SHAWNA CECOT
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ABOUT SHAWNAThe youngest of five children, Shawna Cecot was born and raised in Massena, NY. She and her siblings spent much of their childhood working in their parent’s restaurant, The Village Inn; a restaurant that she and her sister Cathy still own and operate today. She is a third-generation restauranteur, following in the footsteps of not only her parents, but also her grandparents who owned and operated the Woodlawn Hotel. They were issued one of the very first liquor licenses in St. Lawrence County after the Prohibition era had ended.
Shawna managed the front end of the restaurant for many years until a close friend and long-time kitchen employee passed away five years ago. In response to the loss, Shawna transformed her career out of need and began managing the kitchen during the opening hours. As a child, she and her family lived above the restaurant and while her parents stressed the importance of hard work, they also stressed the value of a quality education. In 1984, Shawna graduated from Clarkson University with a BS in Accounting. She has served as the treasurer of the Massena Country Club and as a member of the Massena Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She has volunteered at career days where she has promoted the importance of small business to students and other young people and where she has encouraged them to invest in their communities. In turn, Shawna has made it a point to give generations of Massena, Louisville and Waddington students the opportunity to call the staff at The Village Inn their very first work family. One such student was fellow legislative candidate Nicole Terminelli. WHY SHAWNA IS RUNNINGToday, Shawna is ready to transform her career again but this time, it’s out of a desire to help her neighbors. As a self-described life-long learner, she is an avid reader who is very passionate about policies that help average, every-day working people like her neighbors and friends who live in Legislative District 15. As your next County Legislator, she intends to use her financial training and experience to help solve the county’s errant billing crisis and to help develop programs to assist small business owners and encourage entrepreneurialism. She is passionate about curtailing the county’s opioid epidemic so that families can once again live without the constant fear of break-ins, community violence and addicted loved ones.
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