Joel Avila’s family immigrated to the South Coast from the Azores when the Select Board candidate was 7 years old. Since then he’s established a career in IT, earned a law degree and raised three children in town.

“I’ve been lucky in what I’ve been able to accomplish, and I’m grateful for the community I live in,” Avila said. “Serving on the Select Board is an opportunity for me to give back.”

Avila has nine years of experience on the Planning Board. For the previous four he’s served as chairman.

While a member, he helped develop bylaws designed to preserve open space and protect homeowners from intrusive commercial activity in residential neighborhoods.

With those accomplishments behind him, Avila said he set his sights on the Select Board to bring greater collaboration between it and other town committees.

“The most important thing for this Select Board to do is to exercise leadership in town,” Avila said. “It starts with listening to what people’s concerns are.”

Avila said as an employee of the Acushnet Company for 35 years (he’s currently the senior director of application development) he has leadership experience.

In the near future, he believes the town must act to deal with several, high-profile parcels currently for sale.

With the Holy Cross Fathers’ 60-acre property and the Hawthorne Country Club for sale, and the future of the John George farm in question, Avila said a plan is needed to minimize the strain on municipal services if the land is developed.

“Those are some really key parcels that could be sold for housing and have a negative impact on the town,” he said. “I don’t have an answer now, but we need to put our heads together to come up with a creative solution.”