This October, Karen Goodings will call it a career or, at least, her life in the public eye.
It was fall of 1988 when the well-known Cecil Lake-area matriarch accepted a request from her late friend Shirley Pomeroy.
“I was asked by Shirley, who was the director for electoral area B, if I would consider being her alternate. I agreed,” recalls Goodings.
Pomeroy would pass away only a short time later.
“I let my name stand. Nobody else did. I got in by acclamation. Basically I've been there ever since. I believe there was one time another person was interested, but I managed to win.”
“Since then, nobody's wanted to run against me.”
Although no one has expressed an interest in running in this year's upcoming municipal election for area B just yet, she has confirmed she'll step aside regardless.
“So, I certainly hope someone is going to this year,” she jokes.
For Goodings, it's always been about helping neighbours in both her personal and her political life.
“My whole reason for wanting to be the director was to improve the lives of rural people,” says the 34-year political veteran.
“Some small accomplishments, not larges one. Had some people that finally got a telephone, for instance, that didn't have one. Got power (electricity) they didn't have before.”
“A lot of things I would have liked to see happen have not happened,” she continues, “natural gasification, being one, for some of our rural residents. They have no choice but to use either diesel or propane. It's very expensive. Although the gas is under their feet, they can't access it.”
As she looks back on her three-plus decades of service, she concedes she will miss it.
“There comes a time for fresh blood and the time has come.”
Goodings has two pearls of wisdom, though, for the next person who steps up – be ready to commit the time needed to be a director is the first.
“Shirley (Pomeroy) said to me, at the beginning, there's only two meetings a months...okay? Obviously, that's not true,” she laughs, admitting it's become a big part of her life.
The other: choose to run for the right reason – “to improve the lives of rural people.”
Goodings will complete that task in October as she's done everyday since 1988.
