Press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dec. 21, 2010

CONTACT: Terra Ponder, (575) 682-3253, voteforarlan@gmail.com

ARLAN PONDER ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY

FOR CLOUDCROFT SCHOOL BOARD SEAT #2

CLOUDCROFT, NM, - Arlan Ponder, a father of two Cloudcroft students, former Village of Cloudcroft trustee, Air Force veteran and Cloudcroft Light Opera Company board of trustee, officially announced his candidacy for Cloudcroft School Board.

People who know Ponder know he has the ability to look at an issue and make decisions based on what is good for the community. When he was on the Village Council he assisted with balancing the budget without cutting salaries or personnel. He is known to be willing to listen to people’s opinions and work toward a common goal.

“My father was an educator. He taught me you have to be responsible and make tough decisions when you are in a leadership position. I believe we need to take a hard look at where we are with regard to spending and where we want to be in the next few years,” Ponder said. “Current trends show education funding in the state of New Mexico are decreasing, so the need to be financial stewards is even more important than it has ever before.”

“When my wife and I began looking at moving here in the 1990s, the outstanding schools were a tremendous part of our decision making process. I brag to people about how remarkable the quality of our education system is here in our close-knit mountain community. The fact the people in our community come from such a diverse background further assists with making our schools a true melting pot.”

Arlan Ponder is the deputy public affairs officer at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., a United States Air Force veteran and a graduate of Tarleton State University. He lives in Cloudcroft with Terra, his wife of 20 years, and their two daughters Kenzi – a sophomore at Cloudcroft High School – and Kalei – a fourth grader at Cloudcroft Elementary School.

“I will need the support of everyone from Mayhill to Weed to Timberon to Sunspot to Cloudcroft to assist me in my bid for school board. I ask you for your vote on Feb. 1.”

Visit http://voteforarlan.blogspot.com/ to learn more about Arlan Ponder and his run for Cloudcroft School Board.

For interview requests, contact Terra Ponder at voteforarlan@gmailcom.

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It's OFFICIAL

It's official. I'm on the ballot for Cloudcroft School Board, position 2. As of 4 p.m. today it is Ed Woten and me running for that position.

Community support at Christmas tree lighting

Talked to a number of folks today at the Christmas tree event. We live in such an awesome community with a lot of people who are concerned about each other. We live, we love and we celebrate here. Talked to some parents about my plans to run for school board, received a lot of good feedback on people's concerns. Over the next month I need to get smart on school issues ... I'll appreciate any, and all, help. And, of course, I'll need everyone's vote.