Over the past year as I served on the Selectboard, I had the pleasure of working with and getting to know John Allen. When I first joined the board, I fully expected to butt heads with John over many issues, and while we sometimes did disagree, not once did we do so with acrimony. It quickly became clear to me that we shared a love for Brattleboro, and that while we might come at problems from different viewpoints, we could usually arrive together at solutions that were best for our town.
John’s extensive history of service to Brattleboro helped with this board’s ‘institutional memory’, his knowledge as a contractor was invaluable for some nitty-gritty decisions, and his strong connection to our community was evident in everything from his support of Stanley Lynde and wife Laura, to our ongoing efforts to finally construct a skatepark in town. John was also very kind and helpful to me as I navigated many of the Selectboard expectations and tasks during my first year.
On behalf of our Selectboard and our entire town, I want to thank John for his 8 years of service on the board, his straightforward candor, quick-witted humor and irrepressible enthusiasm for Brattleboro. I will miss sitting next to him with his cringe-worthy dad jokes and reassuring smile as we tackled some very serious issues for the town. I hope very much that John will continue to serve Brattleboro in other ways, because he makes the Selectboard, and indeed all of Brattleboro, richer for his presence here.
Thanks, John.
– Tim Wessel, Brattleboro Selectboard
Chiming in
I felt like John Allen really came into his own when he was no longer part of a majority. In the last few years, he’s actually contributed to ‘diversity’ — at least of opinion — on the board, which is always a good thing. I enjoyed his light touch on the issues, and his frankness when he disagreed with others. Thanks, John!