The City welcomed newly elected Councilors Jessica Ayres (Ward 1), Zac Smith (Ward 2), Nick Card (Ward 4) and re-elected Councilor Kevin Stine (Ward 3) during the January 5 Council meeting.
Councilor Jessica Ayres (Ward 1) has dedicated her time to the public, as she serves on several local non-profit boards and volunteers with multiple organizations. She’s an active board member of Rogue Valley Habitat for Humanity and the Southern Oregon Builders Association. She’s also an active volunteer for ACCESS.
Jessica believes that Medford is a great place to live and work. She also believes that Medford is a community that cares, with a wide variety of organizations and non-profits that you can be involved with and make a difference in the lives of others.
She currently works as a Commercial Relationship Manager and has been banking since 2000.
Jessica was born and raised in Medford, and attended Oak Grove Elementary School, McLoughlin Middle School and South Medford High School.
Jessica believes her experience in both her career and civic duty have prepared her for the role of Councilor, where she can use her knowledge, relationships and resources to make the best decisions possible for the future of Medford.
Councilor Zac Smith (Ward 2) is a longtime resident of southern Oregon. He and his wife met while attending Phoenix High School, where they both graduated. They moved to Medford shortly after graduating and are raising their growing family here.
Zac currently works as a finance manager and has experience in sales and management. Zac and his family love hiking, camping, and exploring southern Oregon’s beautiful lakes, rivers, and wilderness areas.
Councilor Nick Card (Ward 4) is a 5th generation Oregonian, born and raised here in Southern Oregon. After graduating as Valedictorian from South Medford High School, Nick attended Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, CA, where he earned a bachelor’s in Engineering. He spent his next few years in the San Francisco Area, working as a Patent Engineer, prosecuting patents for Silicon Valley tech giants like Google, HP, and Facebook.
In 2013, Nick returned home to Medford, taking a position in his family’s third-generation trucking and transportation business, Combined Transport Inc. Today, Nick is the VP of Operations, where he oversees the operations of the company’s shop, yard, and 500 trucks and drivers.
Since returning home, Nick has been active in the community. In 2014, Nick ran for State Representative, District 5. As a candidate, he championed solutions to help create jobs, improve education, and reduce cost of living. Since then, he has continued to advocate for Medford and the greater Rogue Valley, and has committed himself to making Medford a strong and vibrant community.
Today, Nick serves on the Executive Committee for the Medford & Jackson County Chamber, the Executive Committee for the Oregon Trucking Association, the Board of Directors for the American Trucking Association, the Medford-Alba Sister City Committee, and multiple Scholarship Selection Committees with the Oregon Community Foundation. He has previously served as one of the first youth board members of the American Red Cross (Southwest Oregon Chapter) and as the Secretary of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society (Omega Chapter).
Councilor Kevin Stine (Ward 3) was elected to the City Council in 2014, and began serving in January 2015.
Councilor Stine was born in Medford and went to school at Oak Grove Elementary, before his family moved to a small town in Oklahoma. After graduating from High School, Kevin joined the US Navy, where he served for nine years, and completed three deployments aboard submarines.
After an honorable discharge, Kevin moved back to Medford. When he saw an opportunity to get involved, he ran for office and was elected to the Medford City Council in 2014.
Kevin and his wife, Casey, have been married 15 years and live in West Medford, where they are raising their daughter. Kevin is a member of the Navy Reserves, the Navy Funeral Honors Team and is a substitute teacher for the Medford School District.
Source: City of Medford
