I have known and admired Cecil for almost 20 years.
His has been an amazing personal journey, starting with growing up in an Amish community in Ohio, where he was forced to quit school after eighth grade to work on the family farm.
At the age of 18, he left and set out for the west to seek a wider world and determined to enrich his education. He settled in Montana where he worked as a guide for two outfitters, while earning his GED, then getting two BA’s – in history and English. He will graduate this spring with a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership.
As most everybody in Seeley Lake knows, Cecil teaches Civics, History and English at the SLE Middle School, and he leads trips to Helena and Washington to show his students government in action. He has always enjoyed a high degree of respect from both his students and their parents.
Public service is in his blood. He is currently the secretary of the Seeley Lake Community Council, where he has conducted two major long-term projects with great success.
I am not surprised that he has decided to run for the legislature; I always knew that it was just a question of time.
I am deeply impressed by Cecil’s passion and dedication to the public interest and I know that he will bring those to his legislative office. His main goals are the same as mine: quality education for young Montanans which will enable them to compete successfully in a challenging world, preserving our public lands – America’s greatest natural treasure – and affordable health care and housing.
I couldn’t think of a better qualified, more passionate or determined person to represent us in Helena than Cecil.
Please join me in voting for Duane “Cecil” Schlabach when your ballots arrive in two weeks or at the polls on June 5.
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