The Homewood Star
Volume 6 | Issue 6 | September 2016
neighborly news & entertainment for Homewood
2016 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
Round 3 for McBrayer Wayne Dunlap, left, and Max Herzel are the only active members of the Homewood Metro Lions Club. Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Shrinking service clubs compete for recruits’ time By SYDNEY CROMWELL
Mayor Scott McBrayer celebrates his re-election with supporters Aug. 23 in Edgewood. Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Several familiar names chosen to fill out council
THE FACES OF YOUR NEW CITY GOVERNMENT* Mayor
Council President
Ward 1, Place 1
Ward 1, Place 2
Ward 2, Place 1
Ward 2, Place 2
McBrayer (I)
Limbaugh (I)
Gwaltney
Thames (I)
Higginbotham (I)
Wolverton
2,527 votes
Unopposed
By SYDNEY CROMWELL
W
alking up to New York Pizza on Aug. 23, it was clear Scott McBrayer was the man of the hour. With his re-election just confirmed, McBrayer was greeted by applause, handshakes and hugs on the sidewalk under the neon lights of the Edgewood pizza joint. McBrayer took a commanding victory in the 2016 mayoral election, winning 2,527 to 384 over Ward 1 Representative and challenger Michael Hallman, totaling nearly 87 percent of the vote. He said he felt both relieved and pleased about the outcome, but enjoyed the chance to talk to his
Hallman ................. 384
271 votes
355 votes
Snell .........................241
Terry.........................162
342 votes Little........................ 210
Ward 3, Place 1
Ward 3, Place 2
Ward 4, Place 1
Ward 4, Place 2
Ward 5, Place 1
Ward 5, Place 2
McClusky (I)
Jones (I)
Smith (I)
Wyatt (I)
Andress
Wright (I)
375 votes
523 votes
Unopposed
Unopposed
Azbik .......................203 Qualls.......................126
See ELECTIONS | page A22
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Tupelo, MS Permit #54
Unopposed
INSIDE
383 votes
388 votes
Laws (I)...................226
Reid ........................ 205
There are 1.4 million Lions Club members around the world, but only two show up to the Paw Paw Patch twice a month for the Homewood Metro Lions Club meetings. Wayne Dunlap and Max Herzel have been Lions for nearly 40 years. They’ve watched their club dwindle from a healthy, full organization with a waiting list down to a total roster of seven. That includes Dunlap, Herzel and their wives and kids. “After many good years of a lot of good work we did, the old-timers passed on, and little by little, they fell by the wayside,” Herzel said. The Homewood Metro Lions are an extreme example of what several Homewood service organizations face: the continual treadmill of recruiting and keeping members. Bo Duke, the past president of Homewood’s Rotary Club, said recruitment is “the toughest part,” and he sees other Rotary Clubs across the state with similar struggles. The Rotary has about 50 members right now. “Every year we try to gain membership. It seems like somebody moves away, or they go, or they change jobs and then move farther out, and we just lose people. So we really want 70 or 80 members, but you’ve got to work hard to keep the ones you have,” Duke said. On the other hand, some of Homewood’s service clubs are seeing their highest
See RECRUITS | page A23
*Preliminary election results, courtesy of city of Homewood
Sponsors .............. A4 News...................... A6
Business ..............A10 Chamber.............. A12
Events ..................A16 Real Estate.......... A21
Sports ................... B4 School House ...... B8
School Guide ...... B12 Calendar .............. B18 facebook.com/thehomewoodstar
Life Lessons
Night Owls
Homewood Middle School adds practical variety to social skills classes for special education students.
Homewood may not be the city that never sleeps, but these people’s day begins when the sun goes down.
See page A18
See page B1