Marcy, Marcy, Marcy. Tell us, have you heard about Marcy? Aside from the blab about some parking ticket that's not even relevant? It was in fact paid, by the way. So, let's take a trip into Marcy's history, shall we?
Excerpts below are taken from the website; https://marcykantzformayor.com/marcys-events/
I was born and raised in Meadville graduating from Meadville Area High School in 1987. As the daughter of a hard working, local contractor and real estate developer, I learned the value of hard work early on in life. While in high-school I spent summer days at rental properties my dad owned on Park Ave cleaning and painting after the college students moved out.
What can be gathered from this? She isn't afraid of hard work. She was instilled with a working attitude from an early age. How many of you can relate to working High School summers? Marcy understands what it's like to start working at a young age.
After high school, I attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL (ERAU) where I earned a bachelor of science in Aeronautical Studies and a MBA in Aviation. Over summer breaks I obtained a private pilot license with instruction from the late Lloyd Mitchell of Meadville flying out of both Port Meadville Airport and Erie Airways. The art of flying taught me to be level-headed and meticulous in planning as a mistake in the air could be catastrophic.
Learning from this bit? First off, very cool. Second, there is no doubt that a person flying must make decisions based on a changing conditions while in the air. You must be calm mannered, good under pressure, and able to change course as necessary to get to the end goal efficiently and in one piece.
The same principles can be applied to running a business or a Council. You must be able to fly the plane and make the decisions you see best fit for all aboard. These are some excellent qualities to have.
Later I returned home to raise my four children. My kids were and still are my pride and joy! As a mom I tried a variety of schooling options including public school, private school, home schooling and cyber school. We settled on different options for each child as each had different learning aptitudes and preferences.
Hold up, you mean to tell us that she tried different approaches to find the best solution for the party involved? This seems little when you think small thoughts, but it takes dedication to others to do what is best for them and not what is convenient for you.
While at home with the children I obtained my real estate license and fulfilled a lifelong dream of owning horses. Soon after, in support of the kids, I founded the current Denim & Dust 4-H Club. During this decade I delved into 4-H building one of the largest horse 4-H clubs in Crawford County. I did this by choosing two co-leaders who had high levels of horsemanship skills and a passion for youth. These leaders lead club practices, clinics, and taught all of us how to run successful horse shows while I managed the members, meetings, and 4-H requirements including the paperwork for both the kids and horses.
Here we can see her ability to see where she needed guidance and sought it out. She delegated tasks to individuals who were more proficient in those areas. A sign of a great leader is being able to recognize your short falls and lean on the strength of others. This bit also shows us that she's not afraid to do more of the behind the scenes "grunt work" to ensure a task gets done.
In 2019 I married Eric Kantz. Together we purchased Keystone Strength Gym, founded Kantz Properties and Keystone Kidz which is a state licensed daycare center on Chestnut Street in downtown Meadville. We opened the doors of the child care center on October 26th, 2020 with one child enrolled and 6 employees on payroll. It took tenacity and nerves of steel to open during the covid-19 pandemic. This time of our lives was challenging and not without sleepless nights. Today we have 26 enrolled at the center and 7 employees at the daycare.
We're all aware of the struggles that have plagued our City from Covid. Businesses faced uncertain times. One would need to have a clear goal in mind, and a persistent attitude to continue to work towards that goal in the face of adversity. Businesses do not promote themselves, so to go from 1 child enrolled to 26 would take patience and persistence and the ability to not lose sight of the end goal.
Today, Eric and I work together on all three businesses. Our strengths complement each other making a dynamic and effective team. My oldest daughter, Faith Kellick, also works with us managing the gym office and personal training. Eric and I work long hours each day but enjoy our work immensely.
The fact that she recognizes that each individuals strengths can benefit the greater good of the team, this also shows great leadership characteristics. To run anything effectively you need to recognize you cannot do it all alone. We can also gather that she doesn't just sit around eating avocado toast all day. She works the business and puts in the hours. She is part of the working class, even if the timeclock she punches is her own.
It's no small task to run 1 business, to run 3, and to do so successfully takes ambition and good leadership.
Running a City Council can be compared to running a business. You must manage all aspects, delegate where necessary, make clear and concise decisions and be able to recognize where another's strengths can be an asset to the greater good of the business.
Marcy's unofficial resume, as you will, gives us a good indication of her qualifications and abilities.
We should begin to consider the information readily available to us in making our decision as to who should call the shots for Meadville.
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