Editor’s note: The Tryon Daily Bulletin has collected biographies of all candidates running for seats on the Saluda Town Council. Over the next few Monday, Wednesday and Friday editions, the Bulletin will also run bios from Landrum and Tryon candidates.

Carolyn Ashburn
Raised in Winston-Salem, I attended St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C. and received a bachelor of arts in psychology.

I married and moved to Watauga County, N.C. where I graduated from Appalachian State University with a M.A in speech pathology.

I worked for 22 years in the public school system as a speech therapist and raised two children while living on a working farm.

In 2005, I retired, re-married Tryon Toy Maker, Chuck Hearon, who had been coming to family property in Saluda his entire life. We moved to Saluda after inheriting his parent’s house in 2008.

Having attended Saluda City Council meetings for several years, I see a need for improved efficiency in the workings of the city and better communication between our city government and the Saluda citizens.
Since 2005 I became an active volunteer in:

Polk County service:
Polk County Appearance Commission, Guardian Ad Litem /Polk County Court, Big Sister/Polk County BBBS Program, Volunteer/Foothills Habitat Store, Recycling Volunteer Coordinator/Blue Ridge BBQ Festival, Volunteer Coordinator/Super Saturday

Saluda community service:
Saluda Planning Board, Chairperson, Saluda Historic Committee Board Member; Saluda Community Land Trust, secretary; Saluda Garden Club; Saluda Oral History Committee; Saluda Business Association Associate Member; Saluda Adopt-a-Highway Coordinator and Saluda Arts Festival Volunteer.

Karen B. Bultman

My husband, Neill, and I have been property owners in Saluda since 1998 and full time residents since 2003.

We moved from Columbia, S.C. where we were both raised. I graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in accounting/finance and later earned the CPCU designation in insurance.

My professional career was in the property/casualty insurance field, ranging from the lowest employee to agency partner. Later, I became director of education for The Independent Insurance Agents Association of South Carolina and helped formulate the mandatory continuing education requirements for insurance agents.

In Saluda, I have served on the vestry of Transfiguration Episcopal Church and am currently chairman of the board of directors for The Saluda Senior Center.

I am married to Neill Bultman. I have one son, Sam Burns and two grandchildren who reside in Asheville. My hobbies include gardening (completed the Polk County Master Gardener program), sewing and cooking.

Johnnie Kinard 

Johnnie Kinard was born in Henderson, Texas in 1940 and raised in the McAllen and Brownsville area in the Rio Grand Valley.

Kinard purchased his home in Saluda in 1976 and is a third-generation Saluda resident. His mother, Hetty Nabors Kinard, graduated from Saluda High School in 1924.

Kinard received his undergraduate degrees from Tulane University and graduate degrees of LLB, MBA and JD from the University of Texas-Austin.

Prior to retirement, Kinard worked as a trust officer for McAllen State Bank, was a limited partner with Freedom Newspaper, established the Hendersonville Bureau of the Asheville Citizen Times, owned and operated Furniture Doctor and was a sales associate for Saturn of Asheville.

Kinard has served as a legislative assistant for Texas Senator Jim Bates, assistant sergeant of arms, served as assistant secretary of the Texas Senate, research assistant for the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, member of the Texas Governor’s Committee on Criminal Justice, president of Rio Grande Council of Financial Planners and chairman of the Board of Exception in Pharr, Texas.

While in Saluda, Kinard has served as a Saluda City Commissioner for the past 14 years, four of which he served as mayor pro-tem. He has also served as a member of the board of directors of the Saluda Fire Department for the past 11 years.

Over the past 13 years, Kinard has served as the city’s public safety commissioner for the police and fire department. During that time the police department has been consistently under budget.

Kinard is an avid supporter of the Saluda Business Association and the historic preservation of Saluda.

Kinard has a son, Scott and a daughter, Kelley. His wife passed away in 2008.

Mark Oxtoby 

I was born in Coventry, England. I have a degree in mechanical and production engineering.

