Photo: l-r, Kevin Binkowski, Chris Branham and Susan Martin Hauk
CULLMAN – The Cullman City School Board, Place 2 race has three Cullman residents vying for the position left available by Brenda Howell’s decision to not seek reelection. Kevin Binkowski, Chris Branham and Susan Martin Hauk each feels he/she is the best candidate to fill the open seat in the Aug. 23 election.
Kevin Binkowski
Feeling his timing is right now that his daughter has graduated from Cullman High School (CHS), Kevin Binkowski has “considered running for the city school board for quite a while.
“With no child in the system, I will be completely objective and be an advocate for every parent, student, teacher, coach and administrator throughout the entire system. I can empathize with the needs of each of these groups. I've been a parent who supported a student-athlete. I have been a booster club president who worked closely with the coach and other parents to raise funds.”
After graduating from CHS in 1985, Binkowski earned a computer science degree and works at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) as an information systems specialist where he also performs the duties of a project manager.
“In my position at UAB I have the opportunity to work with a diverse group of professionals, undergraduate and graduate students. This provides me with a unique perspective on some of the opportunities and challenges our students will have at the next level of their education.”
Binkowski feels his work history is a benefit for the school board position, stating, “Technology is constantly changing and evolving in the world. I believe my background in the technology field and my knowledge in the facilities management area at UAB make me uniquely qualified to bring this experience to the school board.
“I would like to continue building on the foundation we have here in Cullman. As technology continues to advance, we need to be prepared to provide our students with the tools to thrive in challenges of the world today. We also need to work with the Cullman city officials to find a solution for the extra demand for space in the classrooms. The City School System is in demand and we need to work together to prepare for future generations. I will also work to advance academic and all extracurricular opportunities by working to ensure adequate funding and demonstrating good stewardship of those funds. I view the Cullman City Schools system as a community that is striving to achieve common goals.”
Binkowski and his wife, Pam, are the parents of Grace, an upcoming freshman at the University of North Alabama. The Binkowski family calls Grace Chapel their church home.
Chris Branham
Small business owner Chris Branham has thought about running for school board since last winter when he and his wife began looking into the possibility.
“I didn’t really have anybody to ask. It’s just something that me and my wife have been praying about since November. When I found out, for sure, that Ms. Howell wasn’t running, I decided to jump in. I kept really quiet about it and I think I surprised a lot of people when I threw my name out there because I’m not really a traditional politician. I have two small kids in the school system going into the sixth grade and 10th grade and I know how important our school system is to our community and so that’s what motivated me to get into it. I’m just a local business guy who just loves his community and our students.”
Branham, a 1994 Cullman High School graduate, started his own business in 2005 and feels his business sense is his key asset to bring to the school board table.
“I started a business 11 years ago and I quit my job and started with a metal desk. Eleven years later and I have six employees. I feel like I have a good sense of money and how money coming in and how money going out works. I’m not a traditional politician and I’ve never run for office. I do have a business sense and a business mind.”
Branham has volunteered as a soccer and basketball coach in the community for 10 years and worked with the Cullman American Youth Soccer Organization.
His vision for the future of the city school system is to continue on the growth trajectory already underway.
“Our city is growing in leaps and bounds and I want to see it continue to grow. I do know that affects our school system as far as classroom size, the amount of students, our roads and how we’re going to get to and from school. Traffic is already a nightmare in the mornings. It’s going to affect our athletics. It’s going to affect everything. It’s important that we communicate well with our city council, our economic development, our other city governments to make sure that we all understand what each other is trying to achieve and we’re all on the same page. And, we need to communicate with our county school system because they are a part of our community. We just need to understand what they’re trying to do and make sure they understand what we’re trying to do. I think that we need a short-term plan and then I think we need a long-term plan. You can’t just look at what’s in front of you today and what the issue is today.”
Branham is married to Jennifer Sandlin Branham and is the father of two daughters. His family attends Daystar Church.
Susan Martin Hauk
Hauk was first approached with the idea to run for school board almost a year ago by a standing member of the board. “I asked a couple of questions, thought about it briefly, and then dismissed the idea. Over the next several months I had several Cullman citizens ask me to consider running for the school board.”
Her inspiration to work in the public sector came from her family, first her parents and then her husband. “My parents were not the kind to sit on the sidelines. They got involved in things that were important to them, and public service was certainly high on their lists. I guess I am drawn to such individuals, since I married a man who is very passionate about his hometown of Cullman.”
Hauk’s husband served on the Cullman City Council for two terms and “has been or is involved in everything.”
After her mother’s passing earlier this summer, Hauk felt her mother was urging her to run for school board.
“I felt she was pushing me to pursue this desire that I had pushed aside to take care of her. I had always wanted to be involved in my home community, and felt pulled and encouraged to the opportunity to run for school board.”
Hauk received her undergraduate in social work from the University of Alabama and completed graduate school at the University of South Alabama where she earned a Master of Science in counseling degree. She is a licensed social worker and professional counselor and has worked in private practice, the public sector and for nonprofits in Cullman where she served as director for the Child Advocacy Center of Cullman (CAC) for over 11 years.
“I became the founding director of the Child Advocacy Center of Cullman, a nonprofit agency, and during my 11-plus year tenure grew the annual budget from less than $100,000 to almost $500,000. This happened via grant writing, fundraising and careful stewardship of available resources.
When I chose to leave the CAC I was unexpectedly offered a chance to work for the School of Social Work at the University of Alabama, with their Youth Services Institute. This agency serves children and juveniles with sexual behavior problems. I am the lead therapist and have been with the agency for 7-and-a-half years. In between these full-time positions I have been an adjunct instructor in the Human Services Department at Wallace State Community College, and have been the part-time school counselor at Sacred Heart Elementary School.
Hauk’s volunteer commitments have included the Cullman County Multi-Needs Team, the Cullman County Partnership for Children, the Cullman City Schools’ Head Start Advisory Committee and the Cullman Bearcat Soccer Booster Club.
“The Cullman City School system has enjoyed great success through its innovative and progressive-thinking board members, superintendent and administrators. I would be proud to be a part of implementing the current strategic plan. In particular, we face problems of space and housing for our growing student population that must be addressed sooner rather than later. This will require creativity and some outside-the-box thinking, along with some difficult and critical decision making. I would like to see the board address the availability of appropriate course offerings for all student abilities and interests, not just those who are college-bound. We must prepare all of our students for success in a competitive workforce. We need to address the funding issues facing all of our sports programs and booster clubs, while also ensuring compliance with federal laws requiring equitable treatment for teams of both genders.”
Feeling her perspective is different than any previous member of the school board, Hauk offers an extensive career and personal history which she feels qualifies her to serve in the position. She has been married to Ernest Hauk for almost 20 years and is the mother to a Cullman High School junior, Samantha. The family is a member of the Catholic faith.
Cullman’s municipal election is Aug. 23.
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