Gail J. Lazenby has filed the paperwork to seek re-election to another term on the Community Development District 3 Board of Supervisors. Lazenby has served for more than 15 years on the CDD 3 board.
He and his wife, Kathy, bought their first home in The Villages in the spring of 1996, moving to CDD 3 in 2002 when he became a permanent, year-round resident. Lazenby retired from the Grand Island School system after 33 years as both a teacher and administrator. He holds bachelors and master’s degrees from Buffalo State College.
While working as a teacher/administrator for the local school district, Lazenby also maintained positions with several local fire departments as a fire/EMS instructor. He ran a paramedic training program at both Buffalo General Hospital and Niagara County Community College while serving as an active member of the Grand Island Fire Company, retiring as a commissioner. Lazenby was one of the founding members of the department’s advanced life support unit, serving as the lead paramedic/EMS captain for eight years.
During his years on Grand Island, Lazenby also served on the town board as a councilman; was on the board of the Neighbors’ Foundation, a local charity assisting residents with short-term needs; served as a trustee on the library board; was a member of the Masonic Lodge and a member of the Mercy Flight advisory board.
Since moving to The Villages, Lazenby has immersed himself in the community and particularly CDD 3. He worked to change the golf-cart entry into Belle Aire, has worked with residents to remove junk and abandoned vehicles from villa developments and has been an outspoken advocate of fiscal responsibility by the District 3 Board.
Lazenby may well be best known for his 12 years as the EMS captain of The Villages Public Safety Department. During those years, he helped to initiate the highly successful AED program throughout The Villages and taught thousands of residents chest-compression-only CPR. He was a regular visitor to numerous Villages programs, talking about the value of CPR and AED’s and even hosting Dr. Gordon Ewy, America’s leading CPR expert, at two programs in the community. He wasn’t a “behind-the-desk” administrator, continuing to run calls and treat patients up until his retirement five years ago.
While Lazenby has hung up his Fire Department uniform, he has put on his clerical collar, becoming a Villages Public Safety Department Chaplain. As a Deacon at St. Paul Parish in Belleview, Lazenby has taken an active role in church ministry, visiting shut-ins and residents of area nursing homes, rehab centers and the hospital.
Lazenby also is a member of The Villages Rotary Club, having served as president in 2014-2015. Currently he heads up the club’s contributions to the Clean Kids Backpack Program, a charity that collects hygiene products for homeless kids who are enrolled in the area’s public schools.
Finding a few extra hours in the week, Lazenby is currently serving as a mentor for a Charter High School student in the Take Stock in Children program.
