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Jodi Riggins: Great communities= Great schools, 1303 Davis Drive NW, Cleveland, TN (2026)

06/01/2026

Everyday Epiphanies

Plain old fashioned thankfulness tends to trigger what John Milton called “everyday epiphanies…transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life.” After our family’s Sunday dinner yesterday, I think I know what the old poet meant. While some were washing and putting away dishes, Gary and I took time to say a simple “Thank You” to my family for their sacrifice and hard work on my campaign. They have variously helped with flyers, knocked on doors, made phone calls, provided technical advice way beyond my ability…all of which make it possible for me to do the things I do. To say “I’m grateful” is so inadequate. In that moment, I was overwhelmed by the warmth of their support and the depth of their love, awed by an everyday epiphany that I will treasure forever, regardless of what happens in August.

As I think about all of that and the honor of representing you on the School Board for the last four years, I realize I’m way behind on my debt of gratitude. I need to say “Thank You” to many more people than those who share my genes. Besides my dear family, here’s a beginning list of some others to whom I owe so much.

REELECTION COMMITTEE: George, Norman, Loes, Dan, and Lena were the brain trust of my unlikely election four years ago, and they are back for this cycle. It was their wisdom that guided me, a novice with no political experience, through the endless paperwork, signage issues, and the labyrinth that is City Hall. They have helped me learn to love the arena and the good fight for a voice at the table. I am so grateful (there’s that inadequate phase again), and I truly could not have done this without each one of you. “Thank You!”

SUPPORTERS WHO READ MY POSTS: These musings are equal parts reflection, diary, and therapy. I have loved your comments, been inspired by your “likes” and “loves,” and encouraged by your warm-hearted emojis. Thanks for listening to my thoughts. I would love to return the favor. For each of you that have commented, I have responded, but I just don’t know how to write you back if you don’t write a word or two (I really am not that tech savvy). So, drop me a note on Facebook. I’d love to send you a personal “Thank You!”

RANDOM STRANGERS: I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting those of you who have introduced yourselves to me. You may have seen one of my signs, knew one of my children, grandchildren, my husband, or someone at church may have put you up to it, but I want you to know how honored I am that you sought me out. “Thank You!”

MY CONSTITUENTS: This truly is “all about you.” It is not lost on me that a majority of you chose me to represent you and be your voice. I have taken that responsibility very seriously over the last four years, and I hope I have earned your trust for the next four years. Again, I am so grateful for the confidence you have placed in my ability to speak on your behalf. For that privilege, “Thank You!”

Gratitude never goes out of style. It’s a responsibility we actually never catch up on, but it’s like Miracle Grow for the relationship it nurtures. Like you, I am blessed to have family and friends that go out of their way to do sweet things for me. Anytime—even washing dishes—is a great time for a heart-felt “Thank You!” I’ve read in scripture about sowing and reaping and yesterday watched it in my own life. Milton was right. Everyday epiphanies that light up our lives can be sparked by a simple and heartfelt “Thank You!”

05/22/2026

A “To Do” List
As I bet you’ve noticed, the race for the opportunity to represent the 5th District on the Cleveland City School Board is heating up. I need your support if we are to prevail in early August. Please look over the following list of ways to help and pick one or two (none of us can do “everything!”). Working together, we can ensure that we’ll have a lot to celebrate on election night.
1. VOTE: Make sure you and your family and friends and neighbors participate in our democratic process in the General Election on August 6, 2026. Here are the critical DEADLINES: Voter Registration, July 7; Early Voting, July 17-August 1; Absentee Ballot Request, July 27.
2. CONTRIBUTE to the Campaign Fund: I know these are hard times, but if you have a few bucks to kick in, I will guarantee it will not be squandered. Make your checks out to: Jodi for Reelection Campaign, Norman Wojcik, Treasurer, PO box 2761, Cleveland 37320.
3. STICK a SIGN in YOUR YARD: If you have space next to your plastic pink flamingo for more yard art, I’d recommend one of my lovely signs. It’s a real conversation starter and tells passersby who you are supporting. Call me (423-790-4341) or see me on Facebook. Unlike the flamingo, they’re free.
4. VOLUNTEER: In a few weeks, we will begin knocking on doors and visiting with your neighbors. We need drivers, water carriers, and of course exercise types looking for creative ways to get their steps in and meet some nice folks. I’ve taught school in Africa, so I know “it takes a village” to do special things. However, please remember that everyone campaigning on my behalf will be representing me and my values—decency, honor, and kindness—to those that support me and especially to those that don’t. If you can do that, please join our merry band of true believers.
5. HOST a NEIGHBORHOOD DEMOCRACY Meeting: Invite some neighbors and friends over for iced tea, lemonade and cookies and to meet me and talk about our schools. I’ll bring the refreshments and you supply the backyard or living room and “we the people” can get to know each other. Please, if you’re interested, give me a call and we’ll pick a date. This should be fun!
6. PRAY for Me: I’m not perfect…far from it. To paraphrase Mr. Lincoln, my prayer is not for God to be on my side, but that I am on God’s side. To do that, I’ll need your prayers that the grace of the better angels of our nature will guide us in this campaign. May it be so.

