Sean M. Kemmerer

Posted as a public service - I continue to encourage my colleagues to save all Board meetings and post them on official Derry Area School District websites and social media pages. Thank you for your interest and engagement with your local government.

Good morning! The Derry Area Philanthropy Committee (DAPC) partnered with Jean Marie's Flowers and Gifts to deliver flowers and candy to the Derry Area School District staff and faculty to thank them for EVERYTHING that they have done this year. My thanks to Sharon and Gloria for helping with the arrangements - Please continue to support local small businesses like Jean Marie's who support our teachers, and believe in #goodvibesonly Stay Safe and God Bless!

As you saw at the last Derry Area School Board meeting, I was not assigned to any committees by President Dave Krinock. I am disappointed in his decision to exclude me from his "team" so I decided to turn that negative into a positive. I am proud to announce that I have created the Derry Area Philanthropy Committee. This committee is not affiliated with the Derry Area School Board, so it is open to EVERYONE. If you would like to join my "committee" and help do some good for... our community, let me know! We have a "meeting" scheduled for December 24th - Meals will be served :)

#PositivityTuesday I'm not crying, you're crying.

It is a busy week for the Derry Area Philanthropy Committee (DAPC). Here is a bit of Derry "Good News" to get you through the day. Here is what I've been working on: On Wednesday, the Westmoreland County Food Bank will be at A.V. Germano Hall for the Derry Food Pantry. Cars can line up at 9:30am if you have already registered. If you have not, you can arrive around 10:45am and any extras (if available) will be distributed. After the Food Pantry, the DAPC will begin "Oper...ation Santa Claus" in partnership with the TribLive Westmoreland. We will be decorating our "sleigh" in the morning, and then heading out around 11:30am to pick up our packages for delivery. If you represent a church or other local organization that can help distribute these boxes once we get back to Derry, (they include food items and a new or gently used book for kids) I have about 50 available. I have heard from several DASD families that the "MiFi" hotspot that they got from the school for internet does not work well because they get bad cell phone service where they live. I've been looking at some solutions for those families, including T-Mobile's "Project 10 Million" program that provides internet access to communities like ours. On Thursday, I am partnering with Westmoreland Hospital to raise money for our friends on the frontline. These healthcare workers deserve a little love this Holiday season, too! If your company would like to sponsor some of the event, please reach out. Check out Fundraiser for the Frontlines for more info, and links to donate/watch. I want to thank everyone who has been sharing the Derry Area Community Christmas Dinner event. We are up to around 80 meals reserved already, and several people have been generous enough to donate to help offset the costs for me to purchase all of the food/supplies needed to put together 150+ full dinners. This doesn't happen without you guys volunteering to deliver meals, to bake cookies, to donate a few bucks, and especially without Jess and Shannon from Taps N' At for keeping me in line and taking the reigns on organizing everything. Please consider grabbing some wings from them on Wednesdays. It is a difficult time, but it is a hopeful time. Better things are on the horizon and together, we will come through 2020 even stronger. Derry Strong. Derry Proud. God Bless and stay safe. Please let me know if I can help you in any way. Thank you for the opportunity to serve, and for giving me a positive outlet to channel my energy! Good vibes only!

Here is a breakdown of the new safety orders through at least Jan 4th. I hope that the PIAA will consider adjusting/delaying the Winter sports schedule to give our kids the best chance possible for a safe season. I am confident that despite my colleagues and the Superintendent choosing to ignore the state mandate to hold Board meetings remotely in the past that they will all comply with this new order reinforcing that telework is mandatory unless impossible. After all, we sh...ould lead by example. Be safe everybody.

Yesterday was a very frustrating day for a lot of Pennsylvanians. In what I can only describe as a "moment of weakness" I chose to post my statement regarding the shutdown on a popular local public forum. I've been in office a year now - I should know better. There are always going to be people who whine and complain about everything. There are people that never seem to have something positive to contribute. You can be part of the problem, or you can be part of the soluti...on. THAT is the real choice for families in Derry. My Grandma taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. She also taught me to treat others the way that I would want to be treated. It is disappointing that a handful (and the same handful, mind you) of people in our community didn't have someone teach them the same things. You can't let a few "Negative Nancys" ruin the vibe for everybody else (Or maybe "Complaining Karens" since it's 2020) - Especially now. We need peace and love. So on a positive note, we had a great meeting of the Derry Area Philanthropy Committee and finalized our menu for the Derry Area Community Christmas Dinner. I received several donations yesterday that will help offset the cost of buying all of the food that will be prepared. We are still in this together. Thank you all for giving me an outlet to try to help. We are still reserving meals and still accepting donations. I am working on a 501(c)3 so that donations will be tax-deductible as well if your company is looking to help. God Bless and stay safe. If you are going out today to support local businesses affected by the shutdown, make sure you tip the staff triple and please be kind.

I really try to keep politics off of this page, but the fact that they are closing down these businesses and also not offering any type of support or assistance is absolutely despicable. I understand the need to mitigate this outbreak - I do. Yes, we should be staying safely at home as much as possible, but how do we ask people to stop providing for their families? How do we take away someone's livelihood and give no alternative? It is a complete failure of leadership from the top on down, and it is devastating to lose income right when we should be buying Christmas presents for our loved ones. Hang in there. Please reach out if I can help in any way. Derry Pride. Derry Strong.

The new orders go into effect at 12:01am on Saturday, December 12th. Be safe everybody.