McKenzie Cardwell
A friend urged McKenzie Cardwell to consider running for the District 2 seat on the Putnam Board of Education, but it was the realization that her son would be entering the K-4 pre-school program this fall that sealed the deal.
“I realized it was time to get involved,” she said.
She will be competing with Lucille Feldman in the May 24 Republican primary. The winner goes on as the party’s nominee to challenge incumbent Simone Jones in the November general election.
A 2007 graduate of Putnam County High School, Cardwell is a nurse and executive director at a Dublin assisted living facility, Dublin Place.
She sees the biggest responsibility of board membership as ensuring transparency and accountability. “Our schools should have a positive, well-rounded environment, and our children should have the things they need to be successful,” she adds.
As she understands it, the per-student spending here is higher than the state average, and she wants to make sure the money is being spent for the benefit of the children.
In community activities, Cardwell has chaired the Eatonton Service League and served on the advisory board for the Eatonton Main Street program. The family are members of the Eatonton First Baptist Church.