A Glimpse Into John's Background

THE EARLY YEARS

John was born in New Hyde Park, New York on March 3, 1954. His parents, Walter "Buddy" and Maureen "Muriel", raised six children, four boys, and two girls. Tragedy struck the Campbell family when John's younger brother Edward drown in a New Jersey lake during the family's first vacation. While Eddie's death devastated the close knit, Irish, Catholic family it also served to create an impenetrable familial bond that would provide a unique sense of security as time went on.

In the summer of 1961 the Campbells moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where they witnessed first hand the terror and fearful days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, experienced hurricanes and observed the migration and massive construction boom of what was once a quiet, environmentally sensitive area abutting the Florida Everglades. That loss of ecological innocence would frustrate John throughout his life.

John graduated from the University of Florida in 1976 with a Bachelors Degree in Journalism. A short time later he joined the Broward County Sheriff's Department. At his graduation ceremony from the Police Academy he met his future wife, Kathy, the sister of one of John's fellow graduates. Upon his graduation, John was assigned to the road patrol in one of the highest crime areas in Broward County. Kathy, a Registered Nurse, accepted a position at one of the local emergency rooms. They married in November of 1979.

After seeing John in the emergency room too often as a result on altercations on the job, Kathy told him that it was time to leave the field of law enforcement and seek his longtime goal of attending law school. He agreed when he learned that Kathy was pregnant with their first child. In 1983 John graduated from Nova Southeastern Law School and entered private practice with his brother's Ft. Lauderdale lawfirm, Krupnick & Campbell, where he specialized in civil litigation.

John and Kathy's first child, John Jr. (Johnny) was born in 1981, Meghan Elizabeth in 1983 and finally Ryan Patrick in 1986. In 1994 John and Kathy had decided that South Florida was not the environment where they wished to raise their children. Following family meetings and some serious soul searching they decided to move to Vermont. "It was one of the most difficult decisions we ever made. We are both extremely close to our families and not being with them on a regular basis would be tough however, we wanted to raise our children in a special environment, and what better place than Vermont!"

COMING BACK TO VERMONT

The choice of Vermont was not a random selection. John's family had immigrated to Vermont from Ireland in the mid 1800's. The Powers/Ritchie, his grandmother's family settled in St. Albans while his grandfather's family, the Campbells established themselves in Underhill, Vermont. His great-grandfather, William Powers, was the long time station manager in St. Alban's and served as Mayor of St. Albans from 1901 through 1904.

John's great-great grandfather, John A. Campbell, a former farmer in Ireland forced into peddling on the streets of County Cork as a result of potato famine, found happiness again when he to return to farming upon reaching Vermont. Others in the Campbell family worked the lumber mills to support their families.

John and Kathy were not in Vermont long before jumping into community work and involvement. They served as co-chairs for the Vermont Special Olympics for a number of years with their close friends Deb and Frank McDougall, a former Secretary of Economic Development under Governors Dick Snelling and Howard Dean. Their commitment to the health and safety of children led them to involvement with CHaD, The Children's Hospital at Dartmouth; John as Executive Director of the charitable organization that sponsored the New England Open, later the CHaD Classic and Kathy a founding member of the "Friends of CHaD" Board of Trustees that was responsible for numerous community charity events for CHaD. John also served on the Board of Trustees of the Quechee Chamber of Commerce and the Windsor County Youth Court.

One of the proudest moments for John came when he was asked to take over the reigns as "The Voice of the Hartford Hurricanes" for the high school football team. "During my announcing tenure I had the privilege of meeting some amazing folks who have dedicated their lives to improving the lives of Vermont kids; people like Mike Stone, Bob Potter and Tom Lamb, coaches for the Hurricanes. Brian Trottier and Ed Cooke as athletic directors and a truly amazing woman, Luna Ricker, the Hurricane's athletic trainer who has treated more sprains, bruises and broken bones then most doctors.

Another area of civic involvement that eventually led to John's decision to enter politics took place in the courtroom. In 1997 Judge Paul Hudson asked John to volunteer "a bit" of his professional time to the Windsor Family Court. Despite never practicing in that arena he agreed to give it a try. That decision resulted in a dramatic change in John's life. "I thought I had seen almost everything when I was a cop. Well, I was wrong."

