Cooperative Living January 2021 - 13

CivicPride | by Steven Johnson, Staff Writer
" I am really
looking
New Leader on the
Northern Neck
Colonial Beach's first female mayor
is upbeat on town's future
F
or Robin Mae Schick, the road to the mayor's office
in Colonial Beach, Va., passed through Guatemala.
Elected in November as Colonial Beach's first female
mayor, Schick spent two-and-a-half years as a Peace Corps
volunteer in Guatemala, doing what she plans to in the
waterside town of about 3,500 - improve municipal services
and strengthen the sense of community.
" I felt I brought the Northern Neck to Guatemala and
maybe not so much Guatemala to the Northern Neck, "
says Schick, who owns an architectural design firm.
" The culture is different, but in many ways where I worked
in Guatemala was a very similar-sized town. It was on a river
and was a little bit of a hub and had a lot of rural around it,
like the area that I live in and am from, " she says.
A key difference: Her service in Jocotán, a town
near the border of Honduras and El Salvador, which
ended in 2010, didn't involve a pandemic.
Now she becomes mayor of a town popularized as
the Playground of the Potomac at a time when the
health crisis has undercut essential tourism dollars.
" We live in a resort community and we invite a lot of people
into our community to boost our economy. We have to be
careful for those who we welcome and also our locals, keeping
them safe, " she says.
But she sees remote work as a way to attract people who
might otherwise be fighting traffic commuting to Washington,
D.C., about 65 miles away.
" The work-from-home situation is really going to help in
our workforce capability here in Colonial Beach because we
are at least internet-capable. That's been a positive for our
community in many ways. I hope it continues to be that.
I think that's forever changed. "
LOVING LEARNING
A Northern Neck native, Schick turned to Rappahannock
Community College in eighth grade to boost her education;
RCC spotlighted her in 2019 as one of its " Faces of 50. "
To say the least, her first class - keyboarding - opened her
eyes to a larger world.
" I sat down next to a 40ish-year-old construction contractor.
I remember doing word count races with him as we learned
to type the 'right' way together, " Schick says. " I helped the
grandmother sitting in front of me find the button to turn on
her computer. The interaction and learning across generations
left a lasting impact on me and an appreciation for sharing
in education with a diverse group of people. "
After high school and RCC, Schick went to the University
co-opliving.com
forward to a
rejuvenation
and being
part of a new
heyday. "
- Robin Mae Schick
of Virginia, graduating with honors in architecture. Service
beckoned before a job, though. Schick headed to Guatemala,
even though she couldn't pinpoint it on a map. " I knew it was
a Spanish-speaking country, but that was about it, " she laughs.
As a community development volunteer in a country beset
by civil strife, Schick helped build a playground, taught proper
sanitation and worked in an orphanage with children who
had lost parents during the strife.
Her greatest accomplishment was the tireless construction
of a state-of-the-art library - friends back home from some
areas served by Northern Neck Electric Cooperative sent her
money and books for the project. It was a true partnership
of volunteers, government agencies and foundations to better
the lives of Guatemalans.
She was headed home to the United States when she
learned rioters had destroyed the library and the town square.
" It was heartbreaking, " she says.
DETERMINATION TO SERVE
Schick opened her own business in 2012 and has been
involved with virtually every community development effort
on the Neck.
She designed façade revitalization programs for the towns
of Warsaw and Callao, encouraging business and property
owners to improve building appearances. She chaired the
Colonial Beach Planning Commission, designed the boardwalk
mural and served as vice mayor.
So Schick was ready for the workload when she won the
mayor's race. " It does add to the time commitment, but there
are a lot of things I was already involved in, in terms of
regional meetings with other groups or coordination with
nonprofit and economic development groups. "
As mayor, she plans to build community support for
revitalizing the downtown area, developing a comprehensive
stormwater management plan, backing preservation efforts
and supporting expanded parks and recreation opportunities.
" I've heard a lot of the heyday stories about before the time
I grew up here. I am really looking forward to rejuvenation
and being part of a new heyday, " she says.
And she'll do it after having broken a glass ceiling in a
pleasant Virginia town.
" I do think it's groundbreaking, " she acknowledges.
" Every person in a position of leadership is a role model. But
certainly, as a woman, I'm a role model for all kids to show
that they too can graduate from a small town, do amazing
things in the world, come back and be mayor, and help out
the place that raised them. " 
January 2021 | Cooperative Living | 11
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Cooperative Living January 2021

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