061224_GYS_2024_WEB

2O2 4 – 2O2 5 GU I D E to Y E L LOW S P R I NG S 5 That Mayor Pam Conine sees the village as one giant classroom should come as little surprise, considering that she was an educator for over four decades. From the enduring spirit of volunteerism that teaches villagers ever new ways to get involved in the community, to her own efforts educating local children on the work of local government, Mayor Conine believes there are lessons to be learned around every corner in Yellow Springs. “In many regards, I feel that I am still a teacher,” Conine said. “That’s always been my goal: to create community inside and outside the class- room.” Now in her third term as the village’s mayor, Conine said MEET YOUR MAYOR By REILLY DIXON ▲ Since becoming Mayor of Yellow Springs in 2017, Pam Conine — known around town as just “Mayor Pam” — has officiated nearly 200 marriages, over 100 proclamations, cut dozens ribbons and much more in the interest of serving her beloved community. her tenure has been rife with lessons learned and lessons shared. As of this year, she has officiated 139 marriages, issued 92 proclamations — amounting to innumerable “Whereas”es — and cut nearly a dozen ribbons. Several times throughout each week, she works with district children, tutoring in math, language arts and, of course, civics. All this work keeps the 73-year old village resident quite busy, but it’s in keeping with the promises she made to her soon-to-be constitu - ents when she first ran for office in 2017. “I wanted to be a visible and active mayor,” Conine said. “I sought to make something of the office of mayor and really put it to use for the village, for my community.” Conine said she felt called to run for office when she heard former President Barack Obama’s farewell speech in 2017. Something deep stirred in her when she heard the call to action, “Change only hap - pens when ordinary people get involved.” “There it was,” Conine said. “The seed was planted.” Conine’s campaign — a “three-legged stool,” she called it — centered around broaden- ing the scope of the position’s traditional and ceremonial tasks, upholding the judicial responsibilities with a greater emphasis on social justice and continuing her role as a lifelong educator at every pos- sible turn. On those platforms, Conine was elected that year with 63% of the vote, succeeding Dave Foubert, who chose to retire rather than run again after 26 years in the office. Her first term began at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2018. “I quickly got to work, get- ting the office to match my personality,” Conine said. “I tried to become a conduit for communication. If a villager needed something from me, they could call anytime.” True to her word, Conine instituted office hours — a mayoral first in Yellow Springs. To this day her doors remain open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 1–5 p.m. “Also when I became mayor, I immediately let all the teach- ers in the district know that P H O T O : R E I L L Y D I X O N