Greg Strausser has been married 24 years to Margaret, and is the proud father of two children. Justine (MT Class of 2003), and Stephen (MT Class of 2016) is a sophomore at York College of PA.”
Greg himself graduated from Manheim Township High School in 1974, and obtained two degrees from Penn State: Associate’s Degree in Surveying Technology (’76) and Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering (’80). He’s been a registered Professional Engineer since 1985 and is President of Strausser Surveying and Engineering, Inc. in Neffsville.
Greg currently is a member of the Manheim Township Zoning Hearing Board and an Associate Director of the Lancaster County Conservation District. In addition, he serves on the Capital Resource Conservation and Development Council, and is a Board Member of the Conservation Foundation of Lancaster County.
The combination of Greg’s professional experience in land development and his involvement in conservation issues on a local and regional basis provide him with necessary perspective and knowledge dealing with storm-water management issues each municipality will face. He is committed to fiscally responsible stewardship of Manheim Township’s assets and resources.
Greg is a family man who enjoys lunch almost every day with his parents, Hank and Fern, on Blossom Hill. He loved being a Manheim Township Band Parent for Justine and a Manheim Township Performing Arts Parent for Stephen, and enjoys a date night with Margaret each week. Greg has a passion for back-country hiking and has bagged 24 US National Parks. He is a fierce Scrabble opponent, a life-long Star Trek and a long-suffering NY Mets fan.
Donna DiMeo grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia and moved to Manheim Township 24 years ago. She feels very fortunate to have raised three children in this community which she now considers home. Donna's family has enjoyed all that Manheim Township has to offer; taking advantage of the parks, library, sports fields while enjoying the safety of the community.
Donna received her undergraduate degree from Penn State University and continued her studies at Temple where she accrued accounting credits. She currently works in the accounting departments of two different companies and is very familiar with budgeting and sound fiscal spending. Donna has enjoyed serving as a Township Commissioner for the past four years, and believes she has been able to use her background in finance to keep taxes from increasing while not sacrificing anything Manheim Township has to offer.
Ian Hodge was born and raised in Manheim Township and went to Nathan Shaeffer Elementary School as a child. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he embarked on a career of international banking with the Chase Manhattan Bank that had him travel the world and live in Italy, Liberia, Malaysia, and Singapore. He returned to Lancaster in the mid 90's and has been active in the Community ever since. He served as a longtime member and Treasurer of the Demuth Foundation Board. He is currently a Board Member of Central American Relief Efforts (CARE). Before becoming a Commissioner, Ian served on the School Board and the Manheim Township Planning Commission. His two daughters graduated from Manheim Township High School where they were both active in the marching band. He and Sara, his wife of 43 years, have just become proud grandparents of their fifth grandchild.
He has served as a MT Commissioner for the past four years. During that time, Ian was the driving force behind identifying and negotiating the usage contract with Gene Pelland, owner/operator of the Stoner Grille, which has become wildly popular with Township residents. As the Board liaison with Overlook Golf Course, he was instrumental in getting lower greens fees for MT residents and Seniors. He has voted to prevent tax increases over the last 4 years and has supported the fiscal responsibility that has resulted in the Township obtaining a AAA bond rating from S&P. He has also instigated and supported efforts to preserve farmland and reduce residential density to ensure Manheim Township remains a special place for its residents. Ian hopes to continue this positive momentum in a second term.
Ian's extended family includes five brothers and sisters, three of whom live in Lancaster. His parents-in-law are residents of Willow Valley and frequent dinner guests at the Hodge house. In his spare time, Ian likes to play golf and travel. He is an inveterate fix-it guy who likes to try to repair items around the house and in his car without calling an outside repairmen. It doesn't always work but he has fun trying anyway.
As a resident and local businessman of Manheim Township, I understand the values of those that I represent. My goal is to bring transparency back to the school board with respect to the residents, while honestly and objectively addressing all issues we face, and to do so, ALWAYS, in the spirit of service to my friends and neighbors of Manheim Township.
As a United States Army Veteran, I understand the value of service and I intend to serve the residents of Manheim Township.
My greatest accomplishment by far is raising 2 successful, happy children with my husband of forty years, Richard. Matthew is a partner in the intellectual property department of a Philadelphia law firm. Danielle is an art director in the photography studio of Hallmark in Kansas City. Both are graduates of Manheim Township.
I grew up in Springfield Delaware County and attended Lycoming College as a music major.
One of my first jobs was in the superintendent’s office of Rose Tree Media School District in Human Resources. I was a private piano teacher for ten years in Manheim Township; I conducted children’s church choirs; and I was a pre-school teacher’s aide for several years in a local pre-school.
My husband and I then became owner/operators of the franchise Mike Schmidt’s Philadelphia Hoagies in Chelsea Square. After a long legal battle with the franchisor and appearing before the Federal Trade Commission in Washington DC regarding franchisor/franchisee responsibilities, our plight became national news in franchisor obligations.
We then became independent owners and changed our name to Poor Richard’s Philadelphia Hoagies only to become victims of the prolonged Route 30 road construction which impacted Manheim Pike. I met with the project managers of both PennDot and Balfour Beatty and demanded that the road be opened for the busy Christmas season. This became a huge accomplishment to aid the struggling businesses along that corridor.
In more recent years I have worked as a floral designer which led me to the funeral business. In that capacity I was a representative for a Harrisburg area funeral home and travelled throughout the state meeting with bereaved families and also worked in marketing.
