Is doing the DTA and you guys should have gotten some of the questionnaires and then I have a brief other ones.

Since we have a limited time, I'm going to kind of cruise through some of these questions, and you guys will be limited to one apiece if that's okay.

So welcome and thank you for applying for the commissions.

The first question, and we'll just bounce back and forth between the two of you.

Please give a brief outline of your education and experience as it relates to this appointment and how would your background be of benefit in relation to this specific body.

Mr.

Hadeen, if you'd like to start.

Sure.

Hello.

Thank you for having me this afternoon.

So my name is Gary Hadeen, and I am a dentist in Duluth.

And so I have been in practice for 22 years.

And so I feel like I have a good feel for the community, kind of the pulse of the community, and have experience working in with business and things of that nature.

But the experience that specifically relates to Spirit Mountain is that I have been a ski patrol, member of the Spirit Mountain Ski Patrol for 21 years, and plan to continue doing that for the foreseeable future.

And so I believe that gives me a perspective as a person who is uses our ski areas very frequently.

I mean, basically on a weekly basis, has a deep passion for our ski areas and you know the recreation opportunities that they bring to our community and wanting to see those really thrive and survive through challenging times.

And so I feel like I have sort of a, I don't know if you'd call it an insider's perspective, but the perspective of a user and sort of an employee, but not really because we're volunteers.

So I would say those are kind of the things that would help to qualify me for a position such as this.

All right, thank you.

Um Ms.

Webb.

Uh thank you so much for having me this uh afternoon.

Um my name is Dr.

Jennifer Webb.

I'm an associate professor at uh UMD where I teach art history, but more often uh at every spring I teach an urban planning class in which active transportation is a big part of the curriculum.

Uh I am a bus rider, uh, so I have been riding the DTA for almost 20 years from West Duluth to UMD, uh, which means that I spend a lot of time on the bus.

I think a lot about what it means to uh be part of that community, and I think that it's uh an opportunity for bring to bring what I hear uh on the bus from the other riders to this commission, and I'm excited to bring together my theoretical interest in active transportation, my personal experiences, and that which I see on the ground.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Uh next question.

Tell us more about why you are interested in serving in this role.

This time.

I have uh often wondered uh how I could contribute to active transportation and uh planning in Duluth in a very specific way beyond the classroom and beyond my own experience.

Uh the DTA is one that has a appeal to me because I believe that I understand some of the reasons that we went, for example, to the better uh bus plan, and I hope that I can continue to support the work that's happening in the DTA and in the community.

Thank you.

Um I I feel that uh as someone who has um you know seen Spirit Mountain um from kind of the inside, um you see things that work and things that don't work and talking to the other patrollers and to some of the employees, um you gain a perspective of you know what what they feel is working well and what is not working well, and so I think um having a perspective like that, being able to bring that um into the discussion would be a very helpful thing, um, especially because um Spirit Mountain um has over the years faced some challenges and has potentially some uh bigger uh changes that may be coming to it.

So, you know, I want to help look out for the interest of our community so that Spirit Mountain can continue to be a great resource for uh kids and adults um in Duluth and surrounding areas.

Um thank you.

Next question is what do you consider to consider to be the personal strengths or unique perspectives you would bring to this role?

Um I think that personal strengths uh that I have are that I am very willing to um listen.

I'm open to discussions, um I'm open to all different viewpoints on any given subject.

Um so I would say that I'm open-minded about things.

And so you know I'm always open to learning new things and learning new perspectives about a place.

But I feel like I'm also somebody who enjoys engaging with others in ways where we can work together to come up with new ideas and come to a consensus.

So I think that combined with my experience in the skiing community and connections I have there would help me to be an effective person for Spirit Mountain.

Thank you.

I have had the opportunity to serve on a number of different boards.

I was on the Duluth Art Institute board, the Glenchin board.

I'm currently the board chair of the Duluth Center for Women and Children.

I'm a member of the Junior League, and I was president of that, and so I have a sense of how board work goes and how one works together across a board to move priorities forward.

I'm excited to be part of a team and support the work and find my place within that group.

Thank you.

And last question.

Is there anything else you would like to add in relation to your qualifications or your interest in this appointment?

I'm just glad to be considered, and I look forward if I am put on the board to be able to start doing the work and supporting everything as we move forward in this community.

Thank you.

And I would look forward to the opportunity to help continue that energy and enthusiasm for uh skiing um in the Duluth area for our community.

Okay, thank you.

Um questions from our counselors.

Uh Vice President Kennedy.