05/17/2026

Now that the primaries are over, my husband Gary has been reminding me of the old George Jones hit, “The Race is On.” I don’t know much about “the Possum,” but in my corner of the world the race is a contest for the privilege to represent District 5 on the Cleveland City School Board. Most importantly, it’s a way for me to serve my community that I really love. Although I believe I am uniquely qualified and the best candidate, I’m certainly not the only one interested in this position. After all, we are all stakeholders in bettering our community and its public schools. As my slogan suggests, schools and the communities they serve are positively correlated, they rise and fall together. As communities improve, the effects are reflected in the quality of the local schools. The corollary is also true. Real progress in the overall education of our children—the community’s citizens and future taxpayers—is directly felt in the community served by that school. That is a notion I think we all can get behind regardless of the color of your bumper sticker.

Your vote matters; however, I don’t think it produces “winners” and “losers” as we generally know the terms. We don’t give the winners a lifetime appointment nor do we banish the vanquished, those we too often brand as “losers’ in the Jim Carey sense of the word. Those who finish the race, no matter what position, are Americans…neighbors and friends who just think differently. Elections are snapshots in time, and the results are temporary. If you thumb through your high school annual, you know that preferences and opinions change...about almost everything. That’s why we have elections regularly. In a representative form of government, those who get the most votes speak for the people in that district, regardless of how they cast their ballot. At least that’s the theory. Voting results of human beings are not a referendum on the value or worth of the man or woman who stand for an election. As I learned in Sunday School, that judgment is above my pay grade, and I suspect yours.

In closing, there will be only two of us running for this seat. After talking with my opponent and welcoming him to the race, I know he is a decent human being and a good person, and so am I. I just happen to believe that my record and experience over the last four years will be a better fit for this important role. So as opposed to calling either of us “winners” or “losers,” I hope the race results will show that this time he finished second, and I had to settle for next to last! But whatever the outcome, I know we will work together to improve Cleveland City Schools and our community.

Thank you for voting. Please message me if you would like to express your opinion. And, if you would like to donate to the campaign, send a check to Jodi for Re-election, P.O. Box 2761, Cleveland, TN 37320.

05/03/2026

Friends,

To quote that famous American, John Denver, “it’s good to be back home again.” Gary and I just returned from our first vacation in a long while. I mean the real kind where you stay in places that are unfamiliar and eat strange and exotic things that will never appear on the Cracker Barrel menu; where people talk funny and you’re the strange one; where neither the street signs nor TV made sense, at least to me. It was all whacky and strange but judging by the activity in the markets and what we saw in their museums and libraries, it’s all working, and, I might add, impressively.

Our self-guided tour of Helsinki and two of the three Baltic capitals (Tallin, Estonia and Riga, Latvia) gave us a chance to test the truth of Mark Twain’s famous quip, “travel is fatal to bigotry and prejudice.” At each stop, we saw evidence that we Americans are not the only people in the world who love their families, cherish their freedom, and have the audacity to dream big and the courage to create. The architecture, cleanliness and emphasis on preserving the environment were impressive.

Another thing they do well is educate their children, especially the Finns. They are often held up as one of the models to be studied. I asked a young law student why Finland is so good at the educational game. He said that formerly, their system was based on an old colonial model of education in which students memorized great swaths of information and on test days those that could marshal these bits of information correctly passed, and those that couldn’t were weeded out. He pointed out that in the 1970s things changed to a more teacher-student focus on problem solving. The aim was on hiring great teachers with master’s degrees and then giving them the autonomy necessary to create a more problem-solving environment with fewer national exams, the first being in secondary school.

