Letters

This summer, I had the pleasure of coaching the Southampton varsity baseball team in a tournament with my brother, Zach Epley. The tournament was very exciting and our team went undefeated to win the small schools county championship.

One particular play that stands out to me during the tournament was in the championship game. We were tied in the fourth inning, with Liam Blackmore up to bat and Andrew Smith on third base. Zach made a coaching call for a “suicide squeeze,” which was an aggressive and risky play call for a championship game. The play was perfectly executed and ended up giving us the lead in route to our 2-0 win.

After the game, one of the parents came over to Zach and praised him for his great coaching decision. Instead of talking about what a great play call he made, Zach immediately said, “That was all Liam and Andrew, not me.”

In one of our earlier games during the tournament, Zach made a similar coaching call; however, it was not executed successfully. Instead of getting upset with the players after the botched execution, Zach took the blame for making the call in the first place.

Good leaders give credit to others and take the blame when things don’t go well. The story I shared exemplifies who Zach is as a person and shows the kind of leadership he can bring to Southampton Village.

If he’s elected as trustee, you are going to see a leader who works with and praises the hard work of the people who make our community a great place. People such as the employees at Village Hall, our police, the Highway Department, our volunteer firefighters, EMTs and countless others who dedicate their time serving our village.

As Trustee, Zach will not point fingers and blame others if something doesn’t go according to plan. He also won’t need acknowledgment or praise, or boast about accomplishments. He will selflessly dedicate his time, because he simply loves his community and wants his children to grow up in a better place.

Zach has a sincere love for Southampton and already has a background to prove that he is dedicated to serving this community for the right reasons. Zach is in the Southampton Fire Department because he wants to help keep his community safe. He coaches at Southampton schools because he wants to make a difference in the lives of his student-athletes. And he is on the board of Southampton Youth Services because he wants to help continue their mission of providing a recreational center for our community.

I am proud to call him my brother, and I am confident people will be proud to call him their village trustee.

Nick Epley

Southampton