ROWE — Joanne Semanie grew up hearing the words, “You can’t complain unless you’re part of the solution.”
“And I really believe that,” said Semanie, who was recently elected to serve a three-year term on the Selectboard. “If you want to change something, then you need to be involved.”
That’s why she ran for Selectboard, she said, explaining she stepped down from her position as treasurer to run for a seat on the board because she felt the town’s finances needed more oversight.
“I think that’s the most important thing a Selectboard can do,” Semanie said. “You’re kind of steering your town in a direction that’s fiscally responsible.”
Semanie’s family moved to Rowe in 1960. She lived there until 1985, when she moved with her husband and children to Enfield, Conn. Her weekends and summers, still, were spent in Rowe.
“When you come here as a weekender, you don’t get to know people,” she said.
So when she made the decision to return to Rowe full-time, Semanie wanted to get to know her community again. Over the next few years, she became a trustee for the Rowe Historical Society, took a job as clerk for the Board of Health and eventually became town treasurer.
“I really enjoy getting to know people,” she said.
Semanie, who still serves as clerk to the Board of Health, said she’s attended every Selectboard meeting in the past year, giving her a good idea of what the job entailed before she ran for the open seat.
In her new role, Semanie said she wants to improve communication with the townspeople.
“It’s difficult in this time of social distancing … but because we’ve been having all our meetings on Zoom, it’s given a lot more of our residents access,” Semanie said. “I’d like to work toward public access, so people can actually see what happens at our board meetings on a weekly basis.”
She also hopes to improve communication with town employees, she added.
“I’d like to have an open door policy so anyone who needs to talk to me can talk to me,” Semanie said.
Although she spent a number of years outside of Massachusetts, Semanie believes her roots in Rowe are the reason she has a vision of community for the town.
“We used to have a pretty close community, and I think in emergency situations you see that,” she said. “I would like people to come together more and I hope we can work toward that.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263. Twitter: @MaryEByrne