I have qualified to stand for election on October 12 for Alderman at Large on the City Council for the Town of Many. I would like to tell you a little about myself, my background and explain why I want to serve you as your alderman.
When I retired as an associate professor at Northwestern State University in 2011, I asked myself what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The answer came quickly. I wanted to volunteer and give back to my hometown of Many and its people who have played such an important role in making me a responsible, productive, dependable and caring adult.
I helped to create and then became chairperson of the Town of Many Cultural District Advisory Committee. I still do that today. I serve on the committee that plans and implements the annual Many Christmas Festival. I also serve on the board of the Sabine Parish Humane Society and the Sabine Animal Shelter. I am a member of the Sabine Parish Historical Society and serve on the board of directors of Project Celebration. For several years I served as an children's advocate for CASA.
In November 2018, I was appointed to fill the vacancy on the City Council created by the death of longtime Council member Barbara Peterson. I quickly learned that serving on the City Council enabled me to do even more to serve my town and the residents of Many. That is why I decided to run for the remaining two years of Mrs. Peterson' term.
Being the Alderman at Large can and should be a full time job. I am retired so I can serve you full time. I'm available when you have a problem and want to talk with me. It is important that your council member can talk to you anytime about a problem --- whether it be potholes in front of your house, an unreasonably high water bill, garbage pickup, or some other city problem. As a retired citizen and a member of the council, I will have no other job responsibilities and I can serve you full time. As you can see, my retirement works to your benefit whenever you have a concern and need to talk to me.
I've been retired for 8 1/2 years. During this time, I've served as Chairperson of the Many Cultural District Advisory Committee. We've restored the old Sabine Theater, converted it to the Many Community Center, and we now provide you and your family with wholesome family events. We have free Movies in Many, Music in Many, concerts, recitals, plays and many other events at the Community Center. We've also added book nooks (little free lending libraries) to 12 locations throughout Many so that adults and children can borrow free books and audio tapes.
I've overseen the complete renovation and restoration of the historic Many Depot. We are creating a museum about No Man's Land, the importance of railroads in Sabine Parish, and the history and culture of Sabine Parish. A lot of work is involved with this extensive project, but it will be a major tourist attraction in Many for people to visit. All of these accomplishments make Many a better place for you to live.
As a council member, I work very hard to find ways to make our citizens' lives better. We work to operate the city's budget in the black and we stretch every dollar as much as we can for the betterment of your community. If I am elected, I will continue to operate our city budget in the black.
We make frequent decisions on how to cut costs. As an example, the garbage collection company we've been using has informed us that their new contract will increase 20% on garbage collection fees. We are now exploring the possibility of the town taking over garbage collection in order to cut costs and save you money.
I also work very hard to secure grant funding for music shows and other events held at the Community Center. For the second year in a row, we expect to receive a generous grant from the Shreveport Regional Arts Council to pay for musicians and bands to come and perform at Music in Many. We also just received notification that we will be receiving a $20,000 grant for playground equipment for the Fairgrounds Ball Park. Soon parents and children will enjoy going to the Fairgrounds Ball Park with their families and having a great time on your new recreational equipment.
My work for Many and her citizens over the past 8 years has turned into a full time job. And I like that. Recently, I was offered a high paying job if I would return to my former career as a journalism teacher/broadcaster. I thought about it overnight and turned it down the next morning. I did that because I love what I'm doing: making your town better and making your lives better too.
Now I'd like to tell you about my personal and professional background.
I am the daughter of John Adam and Flarcie Miller Key of Many. Both of my parents are deceased. I grew up in Many, was a member of the First Baptist Church. (I am now a member of St. John's Catholic Church) I attended Many Elementary School and graduated from Many High School. I graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge with a B.A. and an M.A. degree in journalism and mass communications. I also obtained an additional 36 graduate hours and a teacher's certification from Northwestern State University after I moved to Many.
I was married to Dr. Bobby Brocato for 30 years until his sudden death in 2008. My husband was from New Orleans, and I took great pleasure in introducing him to life in Many and North Louisiana. We made our forever home on the Diamond B Ranch, which I inherited from my parents. My husband adapted well, enjoyed his family dental practice and became a 'gentleman farmer', raising Brangus cattle, and hunting and fishing in his spare time. He came to love his life in Many, Sabine Parish and the people of this area.
We had one son, Robert Adam Brocato. Robert attended Many Elementary School, St. Mary's School in Natchitoches, Centenary College and LSU Medical School in Shreveport. Today he is a doctor of internal medicine, and he's a North Louisiana guy through and through. I am very proud of him.
I'm also the mother of eight rescue dogs: a Great Pyrenees, a Labrador Retriever, a Border Collie, a Welsh Terrier, a Scottish Terrier, a 17 year old senior citizen Poodle and two baby Bichons. All but one of the fur babies are rescues. My house may be messy at times, but it is filled with the love I have for these furry members of my family. I also serve on the board of directors of the Sabine Humane Society and the Sabine Parish Animal Shelter. This gives me great pleasure whenever we save and find new homes for unfortunate animals including dogs, cats, donkeys, horses, cattle and sometimes pigs.