The other thing we noticed was their love and respect for democracy. That was especially true for the two Baltic countries. Their history is a long one of servitude to the more powerful countries in the north, west and east. This game of capture the flag went on through two world wars and ended with the collapse of the USSR in 1989. When that happened, such was their resolve to be free that millions of citizens in three vulnerable Baltic states formed a human chain from Vilnius, Lithuania in the south, through Riga, Lativa, to Tallin, Estonia in the north. These folks know firsthand the costs of freedom and, to the ones we talked to, democracy is their most prized possession. They cherish free speech and the right to choose their leaders.

In conclusion, this trip has taught me to hold my family tighter, to find happiness in odd places, and to be a better citizen. I think Twain got it about right. It’s easy to get complacent and let our guard down, to forget how good we have it. Let us treasure what we have and GO VOTE!!!

See you there!
Jodi

03/31/2026

The Promise of Change

The foot prints in yellow pollen on my back porch are aggravating, but sure signs that Old Man Winter is packing his bags. He’s leaving behind a lot of good memories made around warm fireplaces and a March Madness that finally lived up to its name, at least for the UConn men’s team. I can’t say I’ll miss the old man all that much, but I know he’ll be back in a few months whether I like it or not. So, I’ll carefully put away my warm wool sweater. Right now, hot weather sounds good. However, ask me in July and August when I’m campaigning in the dog days of summer. My hunch is that by then I’ll be ready to welcome the old man back again. But on this cool last day of March, a long hot day on the lake and a vine ripe tomato sandwich sound great. However, things will change.

There are things about each of the four seasons that are really good and a few things not so good. These ups and downs are entirely predictable rhythms of life that keep it interesting. They are also reliable indicators that you are in fact alive. Like the graph produced by an EKG machine measuring the heart’s rhythmic tempo, real life has times of unbelievable highs and a few dark valleys. If that graph is consistently straight, I can tell you as a retired medical provider, you’re having a really bad day. For those in the valley, the best advice I can offer is something I borrowed from Churchill, “when you’re going through hell, keep going.” Things always change.

If you’ve had just about enough of Old Man Winter’s tricks, just wait him out. In the next cold snap (and there will be one or two), as Churchill’s neighbors in London would say, keep calm and carry on. It may be too chilly to sit on the porch, but look around you. I bet you can find a robin busy building a nest or dogwood tree flashing its flowers or a brave azalea bud peaking out. These are definite signs that something’s brewing and it’s all about to change. Not forever, but for the next little while. Life is a matter of perspective. Even the aggravating yellow cake mix Mother Nature sprinkled on my car today is just another sign from God reminding me to keep the faith. After all it’s that very pollen that will create the shade in my yard and make our community parks such beautiful respites in the long hot summer days ahead. Trust the mystery.
It’s now about 3:00 pm on March 3.

In just about 9 hours from now, the God that designed the seasons and made the pollen will open up a brand new, fresh out of the box day. It will be one without a single finger print on it and one that has never occurred before in the history of the world. What we do with Wednesday, April 1, 2026 will make a difference, one way of the other. Let’s make it count. As my first campaign and the kid from UConn proved, sometimes even long shots make a difference.

Thinking of you today,
Jodi Riggins, Representative
District 5, Cleveland City School Board

03/12/2026

Grateful for the Motto
I am coming to the end of my first term as an elected official, the highest honor of my life for which I’m extremely grateful. I am again offering myself as candidate for a second term in the August election. My team and I have met and we have what I believe to be a solid game plan for re-election, and to no one’s surprise, you will be a key piece in that strategy. As a partner in this enterprise, I think I owe you a brief report on what your vote has accomplished. Here are a few reflections based on the brilliant Cleveland High School motto: Get Smart. Work Hard. Be Nice.

Get Smart: I came to the board with a medical background that actually helped me adjust. As a PA for 30+ years, I used many odd acronyms daily that I’m sure sounded as if I was talking in front of child that could not have a T-O-Y from the S-T-O-R-E. Consequently, although I didn’t understand the peculiar educational abbreviations and their impressive terminology at first, it all sounded vaguely familiar. Thanks to my clever tutors, I can now speak at least basic education and know most of the acronyms.
It’s an education your vote made possible. Thank you all.

Work Hard: I have worked really hard at representing you and your children and the selfless educators that make a real difference in our community every day. The Tennessee School Board Association or TSBA (another acronym) has established five levels of achievement to recognize the local board members who “go above and beyond” the fundamental expectations. To date, I have been fortunate enough to earn four of the five in my first term. In the process, I have learned a lot about how schools should operate, and I’ve met some amazing and dedicated men and women in public service on both sides of the isle. Their commitment has inspired me to work even harder, and their joy has been infectious. For all of this (even the hard work) I am so grateful.

