Citizens of Starkville welcomed their newly-elected Mayor Lynn Spruill and Board of Aldermen members at the swearing in ceremony at City Hall on Monday, July 3.
About 100 people were in attendance to watch the group recite their oath of office. Upon completing her oath, the audience welcomed Mayor Spruill with cheering and a standing ovation.
The new Board of Aldermen was also sworn in, including: Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver, Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk, Ward 3 Alderman David Little, Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker, Ward 5 Alderman Patrick Miller, Vice Mayor and Ward 6 Alderman Roy A' Perkins and Ward 7 Alderman Henry N. Vaughn, Sr.
The new board and mayor were sworn in by Judge Dorothy W. Colom, of the 14th Chancery Court District.
Following the formal swearing in, Perkins - the board's longest serving alderman - gave his perspective on the impact the city government has had on the community during his tenure, while discussing the growth of the city and many other milestones Starkville has accomplished.
Perkins said with his experience, he knows the new team of elected officials need to work together and act as a family in order to achieve more impressive milestones.
“Where there is unity, there is strength,” Perkins said.
Spruill took to the podium in all white clothes and shared a small anecdote with the crowd. She spoke about her time as a naval aviator and spending many years in the sky. She said you begin to see things that you wouldn’t normally see connect.
“There is something about (flying) that lets you dream,” Spruill said. “Now, I’m dreaming about Starkville.”
As a city, Spruill said Starkville has great momentum moving forward. She said she will push to make sure that doesn't stop growing stronger and faster.
Spruill plans to focus on an abundance of areas in order for the citizens to see real changes. These areas include economic development, restaurants, eduction, entertainment, arts, events, infrastructure and parks.
Spruill told the SDN one of the first things she wants to tackle are the “low hanging fruits” that people in the city will quickly notice. She said it’s important to make things brighter and more positive, with those changes aimed at boosting the town’s overall morale.
“Starkville starts with star, and that’s what I want us to do,” Spruill said. “We are the star in the Golden Triangle and I want us to be exactly that and I want people to feel that.”
Spruill said the only thing that could get in the way of her dreams about this city is funding. For her, she said that finances will be one of the greatest challenges she will face as mayor.
Although many aldermen are returning to serve another term, the city will welcome two new faces, Sandra Sistrunk returned to represent Ward 2 and Patrick Miller serving his first term in the Ward 5 seat.
Sistrunk said she is looking forward to working with this board. She said the bigger hopes and dreams for this community can be accomplished by this group and plans to address those dreams immediately.
“It’s an exciting time. Beginnings are always exciting,” Sistrunk said. “I have a lot of hope for Starkville’s future.”
“The biggest thing is putting in the work,” Miller said. He then expressed his gratitude for being elected and is excited about serving the people in Ward 5.
Spruill said four years may seem like a long time right now, but with the amount of things she would like to accomplish that time is only a small window in order to achieve her main goals.
“Four years can go by in a blink of an eye,” Spruill said. “We need to start now.”