blue water woman--summer 2017--yumpu

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EMPOWERING people by PATTI SAMAR Anita ashford 6 Summer <strong>2017</strong> BlueWaterWoman.com There isn’t much about life in Port Huron that Mayor Pro-Tem Anita Ashford hasn’t experienced and doesn’t love. Her passion for helping people and a desire to make a positive impact on the community and its residents led her, years ago, to a life of service to God, her family and her city. The lifelong city resident is proud to represent her hometown on the city council in her second go-around as a politician, having first served on the council for 10 years from 1989 to 1999. “The third time is the charm,” she said with a laugh, noting that it originally took her three attempts to win a seat on city council. Ashford views her service on the city council as a way to give back to the community while also helping people learn how to make positive change in their own lives. “That’s part of my destiny, to care about people and to empower people,” she said. “I try to be a catalyst to change lives. I try to help people get a little bit closer to their dreams in life.” The Port Huron Catholic High School graduate – public school officials asked her mother if she could be transferred there in order to help eliminate racial segregation at a time when segregation had been common – she went on to earn an associate degree in criminal justice at St. Clair County Community College and then a bachelor’s degree in human resources administration from Concordia University. Initially, she worked multiple jobs to make ends meet but eventually earned a position at Detroit Edison – now known as DTE – working in the security department. She is still employed by DTE, having served the company for 40 years. She now works at the company’s China Township location as a continuous improvement expert, where she oversees special projects and deals with human resources issues. Ashford has long been involved in numerous community projects, organizations and endeavors, including the Southside Coalition, Citizens Against Crime and the Blue Water Transit Authority. She has also served on committees for the Michigan Municipal League and the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments. For many years she has been active in the NAACP, where she served as a national officer and she has been active in the local chapter. “I was a member of the national VIP security team,” she said, noting that the NAACP offers security services to members or supporters all over the country. She served on the VIP security team for 23 years, beginning in 1978. Among those she was honored to serve was Rosa Parks, a civil rights icon who resided in Detroit in her later life. The NAACP offered continuous security services to Mrs. Parks after she was robbed and beaten in her Detroit home in 1994 when Parks was 81 years old. Others Ashford met during her time on NAACP VIP security detail included poet Maya Angelou, former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton. “They (NAACP) flew us everywhere,” to help cover VIP security detail, Ashford said. “Wherever we went, I always made sure I visited a church there and I visited the neighborhoods to see how the residents were living so I could bring ideas back here,” she said. “Those experiences made me a better public servant.” Ashford’s experiences observing big city neighborhoods over the years have helped her better understand some of the big city problems that have come to Port Huron, as well as opportunities that the community could undertake, as well. “I think the marketing of downtown is important,” she said. “And strategically, our neighborhoods need to be different. We have home owners and we have renters and we need to be able to service all of them. “Some of our residents need to be empowered to change their circumstances and learn what is available to them and help them contribute to the city. We need to do more to help these people climb out of poverty. We need to lead in such a way so they feel they can do it themselves.”
Every day is the perfect day to send flowers. Love reading this magazine? Want to see it continue? become a sponsor of Blue Water Woman magazine! SponSorShipS Start at juSt $1 per month! Businesses and individuals are welcome to become sponsors! Visit the “Individual Sponsorship” page on our website today! BlueWaterWoman.com Summer <strong>2017</strong> BlueWaterWoman.com 7
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blue water woman--summer 2017--yumpu

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