Meet Vice-Mayor Nancy A. Alexander

By Jeff Curtis, Director Orange Downtown Alliance | Posted: Wednesday, June 03, 2009

"When I was in high school we lived in Columbia, South Carolina. I volunteered as a docent at the Columbia Historic Foundation and gave tours at an historic house. I remember one summer the City didn't mow the right-of-way on the public property around historic house. The grass was getting out of hand and looked terrible, despite our calls to request the City maintain the property", starts Nancy when I asked her about her deep involvement in Orange politics, "So my dad loaded the lawn mower into the trunk of the car, headed downtown, and mowed it. It looked beautiful but more important, his doing that left a lasting impression of how you sometimes need to set the example to get things done." It's how Nancy operates. "You can't get frustrated or unhappy about a situation unless you're willing to get involved, everybody needs to represent their interest in the community" she continued.

This is Nancy Alexander: Vice-Mayor, Councilperson, local business owner, devoted gardener, embroidery and felting enthusiast, care-giver to numerous goldfish, 6 dogs, 4 cats, 5 guinea pigs and 2 Degus.

Right. "What the heck is a Degu?" Basically it's a rat: only recently found in pet shops, they have diurnal habits, bubbly personalities, a haired tail (as compared to rats and mice) live up to 13 years, are intelligent and apparently very loveable. Anyway, Nancy's got two.

But back to work. Nancy is one of those introspective, thoughtful people who listens to a presentation or discussion at a Town Council meeting and has the unique ability to ask just the right question or come up with just the right conclusion to put a common-sense approach to whatever the issue. She has that warm, person to person countenance you not only feel comfortable with but almost refreshes you when you spend any time with her.

Nancy has been on the Council for 3 years and resided in Orange for 17. The first Director of ODA, Executive Director of Montpelier Hunt Races for 7 of those years, Special Events Director of Montpelier for a while, and an amateur horsewoman. She owns her own business, Specialty Housekeeping, LLC and helps us get things done in Orange.

"All of us can make a difference in some way" she said, "it's easy to become complacent, and we get caught up in our everyday lives. But, like my Dad did years ago, sometimes we have to just take action, set an example, and take some responsibility on ourselves.

Nancy, we are grateful for all the wonderful things you bring to Orange, Degus and all.

For more information on Specialty Housekeeping please contact Nancy at specialtyhousekeeping@gmail.com, or visit her website at www.specialtyhousekeeping.com.