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Jean Peelen

Jean Peelen moves on

Written by Tom Vaught on . Posted in Community News.

HOLMES BEACH – Jean Peelen arrived on Anna Maria Island from the Washington D.C. area 10 years ago. Her sister had died from cancer and friends told her to visit Anna Maria Island.

“They told me I should walk the beach,” she said.

She rented a place, saw what life was like with the beaches –  the slow pace, and the friendly people, and she never looked back.

“The people were warm and welcoming, and the people I met then are still friends,” she said. “It was a lovely place to live.”

Unfortunately, as things progressed and so many homes were razed to make way for vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods, she became alarmed.

“That’s when I decided to run for office,” she said. “I have been active all my life in trying to help people and I saw so many residents decide they couldn’t live with all the disturbances.”

Peelen said a lot of those residents were retirees who had saved their money and bought a place to live out their lives. She said the majority of them lived here fulltime, enjoying and contributing to the lifestyle. Then there were the part-time residents, the snowbirds who came down in the fall and left in the spring.

“Those people are almost all gone,” she said.

Peelen said when she got elected, one project was the dog park.

Then she joined two other elected officials, Carol Carter of Anna Maria and Janie Robertson of Bradenton Beach, to form Home Sweet Home.

The group’s mission is to convince people to move and live fulltime on the Island. The group acquired non-profit accreditation and it is looking for properties that would make good, affordable homes that could benefit the donors with tax breaks as well.

It sponsored a gathering of residents at the Anna Maria City Park that was well attended. She said she thought it was a success as far as spreading the small town feeling that the Island was known for.

Peelen has mixed feelings about leaving, but she doesn’t stay in one place for too long.

“Every 10 years I reinvent myself,” she said. “I’m moving to Flat Rock in the North Carolina mountains and it will be a good experience, living in the mountains.”

She’s living in a small house.

“I think I’ll like that where everything is close at hand,” she said. “I won’t have room for clutter.”

She’ll miss the lifestyle here too.

“I loved island living with the beaches nearby,” she said. “I will miss the friends that I have made. I’ll always remember them.”

Peelen commission goodbye

Holmes Beach commission says ‘goodbye’ to Peelen

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners are saying “goodbye” to one of their own – Jean Peelen is leaving the commission after six years of service.

During Peelen’s final regular commission meeting, Mayor Bob Johnson took a moment to say a few words, thanking her for her service to the community. He also presented her with a glass sculpture to commemorate her time on the city commission.

https://youtu.be/kmaLFoXJp6k

“We thank her for her years of active and community-engaged service and wish her the best in her following endeavors,” Johnson said.

Jean Peelen Superwoman
In her last official meeting appearance on Oct. 26, Holmes Beach Commissioner Jean Peelen appeared as Superwoman. – Kristin Swain | Sun

Peelen received a standing ovation.

“I am so grateful to this mayor and this entire commission and the staff of the city for how they have been in embracing completely our shared vision of having a city for everyone,” she said. “A city for residents and for visitors and a city which embodies ‘neighborhood.’ And I think that’s happening and I’ve been so proud to be a part of that. I just want to say thank you to all of you.”

Though Peelen’s last official meeting as a commissioner was an Oct. 26 work session, she won’t officially step down from the dais until after the results of the Nov. 7 election are certified and the newly elected, or re-elected, commissioners are sworn into office.

Jean Peelen

Why I marched in the Women’s March

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Feature, Guest column, Opinion.

On Saturday, Jan. 21, I traveled to Washington, D.C., where I marched in the Women’s March along with one of my daughters, two of my granddaughters, two old friends (fellow authors of “Saving the Best for Last: Creating Our Lives After 50”), and 500,000 of my closest friends.

The march was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I was happy to have three generations of my family there together. The night before the march, my 15-year-old granddaughter said she wasn’t sure she wanted to go. She was afraid that there might be violence, or that the purpose was ugliness – simply dislike of the new president. I told her I believed this march was about unity, about the protection for vulnerable groups such as minorities, people with disabilities, gay and lesbian people and women. I believed it was an expression of concern about what this new administration might bring. I told her that I believed it might turn out to be a historic event and that someday she would be proud to say to her grandchildren, “I was there.” She did go, and was uplifted by her experience.

Contrary to what you might have read or seen on TV or social media, the march was characterized by good behavior, kindness, respect for all and amazing good humor. The police loved us, and we loved the police. It is unfortunate that some of the press picked out some foul utterances by one pop star as their coverage of the march.

Here are two examples of the kindness and thoughtfulness that ruled the day. My friend and I, both in our mid-70s, took a break and sat on a low wall for a few minutes. Our backs were killing us from standing for many, many hours. A woman even older than we are sat down next to us, leaned over and said: “Would you like some Aleve?” She seemed like an angelic apparition. Her act was typical of how people were with each other that day.

The second example involved my friend’s daughter’s six-month old baby. The baby did what babies do and needed a diaper change. This was in the middle of a packed sidewalk. Her mom put her down with a protest sign underneath her, then people she didn’t even know gathered in a circle around the mother and baby, protecting them both. Baby was changed with thanks all around.

When one is squished among hundreds of thousands of others, one might expect tempers to flare, harsh words to be spoken. That never happened. The ethic of the day was passion, humor, and friendliness. The funniest sign I saw was “Tweet others as you would wish to be tweeted.”

Several of my friends and family who could not make it to D.C. or to one of the local marches, asked me to represent them there. I was saying their names in my head as we marched, no, shuffled, along. Marching was impossible. The parade route was completely filled before many thousands even got out on the street, so the parade route grew to envelop the entire downtown/mall area of D.C. The site of thousands of people with the same purposes in mind moving in concert was awesome.

Friends of mine are still asking, “But why did you march?” My answer is first, that the right to protest and speak out against our government is enshrined in our Constitution. It is a right that needs to be exercised and valued. Second, I have stood for the rights of vulnerable groups, particularly women and children with disabilities, my whole adult life. Why would I stop now? I think my job now, in my 70s, is to be a role model for young people, most particularly my one grandson and six granddaughters. They are learning that it is important to serve, it is important to stand up for what you believe, and it is important to exercise your rights as a citizen of this great country.

So, I marched.

– Jean Peelen