Representing children in the Family Court drastically altered his perception of domestic issues. "I saw innocent children being used as pawns in battles between parents. I saw teenagers who literally fell through the cracks of a governmental system that was supposedly there to protect them. What I saw was selfishness in its worse form, apathetic incompetence, and hopelessness in the eyes of children who found themselves embroiled in disputes through no fault of their own."

John's frustration with the system was the decisive factor in accepting Governor Howard Dean's request for him to run for Windsor County Senate in 2001. Though relatively unknown in Windsor County, John decided that if he were going to change the system he would have to do it from within. He and Kathy threw caution to the wind, corralled the kids and their friends and began a six month mission to win the senate seat. They visited and campaigned at every refuge (otherwise known as the town dumps) and recycling center, supermarket, fair, pot-luck dinner and flea market they could find. Finally, on a cold and blustery November evening their hard work and dedication paid off. John was elected to the Vermont State Senate!

THE VERMONT SENATE

In his first year John was appointed to two coveted committee assignments; Judiciary and Health and Welfare. In his freshman year John successfully introduced and shepherded an amazing number of bills and resolutions through both the Senate and House that were then signed into law by Governor Howard Dean.

Two years later John was elected by his colleagues to serve as their Majority Leader and continues to hold that position. Since his first election John has served on a number of standing and specially appointed committees, was asked to testify before the United States Congress and has been the recipient of many awards and citations from veterans organizations, victims advocates, animal welfare organizations and Business organizations.

THE CAMPBELL FAMILY

John is immensely proud of his family and the accomplishments they have made in their lives. "My dad was a bartender and my mom a housewife. We lived a low, middle income existence with hand-me downs and recycled gifts, however, we never complained. My mother wouldn't allow it."

"Mom always pointed out that others had far less than we did, and that we should be thankful to have food on the table and a roof over our heads. My mom is a spectacular woman of tremendous faith and the greatest gift she gave us kids was to recognize the importance of compassion and understanding." He adds, "My dad is a tremendously funny guy who gets along with everyone. I credit, or maybe I should curse him, for sharing his gift of gab and jocularity with me. Actually, those traits had a lot to do with being kicked out of Catholic High School. The priests thought my sense of humor and gregariousness would be better suited for the public school system."

Despite financial difficulty, the Campbell kids did okay for themselves. After serving in the Air Force from 1964-68, his oldest brother Tim became a police officer, then graduated from college, eventually received his Masters and went on to become a professor in Criminology. Walter Jr. (Skip) is a nationally recognized trial attorney who also served 14 years as a State Senator in Florida. Maureen, John's older sister, is an Emergency Room Physician who has received numerous awards and commendations for her work in the area of Cardiac Resuscitation.

John claims that his younger sister Kathleen has the most difficult job of all. She is an elementary teacher at an inner-city school in Florida. "I am amazed every time I see her with her students, most of whom come from severely disadvantaged homes and backgrounds. She treats them as if they were her own kids.

"What is really special is that my mom, who is 83, goes to Kathleen's class everyday and helps the kids with their homework and other projects." The closeness of the Campbell family extends to the spouses of his siblings and their children. Brenda (Tim's spouse), Lynn (Skip's spouse) and Bobby (Kathleen's spouse) are as close as any brother or sister could be and his nieces and nephews all hold a special place in his heart.

John is currently seeking his fifth term in the Vermont Senate. He continues to practice law in Quechee, Vermont at Campbell & Saunders, LLP and Kathy still enjoys helping families experience the wonders of childbirth at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center Birthing Pavillion. On April 15, 2007 their son Johnny and daughter-in-law Kasie provided them with a tremendous gift, their first grandchild, Landon James Campbell. Johnny, who recently graduated from Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) school, is currently attending the Broward County Fire Academy. Meghan is in her second year of teaching third grade at Parkland Middle School in Coral Springs, Florida, and Ryan, a recent graduate of Sacred Heart University, works at TouchPoint International Communications in Connecticut.

Oh, and Mulligan, the family boxer is enjoying the life of leisure and still hanging out where she's not supposed to be . . . the new couch!