By Karen Ogdahl
PEQUOT LAKES — The walls of the mayor’s office in Pequot Lakes are lined with old town photographs, but the décor is about the only nostalgia that Mayor Nancy Adams allows. She is a woman with an eye toward the future. Sworn into office in 2009, Nancy’s radiates enthusiasm. “This community is wonderful,” she said. “The Pequot residents love our town and want the best for it, and our city employees are such hard workers.” Nancy’s bid for mayor was her first experience campaigning for public office. She had helped start the community library and had been a food writer for the Lake Country Echo, so she was no stranger to people. “I knocked on just about every door in the community during the campaign,” she remembered. After she was elected, she discovered that a steep learning curve came with the job, but she plowed in. “I have learned so much — enterprise zones, sewer, water and a whole lot more! Before council meetings I always take the packet of information we get and study it. I usually have a whole page of questions ready, and I go to the city clerk or finance person or whoever and try to get all my questions answered so I’m prepared,” she said. Nancy credits her life experiences as solid preparation for public service. Very early in life she had to take on responsibility. “When I was 4 my mother had a nightmare and went out a second-story window. She was paralyzed. I had to do things most children don’t. I remember taking my little sister to the library when I was 6. If we wanted to go somewhere, we walked,” she said. “I learned that if you want something, you have to do it yourself.” After graduating with a degree in education from Cornell College in Iowa, she enjoyed a career in early childhood teaching and curriculum writing. “Maybe it was the liberal arts education or the fact that I’ve had several different jobs, but I’ve always wanted to give everything a try,” she said. During her career years, Nancy and her family spent summers at their lake cabin on East Twin Lake. When retirement came 12 years ago, they added on to the cabin, moved in permanently and dived right into to community involvement. Nancy spoke with pride about her part in establishing the Pequot Lakes Library, “We started it seven years ago. It’s totally operated by volunteers — not one paid staff. One volunteer is the materials coordinator, and I ended up as the volunteer coordinator.” When it came time to buy a building, they were worried about where the money would come from. “I’d never been a fund-raiser, but I just started dialing for dollars. Only one person
Elected to office in 2009, Nancy Adams is mayor of Pequot Lakes.
photos by Joey Halvorson 38
FALL 2011 | her voice