Well, good evening, everyone.

We'd like to call our January 22nd, 2024 Fairville City Council meeting to order.

We welcome all those who are joining us in person.

See Senator Apple White here.

Good to have you, ma'am.

Also those who are joining us remotely.

At this time, we will ask that Pastor George Conney from the House of Prayer, uh Church of God in Christ.

Uh Reverend Connie, good to see you again.

Uh if he's gonna come and give us our invocation, actually, please we would please stand immediately following the prayer if we could repeat the Pledge of Allegiance together.

We bow heads, please.

I got our father is once again that we come before your presence, according to the word in Timothy, first Timothy II.

I thought therefore that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercession, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior.

So, Father, we pray that you will enable the mayor and the city's elected officials to carry out their duties in an appropriate, unified and dignified manner during this meeting, so that the best interest of Fedville citizens could be served in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

To republic which stands.

One nation under God and the visible truth.

Reverend Coney, if you could for just a moment.

Uh we would like to always ask you to tell us about yourself, your ministry.

I've been knowing you a while, but can you let the public know uh about yourself and your ministry?

Yes, sir.

I was I was born in Dublin, Georgia, uh raised in Florida.

Um joined the military in 1974.

Um got stationed at Fort Bright here in 1988.

Meet my wife next month be 48 years of marriage.

All right.

And we had we had pray the Lord.

I belong, I belong to the uh Church of God in Christ.

Um District Superintendent is to Superintendent Thomas C.

Leak for the Fayetteville District.

Our bishop is Bishop uh Bishop Leroy Jackson Willard of the Greater North Carolina jurisdiction of Church of God in Christ.

Amen.

Amen, sir.

Thank you for your service.

Thank you, sir.

And I and uh am looking to follow your lead.

I'm about 48 days in the mind, so a little ways to go.

Yeah, you got it.

All right, so at this time we will uh move to the uh announcements.

Uh we have special recognition.

I see Senator Applewhite.

I'll give the floor to her.

Okay.

Special presentation.

Thank you, thank you.

Thank you, Mayor and Council and uh the staff of City of Fayetteville, City Managers, always good to see you and the residents of Fayetteville.

Um I'm honored to be here uh this evening to present the order of the Longleaf Pine.

But with that, it usually means that someone's leaving.

So, you know, it's kind of good, kind of not so good.

But we've had um this community has had 30 years of service from Dr.

Tony Coleman, and we affectionately call him Tony.

It feels weird with him by people behind my back, so I gotta get used to this.

But if I could take just a few minutes to um tell you a little bit about his accomplishment, who he is as a man and what he has done uh in this community.

I saw several of the letters, the memos that people presented um to justify um the order of the longleaf pine, which is the highest award that's given by the governor.

And I think that as a public servant, it's 30 years that of your life that you give back to the community.

So please allow me just to say a little bit about him.

And Dr.

Coleman, I'm gonna ask you to come up here in a second, but hold still, stand fast.

Uh Dr.

Coleman is the director at Fayville Regional Airport and has held this position since 2020.