Wednesday, November 20, 2002
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Wednesday, November 20, 2002 |
The first couple of Fayette CountyBy MICHAEL
BOYLAN
Mike and Janet Smola moved to Tyrone in 1993 and have been very involved in the community ever since. Janet became a member of the Fayette County Board of Education two years ago. Now her husband, Mike, will join her as an elected official after unseating incumbent Councilman Ronnie Cannon by 16 votes. The Smolas are believed to be the first married couple in the county to hold local office at the same time, but neither of them seem to think it will change their relationship in any way. The couple has been married for 30 years and has lived in Massachusetts, Illinois and New York before moving to Tyrone. Mike is a finance manager for ASA/Delta Air Lines and Janet is a professional fund-raiser for nonprofit organizations. As the years have progressed they became more active in the community, starting with PTO meetings and heading up booster clubs. They are members of the Republican Party and have worked with the Atlanta Red Cross, the Chamber of Commerce and the United Way. In 1999 the SPLOST initiative failed by 65 percent. Janet got involved in trying to get the next SPLOST passed. The next initiative failed as well, but only by 1 percent. Janet then decided to run for a seat on the school board during the next election and won. Mike then began to attend many of the meetings with her, and started to get interested in the local political scene. Mike Smola cited Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs when talking about his interest in politics. "This discusses a person's needs during life as a person gets older and begins self-actualization. As one gets older he or she can occupy their time with politics." The Smolas do not see any conflicts of interest in the future and do not think they will have to abstain from any voting due to either spouse's office. Of their three children, Evan is a freshman at the University of Georgia, while Zach is a senior at Sandy Creek and Andrew is a freshman. The nights of their meetings are on different nights, often during different weeks, so one of them will always be home and available for their kids. "Community service has enriched all of the family's lives," said Janet Smola, who was proud that Evan returned from UGA last week to vote in the elections. "We never insisted that the boys become active in the community but we have led by example." Both Mike and Janet Smola say they look forward to representing their community and trying to keep Fayette County a special place for its citizens.
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