Commissioner Johnny Jenkins nominated Al Searles to fill the vacant seat during a meeting earlier this week, and commissioner Johnny Hollingsworth put the name of Barbara Johnson up for consideration. Following the show of hands, Hollingsworth moved to make the vote for Searles unanimous and supported his election.
“I am very honored and excited to have been asked to serve on the Warsaw Board of Commissioners,” expressed Searles following the meeting. “I was approached and asked by members of the board if I was willing to serve, if elected, and I said ‘yes.’”
Searles works for Murphy-Brown and has held several leadership roles within the community and at his job. He and his wife Jan have two children, a son, A.J., and a daughter, Emily.
Warsaw mayor Winn Batten aid he was “very pleased” to have person of the Searles caliber and abilities on the board. “I feel he will be a good asset to the board, and (I) anticipate good things from him as a commissioner,” the mayor said.
“I know Al to be a very good man,” said Jenkins, who nominated the town’s newest commissioner. “He is a member of the Presbyterian Church where he is an elder. I had a lot of people express an interest in seeing Al on the board and I am glad he was elected. He has a great business head and works with Murphy-Brown. I was glad to see him jump in and get his feet wet during the meeting. Al has a strong interest in the town I feel he will make a tremendous town commissioner.”
After his election, Batten swore Searles in with town clerk Myra Mays holding the Bible for the official oath of office.
The self-proclaimed conservative Searles will fill the seat vacated by Martin until the November election, at which time he may run for the unexpired two-year term remaining if he so chooses.
“I have only been considering filling this position for about a week and (I) have not decided if I will seek election to this position,” Searles said. “That is still up in the air. My main goal now is to make sure I serve the people of Warsaw and ensure we spend the town’s money wisely.”
To contact Billy Todd, call 910-592-8137 ext. 117 or e-mail sigeneral@myclintonnc.com,
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