Karen Dawe-Hale
More than a quarter century ago, Karen Dawe-Hale and her husband were thrilled to buy their forever home off Western Gully Rd. The rural beauty of the Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s was a welcome change from their life in downtown St. John’s and cities further west. It took them back to their Bay roots, where neighbours look out for each other, and everyone lends a hand as they are able.
It was the perfect place to raise their little family, and for Karen to fill her spare time with volunteering.
Karen volunteers with her church and their popular Thrift Store. She is a member of the Occupational Health and Safety committee for the building in which she works. During her child’s younger years, Karen also stepped into parent-volunteer roles: Chaperone for a world-renowned choir, manager of soccer teams, and leader with Girl Guides (where Karen was honoured with a merit award). Her greatest fun, however, has been helping at school drop-off lanes, where she can act a little goofy and still keep children safe.
With a Certificate in Business Administration from MUN and a Diploma in Broadcasting from Algonquin College, Karen worked as a radio host before joining a daily newspaper in Ottawa as an editor. She then accepted a position with a provincial magazine in St. John’s. After a decade there in increasingly challenging roles, Karen joined a national Not-for-Profit, ultimately working her way up to Association Manager in a career she still enjoys.
Through all this, Karen has found the keys to longstanding success include consultation, collaboration and compromise.
Every perspective matters, and informed opinions deserves to be heard. That doesn’t mean one opinion will be the deciding factor. In most cases, there are multiple important issues to be considered. The key is to balance those issues and find a fair and reasonable common ground.
Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s is a wonderful rural town. Our schools and sports facilities have produced some of the tops in their fields. Our volunteer fire department is second to none. We have lit walking paths, and marked hiking trails featuring some of the province’s most scenic views. Our day cares and restaurants and retail outlets and professional services frequently draw customers from neighbouring communities. And our service groups help thousands of people locally and around the world.
Yes, there is room for improvement. We need to find ways to share space with cyclists and those on light motorized devices like scooters. We need to ensure all citizens have access to safe and dependable water supplies. We need managed development that respects the environment and the current infrastructure limitations. We need activities for mid to older teens, and find ways to maximize our public facilities. We need to take care of our citizens on fixed and lower incomes. We need to fully support all the things we are doing well. And we need to do that without raising taxes.
Most of all: We need to work together.
On October 2, please vote for Karen Dawe-Hale.
Contact Information
Facebook: Karen Dawe-Hale PCSP Council Candidate
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 709-740-4253
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