What Makes Ronnie Roll

We’re All A Work In Progress

by Ali Elizabeth Turner

Years ago, when I first started interviewing Mayor Marks, I was privileged to attend, along with the mayor, a Steven Covey seminar for teachers and elemen tary students that was entitled, “The Leader in Me.” The seminar was run by Steven’s son, Ryan, and was held in Athens State Univer sity’s Carter gym. There was a second grade kid who introduced himself to the crowd of several hundred as “a work in progress,” and he was as polished as any we had ever heard. Our jaws nearly dropped open at the poise of this child as he talked about his longterm goals and plans for personal development and his career. Fast forward nearly a decade, and the kid, who for the moment shall re main anonymous because I am not sure if he wants his name “out there,” now works for a radio station that re cently interviewed Mayor Ronnie. The mayor remembered the kid, the kid remembered the mayor, and they laughed about the memory of “being a work in prog ress.” We laughed as well as we met on Mon day, and the mayor asked again, “But we all are, aren’t we?” “We are indeed,” I said. We talked about his vic tory in the recent mayoral election, and he wanted to say a heart felt “Thank you” to the citizens of Athens, the people who voted, the people who worked the campaign, and to his op ponents. “It was a clean, professional campaign,” said Mayor Ronnie. Then he told me about his 7-year-old grand son, Quinton, who got involved in the cam paign and rode his bike around to people that he saw in their yards and said, “I want you to vote for my Pops.” In addi tion, there was a young woman who went doorto-door to campaign, COVID-style, and when she returned from the porches she would do a series of round-off back handspring flips to her mom’s waiting car. It was as good as anything you would see on Beale Street in Memphis. Of special note was the grace of Mark Wil son, who ran against the mayor. Mark went about town to pick up some of Ronnie’s cam paign signs, and Mayor Ronnie did the same for Mark. They had prof itable conversations about reconciliation and moving forward in a way that will truly work, honor the Con stitution, and be beneficial for ALL the lives of Athenians. “That’s why Mark ran for mayor, and that’s what we do in America,” said the may or. Man, do I love this town! (That’s me talk ing) Speaking of loving this town, there is someone else who loves this town and shows it by pick ing up trash. Her name is Laverne Gilbert, and she has started a move ment. Not only does she fill bags of trash, ev eryone from the mayor to neighborhoods have caught the vision for how beautiful we could be. This town is cleaner because of Laverne and her crew, and we continue to be a work in progress when it comes to making Athens clean again. Before praying, we moved to things that really are not nearly as important as the fact that we just had an opportunity to exercise our right to vote and be heard in the public square. Things like two possible major retail developments, and two major commercial developments, both of which will provide jobs. Then we prayed for the mayor, his family, the city, the next four years, our country, the next election, and it was time for Ronnie to roll.