By ALISON SHURTER
Formerly of Los Alamos
(Daughter of Councilor Melanee Hand)
Appointed Los Alamos County Councilor Melanee Hand has her hand on the pulse of what Los Alamos needs now, because she’s seen how it has grown and changed, having been a resident of Los Alamos for over 35 years. She raised her own family here, and as her daughter I know the qualities she embodies that make her the ideal candidate for the future of the town.
The town’s current challenges are not easy: battling an ongoing affordable housing crisis, revitalizing vacant areas and encouraging local business & recreation, continuing efforts to protect Los Alamos from fire danger and protecting & preserving areas with consideration of environmental impacts.
Melanee knows that the best way to handle each of these challenges and any others that come her way is with one thing: Planning. She has spent her life planning for the brightest future; first with her career, which at an early age led her to Los Alamos to work for LANL; then, as a mother, raising me and my sister into college here in town; then to Family Strengths Network Executive Board, County Boards, the Los Alamos Mountaineers Club, where she has served as President for 4 terms; and now, to join County Council and continue her service to Los Alamos by ensuring that it remains an idyllic place to live, work, and play.
My own life has been significantly affected by my mom, Melanee Hand, and I believe that my own work ethic and deliberate nature come directly from her. I now live in Los Angeles and work in TV development for major networks and have so much of my success to thank because of what I learned from my mother. Everything worth having isn’t easy, and she knows that sustained, consistent effort for the things that really matter is the only way to change things for the better. I learned that you never back away from a challenge.
I believe that there is no better candidate for County Council than Melanee Hand because no one will put in the amount of care, planning, effort, and persistence to the job as Melanee Hand will – and I know this because it’s what she’s always done.
