Mike Ford, ACMC, is now serving his seventh term on the City Council. A graduate of Spring Hill College, Mike grew up in Mobile but spent many fondly remembered childhood and young adult summers in Battles Wharf. He moved here in 1960, following his discharge from the Army, and began working in real estate two years later, opening his own company in 1967. Mike and his wife Dorothy recently celebrated their 50th anniversary. They have eight children and 21 grandchildren.

Mike’s primary goal on the council is to keep a handle on growth. “You can say it a hundred different ways, because it involves many different issues all brought together, but it all boils down to one thing. We need to do what we can to preserve the high quality of life we enjoy here."

Debbie Quinn, ACMC, is now serving her fourth term on the council. A Fairhope native, she is a graduate of Providence School of Nursing and the University of South Alabama. She and her husband, Michael, a radiologist atThomas Hospital, have two sons, Neil, a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College completing post-graduate work at the University of South Alabama, and Bryan, a graduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi. “My primary goals on the council are the protection of our neighborhoods and environment,” she said. “I also strive to involve all the citizens of Fairhope in the governmental process.”

Debbie has been a member of the National League of Cities Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Steering Committee for five years. She has also served as chairman of the Finance, Administration and Intergovernmental Relations committee of the Alabama League of Municipalities; as chairman of DesignAlabama, an affiliate of the Alabama State Council on the Arts that encourages good planning in Alabama communities; and was appointed by Governor Riley to the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs Recreational Trails Advisory Board Grant Committee.

Dan Stankoski is now serving his second term on the City Council. He and wife Cheryl moved to Fairhope in 1989 when Dan was assigned to the Mobile FBI Office. He retired from the FBI in 1995 and went to work for the Federal Public Defenders Organization in Mobile. Dan and Cheryl have two sons, Rob and Clark, who practice law together in Fairhope and a daughter, Blair Jaye, who lives in Bay Minette and teaches at Spanish Fort High School. They have three grandchildren.

Dan continues to support Fairhope’s need to plan for the future. “I don't want to know how we did it 10 years ago, I want to know how we will do it 10 years from now. We need to implement a five-year strategic financial plan and a traffic and infrastructure plan to move the city forward as we grow so that Fairhope remains a gem on the Eastern Shore.”

An active participant in the East Side Citizens for Fairhope organization, Lonnie promises to champion the interests of all residents of Fairhope, east and west of Greeno Road. “I hope to improve harmony among the council members and the mayor, and I will work to involve more citizens in an open government," he said, adding that he would like the council to investigate the feasibility of electing council members by district instead of at large. He also supports annexation to enlarge the city’s boundary.

Lonnie and his wife, Dr. Colleen Mixon, have lived in Baldwin County for 20 years and in Fairhope since 2001. They have two daughters, Kim Verneuille and Kelly Adger, and four grandchildren.
 

A Fairhope resident since 1998, Rick is a past-president of the Point Clear Rotary Club and FEEF, the Fairhope Educational Enrichment Foundation. Rick and his wife, Debbie, are the parents of three: Rock, a pharmaceutical salesman in Louisiana, Eric, an aspiring playwright and actor in New York City, and Taylor, an artist attending theUniversity of South Alabama. Rick and Debbie also have two grandchildren.

Rick notes that change is inevitable. “But we must manage it if we’re going to continue to live in the Fairhope that we all love,” he said. “We need a vision of what Fairhope should be, a strategy for achieving that vision, and the resolve to move forward.”