit and sold off vacant properties which put them on the property tax rolls. I oversaw an infrastructure grant benefiting Crane Interiors and ultimately the sale of the property to Crane management.
• Served for five years on the board of the Stones River Watershed Association, two as board President. In that time the Headwaters Wildlife Management Area was created and the Pea Ridge Watershed Management Area was expanded, establishing an additional 1,000 acres of protected land for wildlife habitat, hiking and hunting.
• Served eighteen months on the board of the Arts Center of Cannon County and was hired as Executive Director of the Arts Center from 2013 to 2017. I lead a top to bottom renewal of the Arts Center, including remodeling and refurbishing the existing building, adding solar power, creating a no-cost site for the weekly Farmers Market, fundraising over $800,000 in 5 years and reducing over a half million dollars in debt down to zero.
• Worked to install the first residential grid-tied solar power system in Middle Tennessee, and expanded it to create a solar farm in 2012.
• Spearheaded and sourced funding for numerous local projects, including:
-- building a kayak/canoe launch on the East fork of Stones River.
-- planting trees with high school students at Brown Spurlock Park, with more to be planted in Fall 2018.
-- won an Energy Efficiency community block grant that funded the installation of new HVAC equipment on Woodbury town hall and helped fund Canon County high school's cooling tower replacement.
I plan to live out the remainder of my days in Cannon County, and will continue to contribute my time, talent and financial resources to benefit this community.
I am ready to apply my strong skills to being the Cannon County Executive and I ask for your support in the August 2 election.
Thank you.