Everything I have undertaken in life has been with passion. I am not afraid of standing up for what is right. Unquestionably our children deserve the best education possible, but not at the expense of fiscal irresponsibility.
As is the case in all communities, we have a varied demographic of young families and senior citizens on fixed incomes. Senior citizens who have grandchildren are just as concerned about quality education as the families with school age children.
We need a school board that is accountable to all taxpayers of all ages by being transparent, thorough and responsible. No one wants to see the program cutbacks of recent years to balance a debt heavy budget. That is not an acceptable alternative.
Choose your school board wisely! Your vote on November 7th will impact your debt for years to come.
For George's resume click here.
The Beginning:
August 21, 1949, Hortonville, NY
Family:
Parents, Leo Sr. and Rita Margaret Rosenberger; Siblings Ann, William, Margaret and Barbara. Daughters, Leigh Sherrard and Ruth Ellyn
Education:
Holy Cross Catholic Grade School, NY; Delaware Valley Central High School, NY; Broome Technical Community College, NY; Texas Christian University (TCU), TX; SUNY, Albany, NY; Penn State University, PA; Community Association Institute, PA;
Major Studies:
Political Science; English; Accounting; Long-Term Health Care Planning; College Counseling; Community Association Management (HOA's).
Professional Designations:
Certified Public Accountant, PA; Association Management Specialist; SEC Series 7 License, Retired; PA Life & Health Insurance License, Retired.
Employment:
Notable Experiences:
Personal Interests:
Marianne thanks you for the opportunity to run for school board director at Manheim Township School District. Both she and her husband Jere appreciate the fine education their four children received as they went through elementary, middle, and high school.
Their fondness, Marianne notes, centers on memories of wonderful teachers and activities, not on buildings. She has heard similar thoughts from community members who have expressed great concern about the current school board’s approval to pile more debt on top of the district’s current debt of more than $120M.
We have teachers' contracts pending, pensions to be met, and more than $120M in debt, much of that from overspending on the new high school. Marianne can't understand why the current school board is rushing to add to this load with a new middle school costing more than $100M. Can you? The school district’s financial obligations are already so high.
Some of you have already spoken out about your concern. Some of you have said how unhappy you were when the school board cut art and music after overspending on the new high school. Why was no money spent to repair and maintain the existing middle school in the past two years?
Our aging middle school has been plagued with design flaws since its construction in 1969 and ultimately needs to be replaced, but can't we repair it for a few more years, after we take the time to research the best options and to reduce our existing debt load?
No student should miss educational opportunities, because the district overspent on building projects. Nor do we want school and property taxes to climb so high homeowners must flee Manheim Township. We will need a team of concerned residents on the school board to put the focus on education for our students, not on fancy buildings. That’s why Marianne joined the Building Education, Not Buildings team.
Following her graduation from Hood College, Marianne lived and worked in New York City where she was managing editor of The Hudson Review, a literary quarterly, and Assistant Director of The Poetry Center, a lecture forum of poets and writers, at the 92nd Street YM-YWHA. She returned to the area when her father became ill and worked as a writer for the York Sunday News and the York Daily Record. For most of her career, Marianne has worked in magazines and newspapers, so she is well acquainted with the Sunshine Law, and its power to ensure the best for communities.
More recently, she served as Director of Communications and Development for the Lancaster County Council of Churches. Since the death of her parents and because her siblings live much further away, she left that position to keep the family’s 59-year-old business running. In addition, she continues to write and edit on a freelance basis. Marianne will use her training, knowledge, and experience to help the school district.
On Tuesday November 7, vote for Marianne Strittmatter, Samantha Calderon, Daniel Gonzales, Dianne Mousley, Leo Rosenberger and George Wilcox.
Many thanks, and if you can volunteer to help, please let us know!
Patricia has been married for 28 years to Jon, and they are the proud parents of two children, William (Lancaster Catholic 2012, Millersville University 2016) and Timothy (Manheim Township 2015, Shippensburg University 2019). Patricia and her family are active members of the Mater Dei Latin Mass Community at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Harrisburg.
Patricia grew up in New York State, and received her bachelor's degree in Finance/Economics from Fordham University. Patricia worked for seven years at the Bank of NY Mellon in the Banking/Institutional Investment Management Industry. Patricia and Jon moved to Richmond, Virginia in 1992, where Patricia continued her career in investment banking at Wheat, First, Butcher, and Singer - now known as Wells Fargo Advisors.
In 2000, Jon's employment brought the Kabels to Central Pennsylvania. They chose Manheim Township and Lancaster County because of its reasonable cost of living, good schools, and open, picturesque landscapes. During the years that Patricia raised her two sons, her fondest memories include kid writing and room parenting at Reidenbaugh, lunch duty at Neff Elementary, visiting William's German class in middle school, and attending the many orchestra concerts that her boys participated in at Manheim Township.
In 2014, Patricia was elected as the Manheim Township Tax Collector. Patricia brought 12 years of experience in banking and the investment banking industry, as well as her state Qualified Tax Collector status - thus exceeding the requirement to maintain that status each year of her term. Patricia brought the largest tax office in the county into the 21st century by stream-lining procedures and upgrading technology, while cutting expenses. Saving time and money gave her the ability to do what she enjoys most: interacting with and servicing the taxpayers of Manheim Township, however they may need her.
On Tuesday, November 7th, Patricia humbly asks for your vote. She looks forward to serving the people of Manheim Township for another term.
For Sam's resume click here.