Be Nice: This attribute, perhaps the most important of the three, makes the other two marketable, or at least more enjoyable. Statistically, benefits of kindness include a 23% reduction in levels of cortisol (stress inducer) and improved mental health. Harvard Health studies indicate other significant mental and health benefits of kindness, including lower blood pressure and increased production of oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin, the so called “feel good” hormones. Being nice also boosts things like empathy and optimism and reduces loneliness, the growing epidemic among the young and old that Surgeon General Murthy called deadly. In short, nice people tend to live longer. As a result of your vote, I have had the opportunity to test these findings in many places with lots of people, and I’m pleased to report that they have proven true. If all of that is so, your vote four years ago may have added a few years to my life. Thank you!

I will be in touch in about two weeks regarding how you too can get smart (at least get a smart looking sign in your yard), work hard on this campaign, and be nice to your neighbors. Although I can’t promise anything, you may also get a few more years tacked on to the standard “three score and ten” in the actuarial tables and Psalms 90:10. What a deal! I look forward to talking with you again soon.

Thank You!
Jodi

02/27/2026

Changing Times

There are very few things in this life you can predict with confidence, and the weather’s certainly not one of them. According to the daffodils in my front yard ,Old Man Winter is packing his bags, but the wily old guy may still have a trick or two up his sleeve. Regardless of what daffodils or baseball coaches are signaling, I don’t believe you should break out the Speedos just yet! Some of us can remember the snowstorm of ’93 that hit on Friday before Spring Break. Those of us who didn’t make it out of town before sundown were snowed in for the next week.

I can’t do much about the weather, but there are lots of things you and I can do. In the early 1930’s an American theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr, wrote a beautiful prayer that he later freely gave to Alcoholics Anonymous in 1960. His “serenity prayer” (God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.) has helped many around the world understand the hard realities of change and the difference it can make. A few times in our lives men and women have a chance to actually “bend the arc of history” as Dr. King wrote, and those times of change, change things.

Election cycles are examples of those times when “we the people” have an opportunity to speak up regarding who we want to represent us at the decision table. Four years ago, you honored me to be your voice from District 5 on the Cleveland City School Board. On August 6, you will get another opportunity to choose. I believe I have earned your trust, and I hope you will support me again in August.

My team and I are ready to work. We are gearing up for a spirited race with a worthy opponent, and I look forward to running on my record, but it will be tough. I clearly remember the hot summer four years ago when we knocked on your door and asked for your support. Your response changed my life, and hopefully those I’ve had the opportunity to serve.

As you might have guessed, I need your help again. I have a lot of attractive signs that would look lovely in your front yard. If you’d like one, please let me know and I will personally deliver it. I will also be incurring advertising costs and campaign expenses, and I would sincerely appreciate any contributions toward those efforts. If you’d like to help, please send your contributions to:

Riggins Campaign Fund
P.O. Box 2761
Cleveland, TN 37320-2761

While the weather may be fickle, our calendars and clocks certainly are not. Like it or not, time marches on. The summer election will be here soon, and with it another opportunity to choose a way forward. Choices made that day will matter to our students, their families, the school system that serves them, and ultimately the community that nurtures all of us.

Gratefully,
Jodi at [email protected], 423-472-7255

02/03/2026

Friends,

Happy Ground Hog Day! As I suspect you know by now, Pennsylvania’s “Punxsutawney Phil” and Atlanta’s “General Beauregard Lee,” came out early this morning and predicted a late spring. So, if you can believe a couple of overweight rodents, you might want to wait a while before you put away those bulky sweaters.

As I understand it, the purpose of this day, is to remind us of where we are on the calendar, and how to plan accordingly. Unlike “Punxy” and “Beau,” I’m no weather person, so I certainly can’t tell you when to get out your Bermuda shorts, but I have paid attention to the shadows on the horizon of things to come. As your representative on the Cleveland City School Board, it’s my job to keep you up on the goings on at the state and local levels regarding our schools.

In about two weeks, local boards of education across Tennessee will convene to discuss a variety of issues facing our schools and how we might address them. We will be meeting with legislators and responding to laws that may be passed on our behalf. As you know, in a representative democracy, elected officials like me are the voice of “we the people.” So, I am soliciting your opinions, suggestions, and ideas on how together we might make our schools better on both sides of the teacher’s desk. If you have a concern or an issue that you want raised, I would like to hear it. Like a groundhog, I may not be able to do much about it, but I will take it to those who can.

