VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Elections in this country are a lot of work, and they would not be possible without the people working behind the scenes.
This week’s Everyday Hero Award goes to Mike Ware, a man who has been volunteering his time in Virginia Beach for close to 20 years.
When I found Ware in Virginia Beach, he was busy dashing around the Kempsville Area Library. This year he has been serving as the precinct chief for the Kempsville satellite early voting location.
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"When I started volunteering for elections, you still checked everybody in by paper books. Then you went through a touch screen voting thing," Ware recalls.
Not every volunteer has been as committed as Ware over the years, so I asked him why he started working with the Department of Elections in the first place.
"My father-in-law, at the time, was head of the electoral board and he asked and it was kind of hard to say, no," he said. Since 2008 Ware has been working the polls, including special, primary, and general elections.
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"On Tuesday, when we work 19 hours, it's a long day, but it's really not bad here," he said.
Those long hours do not make the job easy and it’s often thankless, but Ware shows up each day with a smile.
"Meeting people is my favorite part about my job. It's fun. It's just fun," he said. "You have to have fun with them or else you're not going to come out and do it." Ware thought I was there just to talk about the election, but I was really there to give him a News 3 Everyday Hero Award.
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"Listen, it's not just me. I've got a good group in there," he said. "It's been the same basic group of people that we've had here for our third election now."
In addition to the Everyday Hero Award, Ware was given a $300 Visa gift card from our partners at Southern Bank.
"All right, I'm floored now, thank you. I'm not speechless very often, but thank you," he said. Ware’s colleagues and boss were also nearby as he received the recognition.
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Jennifer Halpin, Deputy Registrar III, at Virginia Beach Voter Registration & Elections said, "The reason that you were chosen is because you're just as kind as you possibly could be and all the time you are happy."
His happiness makes each voter feel valued as they are waiting in line. He keeps his positivity up all while making sure the votes are safe, and the election is secure.
"We have a lot of really good election officials, but Mike is definitely, by far, one of the best ones we have," said Halpin.
