This could be interesting

Well it's almost showtime.

Yes boys and girls, once again the men and women of the Buffalo Grove Village Board will meet to discuss operations of the Village and to, more than likely, hear Trustee Lisa Stone pontificate on the hole in the ozone layer, which has apparently impacted her colleagues on the Board etc. etc. etc.

Let's not forget that the Nov. 2 election is just a bit more than two weeks away, so every bit of time in front of the camera is valuable.

Included, as always, on the agenda are the highly popular "Reports for Trustees" during which time most trustees report on board-related activities that they have been involved with as part of the role as trustee.

Trustee Beverly Sussman's report will include information about a "Why I Love Buffalo Grove" Contest.  The idea was brought to light a little more than a year ago when Board President Elliott Hartstein reported to the Board how he met a young resident, Rachel Becker, at the 2009 Buffalo Grove Days during which she suggested the village have such a contest.

Great idea.  Rachel seems appreciative of the village, polite, and articulate, which puts her way ahead of some trustees.

So what happened to the idea?  Another resident caught the Sept. 8, 2009 on video and also thought it was a good idea and put together a proposal for a comprehensive contest for the village.  The intent, according to the original proposal, was to foster as many relationships as possible in the village.  For example, the village could work with the school districts, Historical Society, business community, park district and other organizations.

The intent, according to the author, is to, in a perfect world, have participants develop a project that is grade appropriate and encourage them to do school-based, or school-quality research.  The developer noted that it would be great if  participants worked with their teacher so perhaps, the project would benefit the participant if he/she was working in conjunction with the learning standards established by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

The developer is an educator and also happens to be a blogger.

I developed the plan.

So why blog about it?  A cheesy effort to be self-serving?  A way to win the hearts of school children?  A hint that I may run for the Board (ah, no...)?

No.  It's a preemptive strike, if you will, at critics who may think this was done to boost my visibility to the board or to discredit Stone.

It was done because I think it's a good idea.  Period.

There are no hidden agendas, not motives or any plans other than the obvious.

A little background ---  I submitted the original concept to Hartstein and former Village Manager Bill Brimm who suggested I run it past Sussman as she is a former school teacher.  In April, I met with Brimm, Sussman, and Trustee Jeff Braiman to discuss the idea.  One other trustee was dying to get into the meeting and did so by asking a lame question of Brimm and then asked what the meeting was about.  She was told -- an essay contest.  I don't think she believed Brimm (this is news?) and sauntered away.

Since that time I have exchanged emails with Sussman, Hartstein and Deputy Village Manager Ghida Neukirch about the plan and was delighted when I received an email from Neukirch informing me that the proposal would be discussed by the Board at the Oct. 18 meeting.

So, as Mr. Portokalos would say, there you go.

There is nothing else to it.  True most of my blogs have focused on the upheaval at Board meetings brought on by Miz Quixote.

But it is important to note that there are (myself excluded at this point) residents who want to do things for the village on a volunteer basis.

Not everything needs to focus on one trustee who has a limited personal agenda.

So not only am I pleased the Board will discuss it Monday night, but I'll get to meet Rachel as well.

As I said, she seems to love the village, is polite, and articulate -- maybe she'll want to run for the Board.  If nothing else, they'd have to finish early so she can get home before curfew.

And who knows, there may be an opening soon.