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In GTA VC, I have the freedom to explore the city in various ways, including by foot, bicycle, and car. This freedom allows me to simulate different transportation scenarios. For instance, what would happen if more people chose to walk or bike instead of driving? How would this impact traffic congestion and air quality? What infrastructural changes would be needed to support this?
Disclaimer: Portions of this article were proudly generated with the assistance of an AI language model for content creation, but the final piece has been reviewed and edited by the author for clarity and accuracy.
Eric was officially hired as City Manager on June 11, 2019. He had served as acting City Manager since May 1, guiding Allen through a period of transition following the retirement of longtime City Manager Peter H. Vargas.
Eric was hired as Assistant to the City Manager in 2012, and he promoted to Assistant City Manager in 2014. His municipal service career spans more than 15 years with positions in Plano and Colleyville. Eric holds a Master of Public Administration from University of North Texas and a Bachelor of Arts in Management from University of Houston.
Eric began his career in the private sector as an accountant. He believes his mentoring of local leaders in budgeting, organizational management and fiscal management have helped him prepare for this role.
Eric became Deputy City Manager on Jan. 7, 2020. Eric previously served as city manager of Richland Hills, Texas. Eric holds a Master of Public Administration from University of North Texas and a Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young University.
Tim joined City of Allen in 1995 as Parks and Recreation Superintendent. He later served 16 years as Director of Parks and Recreation before becoming Assistant City Manager in 2019. Tim graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Landscape Architecture.
Vice Mayor Cherish Sammeli is a dedicated public servant with a deep commitment to the well-being of our beloved Kingman, Arizona. Moving to Kingman as a teenager in 1988 and residing in our community since that time, Cherish has a profound understanding of the unique needs and aspirations of our residents. Her dedication to effective governance and collaborative decision-making is matched only by her genuine concern for the needs of the city's residents.
Cherish began her journey in public service as a community organizer, working tirelessly to address local issues and improve the quality of life for all Kingman residents. She has served the community in many roles on the Board of Directors for The Kingman Area Chamber of Commerce including Chairman. Also serving within the real estate community on the local Board of REALTORS as a Director for several terms. With a passion for advocacy and a strong work ethic, she quickly gained the trust of the community and was elected to the city council in 2020.
In her role as Vice Mayor, Cherish is involved in various initiatives aimed at enhancing Kingman's infrastructure, promoting economic growth, and fostering a sense of togetherness among residents. She has a proven track record of bringing people together to find common-sense solutions to the challenges faced by our city. She believes in the values and vision that make Kingman, Arizona a wonderful place to live where families can thrive, businesses can prosper, and the unique character of Kingman is preserved.
Cherish is committed to working closely with the Mayor, fellow council members, and community organizations to ensure that the voices of our residents are heard, and that Kingman's potential is fully realized. Her dedication to open and transparent government, fiscal responsibility, and community engagement is evident in her everyday work.
Beyond the council chambers, she is a thoughtful advocate for local businesses and a steadfast supporter of initiatives aimed at enriching the lives of Kingman's citizens. Outside of her public service duties, Cherish is a proud parent, grandparent, dedicated community volunteer, and a true advocate for the small-town way of life in Kingman, Arizona. When not immersed in the intricacies of civic duty, she enjoys her career, the people she can interact with daily, participating in local events, and watching football.
Not a day goes by that Jahvaris Fulton doesn't think about his younger brother, Trayvon Martin. Whether it's a guy at church who looks like him at a glance, or someone around Harlem who walks like Trayvon, the memory is inescapable. Even so, Fulton wears a black bracelet on his right wrist. On one side it reads, I AM TRAYVON MARTIN; on the other, YOU ARE TRAYVON MARTIN. It's the second of its kind that he has worn since a neighborhood-watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida, killed his brother in 2012. The first bracelet snapped after years of daily wear. "It's a reminder of him," the 26-year-old told me, looking down at his arm. "Not to say I'll forget."
In the five years since his brother's murder, Fulton has transformed from a quiet son who stayed largely out of the public eye to a rising force in New York City's local government scene and a voice inspiring young men of color to become involved in their communities. In his job as a special assistant to the NYC Young Men's Initiative (YMI), a public-private partnership with the mayor's office that launched in 2011 to help improve the lives of black and Latino men in the city, Fulton, who is also an active member of the Trayvon Martin Foundation, is focused on juvenile justice, health, education, and employment.
When we met earlier this year, he said that, despite being perhaps the most reserved member of the Martin-Fulton family, he has come to recognize the platform he has to tell his story, as well as those of others whose lives have been altered by violence.
"I never would have seen him as a public speaker or as a person who would speak out against things prior to his brother's death," his mother, Sybrina Fulton, told me. "It's the passion and the love he has for his brother that's made him feel compelled to speak out."
One evening this past March, after leaving work around 5 PM, Fulton took the train to Harlem, and we met at a bar, though he told me he had given up alcohol for Lent. He sipped water, and we sat in a corner and talked while Ray Charles classics played in the background.
Fulton is a private person, and the public doesn't know much about him. As we spoke, he told me that he loves swimming and reading, and he's not like he used to be; his emotions flow differently now, and he cries at even the slightest hint of sadness. He's unsure of whether he considers himself an activist; he's someone who just wants to help. Fulton admitted that, before the events of February 26, 2012, he didn't process stories of racism or race-related crimes the same way he does now. He described the past five years as "a complete 180" on how he reacts to these tragedies, understanding that they are not stories but people's lives.
"I, too, was guilty of treating it all as a story," he told me. "It's not until it happens to you that it opens you up, and you pay way more attention. Once your eyes are open, you have to do more." He added, "I feel like people didn't remember that [Trayvon] was a person."
His return to New York wasn't for leisure but for the chance to do good work. In 2015, after he graduated as an honor student the year before from Florida International University, with a BS in information technology, Fulton reached out to a family friend, Ifeoma Ike, whom the Martin-Fulton family met while she was working on Capitol Hill as a civil rights counsel on the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. Ike worked on the first hearing-style session that reviewed the circumstances of Martin's death. The two developed a sibling-like friendship. During their phone call, she told Fulton about YMI, where she began working in February of that year. He told her he was curious about the work it was doing, and she encouraged him to head to New York to check it out. Weeks later, he bought a plane ticket and visited the YMI office with his mother and joined its team shortly thereafter.
"I think it was important for him to be here in many ways," said Ike, now YMI's deputy executive director. "He's not just Trayvon Martin's brother. He's a millennial, a college graduate, and a Southern boy." Cyrus Garrett, the organization's executive director, told me that Martin's death was actually part of the reason he was with YMI, too. He cited it as one of the reasons why he transitioned from a focus on national security to gun-related issues and community building. Garrett has headed YMI since 2015, and Fulton's personal connection to the work the organization does, and what it means to others, isn't lost on him. Once, the two of them, dressed in suits, attended a youth-group meeting where they were greeted skeptically. But when Fulton told his story and the attendees realized who he was, Garret said that "the whole attitude of the room changed."
But Fulton's commitment to community improvement began before New York, whether he was aware of it or not. In Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin, his mother wrote about how both of her sons grew up around her own work, helping displaced residents in Liberty City, arguably the most neglected part of Miami, return to a mixed-income housing development. Sitting inside their mother's office, the boys would see her build rapport with people, asking for their feedback and keeping each of them updated on their new homes. "I wanted my sons to see what my work was about, see how communities were built and sustained," she writes, "and appreciate that they always had a roof over their heads, and a wide extended family of grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins who would always care about them."
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