My first job was as a reporter for KALB TV in Alexandria. From there I moved to Baton Rouge where I served as the first female press secretary in Louisiana to Governor John J. McKeithen. Those years sparked my interest in government and politics. When McKeithen's term expired, I moved to New Orleans where I worked as a reporter for the New Orleans NBC station. Later I signed a contract with the World Health Organization to produce two documentary films on population control in developing countries. I spent almost two years in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico filming those documentaries. One of them won a Peabody Award. The other won an Emmy.
After that life changing experience, I returned to New Orleans as director of communications for the Farm Credit Banks (Federal Land Bank, Bank for Cooperatives, and Federal Intermediate Credit Bank).
Forty years ago, my husband and I returned to Many to live, work, and care for my widowed mother. Coming home to Many was the best move I ever made.
My son was born, and I stayed home with him until he started school. I started school too and I taught English and Speech at Many High School for 12 years. I discovered that I loved teaching and especially loved the students. Today I still have close relationships with so many of my high school students. To know that I've made an impact on their lives means so much to me.
In 1999 Northwestern State University asked me to work there as the director of their broadcast journalism concentration in the Department of Journalism. It was the highlight of my working career. We created a hands-on journalism program. Today our graduates work as reporters, anchors, weather forecasters all over the United States. Others work as teachers, public relations officers, and other journalism related jobs. I am so proud of them and stay in close touch with so many of them.
I tell you all these things because I am the only candidate in this race who has the experience, the knowledge, the time, and the ability to serve you FULL TIME. My 40 years of work experience, my retirement, my experience on the council and cultural district, my knowledge and my desire will provide you with an alderman at large who has, as my highest priority, the ability and desire to serve you as YOUR alderman.
I sincerely ask for your vote for Mary Beth Key Brocato for Alderman at Large on October 12. I won't let you down.
I am the daughter of John Adam and Flarcie Miller Key. Both my parents are deceased. I grew up in Many, was a member of the First Baptist Church (I am now a member of St. John's Catholic Church), attended Many Elementary School and graduated from Many High School. I graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge with both a B.A. and an M.A. degree in journalism and mass communications. I also obtained an additional 36 graduate hours and a teacher's certification from Northwestern State University.
I was the happy wife of Dr. Bobby Brocato for 30 years until his sudden death in 2008. My husband was from New Orleans, and I took great pleasure in introducing him to life in Many and North Louisiana. We made our forever home on the Diamond B Ranch, which I inherited from my father. My husband adapted well, enjoyed his family dental practice, and became a 'gentleman farmer' raising Brangus cattle, fishing, and hunting. He came to love his life in North Louisiana and the people of North Central Louisiana. He adapted well and lived here for 30 years until he passed away from pancreatic cancer.
We had one son, Robert Adam Brocato. He attended Many Elementary School, St. Mary's School in Natchitoches, Centenary College, LSU Medical School in Shreveport. Today he is a doctor of internal medicine and a north Louisiana guy through and through.
I'm also the mother of eight rescue dogs: a Great Pyrenees, a Labrador Retriever, a Border Collie, a Welsh Terrier, a Scottish Terrier, a 17-year-old senior citizen Poodle, and two baby Bichons. All but one of them are rescues, and though my home is messy, it is filled with the love I have for these furry members of my family. I also serve on the board of directors of the Sabine Humane Society , which gives me great pleasure when we save and find new homes for animals including dogs, cats, donkeys, horses, and sometimes pigs.
My first job was as a reporter for KALB Television in Alexandria. From there, I moved to Baton Rouge where I served as the first female press secretary to Governor John J. McKeithen. Those years sparked my interest in government and politics. When McKeithen's term expired, I moved to New Orleans where I worked as a reporter for the New Orleans NBC station. Later I signed a contract with the World Health Organization to produce two documentary films on population control in developing countries. I spent two years in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico filming those documentaries which later won Peabody Awards. After that life changing experience, I returned to New Orleans as director of communications for the Farm Credit Banks (Federal Land Bank, Bank for Cooperatives, and Federal Intermediate Credit Bank).
I grew up in Many, went away to college and began a career. Forty years ago, my husband Dr. Bobby Brocato and I returned to Many to live, work, and take care of my widowed mother. Coming home was the best move I ever made.
When I returned to Many, I taught English and Speech at Many High School for 12 years. I discovered that I loved teaching and I especially loved the students. Now years later, I have close relationships with so many of those high school students. To know that I made a difference in their lives means so much to me.
In 1999 Northwestern State University asked me to work there as the director of their broadcast journalism concentration in the Department of Journalism. It was the highlight of my working career. We created a hands-on program and our graduates are working as reporters, anchors, weather forecasters all over the United States. I am so proud of them and stay in close touch to give advice, career suggestions and any type of assistance they need.
I sincerely ask for your vote for Mary Beth Key Brocato as alderman at large for the Town of Many. I won't let you down.