All across this beautiful Island of ours I see hardworking and dedicated people doing what needs to be done to keep this community healthy and vibrant. I am especially encouraged by the young people who have made the commitment to take on the hard work and uphill challenges one inevitably encounters to stay on the Vineyard and live and work in the place they love. Small business owners and teachers and farmers and parents are out on the playing fields or in the fire stations or at town board meetings giving their precious time as volunteers to help us all. Volunteering brings us together.

There is a lot to love about the Island. People arrive from all over the world to enjoy what we have and also what we do not have. We have beautiful beaches and ponds and we don’t have multi-story condos looming over them. We have winding, picturesque roads lush with trees and many clear vistas and we don’t have strip malls and traffic lights. We have many wonderful restaurants and farm stands and small businesses that are locally owned and operated that are unique to the Vineyard and not found in hundreds of convenient locations. Why is this true? Because the character and strength of the community demands it to be so and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s legislation and town planners gives us the power to keep it so.

Some of the people that visit the Vineyard like it so much that they cancel their return reservations, send for their stuff and never leave. Some did that thousands of years ago and some probably will this summer. It makes for a diverse and interesting collection of people and cultures. It makes for a community of citizens committed to both preserving what makes this place extraordinary and realizing the promise of meaningful opportunity.

My vision is a Martha’s Vineyard Commission that mirrors this amazing community — 17 commissioners who are truly representative of our Island population. Only with the breadth of diversity that reflects the fabric of this Island will the MVC be strong enough to deal with the challenges which face us, whether they be affordable housing or water quality or climate change or traffic tie-ups or sustainable growth.

This is an exciting time to join the commission. Our energetic new executive director Adam Turner’s primary focus is on implementing the many great ideas outlined in the Island Plan along with pursuing the grant money necessary for action. I encourage all to visit our website, mvcommission.org, to learn more about all that we do. I urge you to consider becoming a part of the MVC community. I urge you to run for an elected seat on the commission, to talk to your local selectman and ask to be appointed or talk to the governor (if you run in that circle, since the governor gets five appointees). Nomination papers for this year’s election are due by August 2 and can be picked up at your town hall or the commission office. Join us and help guide our future.

Jim Vercruysse lives in Aquinnah and is chairman of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.