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| Carole Bales |
Bales was awarded the honor in 2020 but because of the pandemic, the official celebration was delayed until last week when she was the guest of honor at the event.
Bales has been an active member of the Romulus community for more than 50 years, moving to the city in 1969. One factor in choosing the city was the school system, Bales said. She wanted to ensure that her children attended a strong school system where they could make life-long friends.
“I'm a firm believer that if you want the value of your property to increase, and you want to create a thriving community, you have to support your local schools and city,” Bales said. She was an active member of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) during time her children were students in the Romulus system.
She served as president of the PTA at Merriman Elementary School for five years and was also chairman of the Merriman School Fair and served as Den Mother and Board Member of Club Scout Pack 739.Following her volunteer work with the schools, Bales put her business education studies from Western Michigan University to use and took a job in1979 with the school district. She worked in the Romulus school system as a secretary and administrative assistant for more than 30 years. During her career with the district, Bales served as chief steward to AFSCME Local 64 for 12 years and also served on numerous district-wide committees. During her tenure in the district Bales was awarded numerous tributes, including being named Romulus Schools Support Staff of the Year, Wick Elementary Schools Queen for the Day, Romulus Community Schools Apple Award, Women Worth Watching and others.
Bales dedication to the community continued with her volunteer work helping to organize blood drives and pancake breakfasts along with Rotary Club dinners and annual community events. Her continued efforts to help community causes prompted her neighbors to dub her the “basket lady” as she was known for providing gift baskets of items for auctions, raffles or families in need.
Bales was also involved with the Romulus Goodfellows and Julie's Tea Committee, the Pumpkin Festival, Friends of the Library, Literary Club, Chamber of Commerce, Light the Way Committee, Compensation Board, Board of Canvassers, Beautification Committee and Friends of Seniors. She is also an active member of Community United Methodist Church, having served as a Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teacher.
Bales became a familiar face at polling places in the city, working as a volunteer after helping to promote city millages including both the road millage and public safety millage-all of which have positively impacted the Romulus community, officials said.
Chamber of Commerce officers noted that while Bales has received a multitude of awards in the last 50 years, there aren't enough honors to fully thank her for her decades of service to the community.
“Carole is valued member of the community and the selfless attitude and commitment of residents like Carole are what makes Romulus a Home of Opportunity,” was a phrase repeated several times during the ceremonies last week.
“You don't do good things because you want a pat on the back,” Bales said. “You do them because you genuinely care about people, and I think we need more of that in the world.”
Bales and her husband of 58 years, Dan, are the parents of Bob, Brian and Fumiko and Becky and John and have four grandchildren, Joshua, Katie, Sera and Luke.
