Candidate questionnaire: Gary Elders

NAME: Gary Elders

AGE: 47

PLACE OF BIRTH: St. Louis, MO

SPOUSE, CHILDREN'S NAMES:

Tammy, married 25 years

Caitlin, Hilary, Jake, Sam and Granddaughter Lily

EDUCATION:

Scott City High School in 1983

B.S. in Business Administration from SEMO in 1987

OCCUPATION:

Store Manager

EMPLOYER:

Wal-Mart, Cape Girardeau.

BUSINESSES OWNED, ALL OR PART:

None

PUBLIC OFFICES HELD OR SOUGHT; GIVE DATES:

N/A

WHAT'S THE BIGGEST NEED YOU HOPE TO ADDRESS IF ELECTED?

Although Scott City is a small district, we need to think big. We need to have educators and administration that can continue to help fix the issues of attendance, college preparedness and raise the overall scores in math and communication arts. After attending a CSIP meeting in February, our graduation rate is 94%, which is well above the target of 85%. I plan to support programs valuable to preparing all of our students to further there education after graduation.

I will support all clubs, sports and organizations that work together for the further development of the school district and, most importantly, the students.

WHY ARE YOU THE BEST CANDIDATE?

I am a graduate of Scott City High School and I have a degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University. To further my career, my family and I moved to Indiana for 20 years. We had the opportunity to return home in 2010 to enable our children to get the same experience my wife and I had attending Scott City Schools. I have a sophomore, a 6th grader and a granddaughter attending Scott City Schools. Professionally, I can utilize more than 25 years of experience in retail management, which includes: supervising up to 500 employees, making decisions everyday that affect many people, organizations, and communities. I believe that I have the ability and experience to make the right decisions for the Scott City students and the Scott City School District.