Rhonda Skiles Thurman
Age: 57
Occupation: Owner of Rhonda’s Beauty Shop
Residence: Falling Water
Years lived in Hamilton County: 57 years
Family: Married, one child, one grandchild
Education: Graduated from Red Bank High School, 1974; attended Cleveland State, graduated from Highland Beauty Academy, 1976
Previous Public Office Experience: Hamilton County School Board in 2004-present
Church or Civic Involvement: Red Bank Presbyterian, member, Sunday school teacher, VBS director, chairman of the Christian Education Committee, social chairman of the Women in the Church; Hamilton County Republican Party; Hamilton County Republican Women; Tennessee Valley Republican Women, and the Pachyderm Club.
Achievements: received Tuff Tusk Award and the 2004 Thomas Geraghty Award by the Hamilton County Republican Party; named Volunteer of the Year by the PTA; Citizens Advancing Responsible Education, to hold Hamilton County Department of Education responsible with our tax dollars; CARE forced the wheel tax to a referendum where it was defeated at the ballot box by taxpayers.
What is the biggest challenge facing the office you are seeking and how would you address it?
Keeping taxes low in Hamilton County in order to continue luring industry to locate here. I want to see industry move into Sale Creek to provide good paying jobs to young families. In order for that to happen, the sewer, which currently stops at Soddy Lake, needs to be extended into Sale Creek. Sewer access would also provide more usable land on the Middle/High school campus by eliminating hundreds of feet of field line. The lack of water access for some residents in Bakewell and Sale Creek is also a major concern.
I also want to finish the projects I have been working on, some for the last seven years, with Commissioner Fred Skillern, including, a track for Soddy-Daisy High School, an entrance to Daisy Elementary off of Sequoyah Road and a football field at Sale Creek Middle/High.
Why should voters choose you?
I grew up in District 1 and most of my family still lives in the district. My mother and husband were raised on Mowbray Mountain and my dad was raised in Daisy. I have spent my entire life living among and talking with District 1 residents, so I know the people, concerns, and needs.
I have proven myself to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars. I will continue to treat the money of hard working Hamilton County residents like it is my own. I am not afraid to ask questions, and I’m not afraid to stand alone on an issue as long as I am standing in the right place. I also will not make promises I cannot keep and I will not be intimidated.
I am the right person for the District 1 Commission seat.