Vernon Bryant will serve an 11th year as chair of the Halifax County Board of Commissioners while Chenoa Davis was selected as vice chair this morning.
The morning’s organizational meeting also saw three new board members sworn in — Thomas Barrett, taking the seat of Linda Brewer; Gary Redding, taking the seat of John Smith; and Jimmie Silver, taking the seat of Carolyn Johnson.
The three incumbents decided to not seek re-election.
Commissioner Sammy Webb made the motions for the appointments of Bryant and Davis.
“I just want to thank my colleagues in their vote of confidence in continuing to serve as your chair,” Bryant said after District Judge W. Turner Stephenson administered the oaths of office to the new commissioners. “As I have said many times I will do my absolute best serving this board forward as the chairman and, of course, as I will the staff as well as citizens.”
Bryant told the audience, “I take this job very seriously. I do want to thank you so much for putting confidence in me. It’s a hard job. There’s a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of time not being home.”
Davis told the audience, “I pledge to continue to operate the way I always have, doing my very best for the citizens.”
She thanked her family for their support and acknowledged her late husband. “I know my husband is smiling today.”
Silver thanked his wife and family. “I’m here to listen to you. I’ll fight for you and do what’s right because I tell anybody I fight for the right reason.”
Coming from a family of political activists on the local level, Redding thanked them for sparking that interest and teaching those lessons at an early age. “Thank you for taking me to political meetings and teaching me how to make a protest sign and how to create change — positive change — in Halifax County.”
He thanked his teachers along the way “who invested in me and saw a young man who had potential to become a county commissioner. I also want to thank my sister for being here. She changed my diapers and now she can look at me and say it was all well worth it.”
He thanked his fellow Halifax Community College staff as well as his students. “I look forward to helping the county commissioners as well as others in the county. I believe that we can create economic development as well as a positive change in our educational system as well as recreation.”
Barrett said he was still having a hard time believing he was sitting in a board chair. “I’m not a politician. I’m just ordinary folks like most of you are sitting out there. I love my town. I love this county. I’m here the rest of my life so I’m going to do everything I can these next few years to make a good place for all of us to live.”
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