I was introduced to my future wife, Carole Pace, by mutual friends in 1988 while on a business trip to America. I grew to love the “sweet way of life” in Saluda compared to the rush of England.

In October 1989 I was granted a fiancée visa to marry Carole.

We married in February 1990 at the Church of the Transfiguration and bought a house in Saluda. Our son, Tyler, is a sophomore at Polk County High School and plays tennis for the school.

I have been the operation/branch manager for a Flat Rock manufacturing company for 23 years. We have 29 employees and sales of more than $10,000,000 per year.

I have served on the Polk County Zoning Board of Adjustment, Saluda Planning Board, as junior warden at the Church of the Transfiguration and am currently on the board of directors at the Saluda Fire and Rescue Department.

My goals, if elected as a city commissioner, would be transparency and accountability of city government towards city residents, applying and securing grants, help to establish and create a long-term goal of upgrading our infrastructure (including replacing waterlines and reducing water loss from the water system).

Hobart “Sunny” Pace 

I am a graduate of Saluda High School and hold an associate’s degree from Blue Ridge Community College.

I served four years in the Navy, including a tour during the Vietnam War, after which, I was employed for 27 years at DuPont, working in research and development. I have remained an active member of Saluda First Baptist Church for most of my life.

I am a lifetime Saluda resident, and have been happily married to Madeline Pace for 29 years. We have two grown children whom we had the pleasure of raising on the same Saluda land I grew up on, which was Pace’s Farm Dairy in the 1950s.

I am running for city commissioner because we need more “Saluda” on the board. There needs to be more representation from locals to work together through honest and open communication with those who have come here from elsewhere.

Many people have come to Saluda to retire, but I have had the great advantage of residing here all the working years of my life and know the challenges and advantages of local families making a living in Saluda.

I want to ensure that Saluda continues to be a place in which I desire to live and future generations can enjoy and appreciate as I have for the past 66 years.

Ellen Rogers 

Ellen Rogers began summering in Saluda in 1977 with her grandparents, Ed and Nancy Ogden, finally moving to the city permanently in 1999.

In between, she received a bachelor of arts from the University of Rochester, majoring in Southern American history and studio arts.

For Rogers, living in Saluda has been a blessing and her participation in efforts to preserve its small town way of life has been a privilege. As a commissioner in 2001-2003, she worked to effectively allocate tax dollars; collaborated with residents and business owners to develop Saluda’s first comprehensive plan; was first to support an evaluation of existing streets and development of minimum standards for new construction; developed a Coon Dog Day sponsorship program, removing the burden from taxpayers; collaborated with Saluda’s youth to create the skate park; and secured grant funds to design/build the Saluda School tennis courts and walking trail.

Professionally, Rogers has more than 25 years experience in behavioral healthcare and childcare/education.

She is a mother, daughter, sister, friend, neighbor, business owner, outdoor enthusiast, avid reader and dog owner.

She is a member of the Saluda Business Association, volunteers at Saluda School and participates in the Tree City USA, Playful City USA and Small Town Main Street efforts.

George Sweet
I’ll begin with graduation from Clemson College with a degree in electrical engineering in 1958.

I worked with Duke Power Co. in a variety of engineering and management positions for 42 years, including manager of labor relations for the corporation and concluding with vice-president of Nantahala Power and Light, a subsidiary of Duke. I retired in 1999.

I have long been involved with church and civic responsibilities, including United Way, Boy Scouts of America (Scoutmaster for 20 years), Rotary, Chambers of Commerce, several environmental organizations involved primarily with water quality and service as a hospital trustee.

Local appointments are the Saluda Medical Board, the Polk County Economic Development Commission and the Saluda Board of Adjustment.

I am currently completing a four-year term as a commissioner for the City of Saluda and am seeking re-election. I am also a member of the North Carolina Commission for Public Health.

My wife Nettie, of 53 years, and I have two children and five grandchildren. We have been part-time residents of Saluda for 54 years and full-time for nine.