Letters

On Tuesday, May 21, I am asking for your support for my son Zach Epley, who is running for Southampton Union Free School District’s Board of Education.

I know that I am his father, and I am a little biased, because I love him and am extremely proud of him, but he is the right person for the board. There is probably no one I know who has a better understanding of our community than Zach, which could be an invaluable asset to our new superintendent.

He is a volunteer in the fire department, volunteers for the East End Hospice board, the Southampton Historical Museum board, the Southampton Youth Services board, the Southampton Wall of Fame Nomination Committee, coaches baseball at the high school, Southampton Little League — and the list goes on and on.

Both he and his wife, Brittney, who is the president of the Southampton Elementary School PTO, are Southampton High School graduates. They grew up in Southampton, and their blood runs deep Mariner maroon. His four children all attend or will attend Southampton schools, along with eight nieces and nephews and many other family members.

When I asked him why he wanted to run for the Board of Education, he said because he can help make a difference. I recently gave Zach a copy of Teddy Roosevelt’s speech “Man in the Arena,” in which Roosevelt speaks of “it’s not the critic who counts … the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”

To summarize, it means that community matters more than individual achievement. This is who Zach is as a husband, father, son, sibling, friend.

Vote for Zach Epley on Tuesday, May 21, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Southampton Intermediate School.

Mark Epley

Southampton