Growing up, many of my neighbors were hardworking, humble, and serious people who I gradually learned were heroes who, just 40 plus years earlier, had landed at Normandy on D-Day to liberate the European continent while others had courageously served across the vast Pacific Theater during WWII. The inspiring examples of these quiet individuals will always remain with me.

For my Eagle Scout project, I supervised the creation of a memorial to honor America’s Vietnam Veterans in East Northport, NY. I was very grateful to achieve this goal as it meaningfully filled a void in my hometown’s main park where there were prominent memorials for veterans who had served in the nation’s past wars but notably, not Vietnam where my mother’s first cousin had made the ultimate sacrifice twenty years earlier.

As a high school junior, I proudly participated in the American Legion’s Boys State program in New York that was administered by the U.S. Marine Corps. This formative experience instilled in me a deep sense of civic duty, patriotism, and the importance of principled citizenship.

As a high school senior, as a participant in the Congressional Youth Leadership Council, I had the privilege of laying a wreath at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, an experience that cemented my desire to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.

As a U.S. Army R.O.T.C. cadet at Villanova University, I learned the importance of servant leadership from some of the finest officers and non-commissioned officers to have ever worn the uniform.

Later, as a young U.S. Army officer, I had the privilege of reverently presenting an American flag to a grieving father to honor his son, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam and the Persian Gulf Wars. This moment imbued in me an awareness of how important a veteran’s service is to their family and friends.

Shortly thereafter, I also had the privilege of briefly serving overseas in the Middle East and Southwest Asia in support of Operations Southern Watch and Vigilant Sentinel. This experience powerfully reinforced my love of America’s example as a beacon of liberty.

Timothy Holmes, a business executive, philanthropist, historian and author, who previously ran for Mayor of Saratoga Springs.

Holmes is a researcher of history who assembled and wrote Saratoga Springs: A Brief History, published by The History Press. He writes about locations and themes whose significances have proved enduring over time. His career in philanthropy and forensics continues with humanitarian development projects locally and abroad. Tim works on various local projects, including economic revitalization in Schuylerville, New York, and has an interest in genealogical research that has taken them to England, Ireland, Canada and the eastern United States in pursuit of ancestors. Tim’s wife, Libby Smith-Holmes, assisted in writing and editing Saratoga Springs: A Brief History with her husband in 2008. They work together on various local projects, including economic revitalization in Schuylerville, New York, and share an interest in genealogical research that has taken them to England, Ireland, Canada and the eastern United States in pursuit of ancestors. As a writer and editor on environmental topics, she continues to keep an eye on local water quality issues. For one season, she was director of the Youth Conservation Corps at Saratoga National Historical Park. The authors actually met at the Saratoga Battlefield in 1999. He and his wife Libby Smith-Holmes, are the authors of three books of local history: “Saratoga Springs: A Historical Portrait” (2000), “Saratoga Springs: A Brief History” (2008), and “Saratoga: America’s Battlefield” (2012).

He has invested in a number of Schuylerville properties and was a Schuylerville economic development official (among other roles). A strong supporter of regional cooperation, Holmes has worked in social and business organizations, regional chambers of commerce and planning cooperatives such as the Historic Hudson-Hoosic Rivers Partnership.  Mr. Holmes has been an active full-time Saratoga Springs resident and volunteer for the last 20 years, supporting local businesses and arts enterprises, Chamber of Commerce initiatives, and serving presently on the city’s Open Space Advisory Committee and the Smart City Broadband Commission.

Holmes has also been a leader of the Friends of Saratoga Battlefield’s effort to establish a memorial to honor America’s first veterans on the site where British General Burgoyne surrendered to American General Gates on October 17, 1777, the turning point of the American Revolution. He is a member of the President of the Friends of the Saratoga Battlefield and a member of the Board of the Friends of the NYS Military Museum. 

Kevin is a 1994 graduate of the State University at Albany with a Master of Science and Taxation degree and a 1987 graduate of Siena College, Loudonville, NY with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Kevin has also earned the prestigious Certificate Education Achievement in Personal Financial Planning.

Kevin is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSSCPA). He is a member of the NYSSCPA Personal Financial Planning Committee. Kevin is currently Treasurer of the Friends of Saratoga Battlefield, a past Chair of the Board of the Saratoga Chamber is an active volunteer with American Red Cross, and is a past chair of the Board of Directors of the American Red Cross of NENY. Kevin has been involved in many other local charitable organizations as a board member or volunteer.