Based on the feedback I have gotten from some of you and what I have seen in our local schools, I can promise that at least two issues will be discussed (I will bring them up). First, the pay of our school nurses. To state the obvious, salary is the major reason we don’t have a nurse in each school. They care for and manage a wide variety of both chronic and acute issues that really matter. However, the average pay of a school nurse is about that of a fast-food manager. It’s unlikely anyone will die if an order of fries or onion rings get mixed up. However, mistakes in spotting certain signs and symptoms or errors in dosage of prescriptive medication can be life-threatening.

The second issue I confidently predict will come up is some kind of extra compensation for our special education teachers. They need innovative relief from the excessive responsibilities they bear. These angels in sheep’s clothing are as special and rare as the children they serve. We must find some way to lighten their load (i.e., relief time, extra benefits, pay supplement, etc.). It’s a case I will be pleased to make.

There’s at least one more thing that those of us watching the calendar can confidently predict. There will be an election in August for a District 5 seat on the Cleveland City School Board. I’m lacing up my tennies and getting ready to run.This week I will be launching my re-election bid with a spot on the radio and asking that you help me spread the word and maybe stick a sign in your yard (if you need one, I have plenty). When it warms up a little—and it will eventually regardless of what the rodents speculate—I’ll be knocking on doors in your neighborhood, meeting new friends and visiting with old ones. Like Bill Murray in Ground Hog Day, this pattern will be repeated until the election is over. The song on the clock radio that wakes Phil Connors (Murray) up day after day after day has a line in it that expresses how I feel about how we’ll win in the fight for better schools and better communities. In fairly good harmony, Sony and Cher, sing to each other, “…then put your little hand in mine, there ain’t no mountain or hill we can’t climb… I got you, babe.”

I love my job!
Jodi

01/24/2026

Friends,
I hope you are enjoying our weather roller coaster ride on the January Banshee of ’26. Hang in there; this ride, at least the January version, is almost done. But of course, when it pulls into the station, we’ll all climb on the brand new Fabulous February ’26 edition, and give it whirl. The point is, like your EKG, life has its ups and downs…there are good days and bad days, cold days and hot days, times when stuff works and when it doesn’t, but if we’re going to stay on the ride, we have to deal with all of it and try to find joy in most of it. What makes any roller coaster ride fun is to do it with friends. Life is no fun alone. That is especially true (or ought to be) for those of us in public service.

It has truly been the thrill of my life to share the peaks and valleys of serving on the Cleveland City School Board with you. It was so much fun that before my first term comes into the station in August, I’ve decided to try to stay on this wild ride. As you know, I’ll be a candidate in the August 6th election and I truly would love to have you on board. Many of you autographed my petition to run again and I am so grateful. Many others volunteered to sign, but thankfully I got the required number early and submitted it. There will be many more times before the August 6th election that I will need your help. So stay tuned and strap in tight. Then come August, we can hold our hands high when it pulls out of the station for another four year ride.

I’ll be in touch! Thanks again!!
Jodi Riggins
Cleveland City Schools, District 5

01/05/2026

TO: My Constituents in District 5,
RE: Signatures on a Petition to Seek Office

Serving you as your representative on the Cleveland City School Board has been one of the biggest honors of my life. Thank you! I’ve talked with many of you at concerts, ball games, student plays, and in the various celebrations of our students’ amazing achievements. I share your pride in your children’s accomplishments. Their hard work and success matter to all of us. With your support, the cooperation of my colleagues on the board, and the hard work of our system’s staff, teachers, and administrators, the schools that serve our families and this community have made significant progress. As I have said before, “great schools equal great communities.”

As you may already know, after talking with my family, and at the urging of many of you, I have decided to seek a second term as your representative. All of that begins with collecting endorsements of District 5 residents on a petition declaring my intention. I would sincerely appreciate your signature. If you would like to sign it, please let me know and I will certainly get it to you. You may call or text me at 423-790-4341 or email me ([email protected]).

Once again, thank you for the trust you have expressed in me over these last four years. I think you know that I take the obligation of public service seriously, and will serve you and your family with honesty, integrity, and gratitude.

Gratefully,
Jodi Riggins,
District 5 Cleveland City School Board

Jodi Riggins: Great communities= Great schools

06/01/2026

05/22/2026

05/17/2026

05/03/2026

03/31/2026

03/12/2026

02/27/2026

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