I was recently elected to serve as an alderman on the Minot City Council. The city council consists of 6 aldermen plus the mayor. It is our responsibility to meet the service needs of our patrons while ensuring their freedom to create the community they desire. I am very proud of our community and its people. I think you will find the people of our city are a good lot – we take care of each other and work hard to make Minot a great place to live.

The Northern Sentry has been kind enough to offer me some space to communicate with its audience. This column will serve as my introduction to you, including some of my history and the part that Minot Air Force Base has played in shaping me into the person I am today. As city leaders we talk about the MAFB impacts on our city and state – primarily economic and cultural. Those are very important to our community, but for me it is much more personal.

On December 28, 1970, my maternal grandmother Arlene married a USAF Tech Sergeant from Minot Air Force Base named Cipriano (Cid) Sauceda. My grandpa Cid, technically a step-grandpa, became the only grandfather I really ever knew. I was born about 3 years later and I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t absolutely smitten with my grandpa. I grew up with stories of him stroking my forehead to get me to sleep when I was a fussy baby. I remember the long days stretching into nights while he waited in his cold pickup so I could skate at the outdoor rinks in Minot. He was my biggest fan as I grew up playing hockey and baseball for Minot teams. After winning the state hockey championship as a senior at Minot High, one of the first phone calls was to my grandpa and grandma to celebrate with them because they couldn’t be there. My sister Mindy and I were so loved.

My grandpa came from the generation of Americans who didn’t talk about their service or what they had seen and done for our country. I have very little information about his service other than he served during both the Korean and Vietnam wars. Those who have family members from that era and before know the steely mentality many service members show. It would have never occurred to him to talk about his service and what his compatriots did to ensure our freedoms. They did it and went about the rest of their lives with the same honor and discipline they learned during their service. My grandpa’s only wish was to be buried with my grandma at the ND Veterans Cemetery in Mandan, ND. The full ceremony after his death in 2002 was one of the most moving, proud experiences of my life.

I urge everyone to talk to their loved ones who are serving and have served. Record their stories and document their words. While they would never ask for it, they deserve to have their stories told to future generations. Most Americans have a general sense of the sacrifices made by military families to ensure our freedoms. We risk losing touch with the human side of that experience if we don’t document it. I certainly wish I had discussed more of it with my grandpa, but he was always so content talking about what I had going on and everything else but himself.

I hope you all find Minot to be the welcoming, wonderful place that my grandpa found it. While he surely had a great reason to stay once he met and married my grandma, he loved our city and was a great addition to our community. I’m biased, but in this case only the best did come north!!!