Story By John Mann
The Boaz Rotary Club met for its weekly meeting last Wednesday at Snead State Community College, where members got to hear a few words from former Boaz mayor Tim Walker, who has announced his candidacy for the 2025 mayoral election.
“I appreciate this opportunity I really do, and I appreciate Rotary,” Walker said. “Rotary is one of the things that’s good about this community. I’m not here running against or running down anybody who’s in office or been in office, I’m just here saying I would like to be your mayor again and the reason is I think that we can go forward in a new direction.”
Walker previously served as the mayor of Boaz from 2000 all the way up to 2016, working for the past eight years with Alexander Ford. Born and raised in Marshall county Walker’s philosophy is one he picked up from his old pastor who told him that “life is all about relationships.”
During his speech Walker made a point that the first thing he believes Boaz needs is a change in attitude, one that brings people together as a community that puts respect and communication at the forefront. He said that when you strip a local government to the bare minimum that it should improve people’s quality of life. “That’s the bottom line.” He says.
Walker also shared stories of his time in office, particularly how he worked to bring more businesses to Boaz. His three pronged approach to leadership puts focus on retail recruitment, industrial recruitment and community development. As mayor he led the charge to recruit businesses such as Tractor and Supply, Zaxby’s O’Reilly Auto Parts, Huddle House and Walgreens the latter of which was a five year undertaking.
“Not a one of those knocked on our door,” he said. “Not a one of them, they were the result of going to them to recruit. You’ve got to be a good salesman for Boaz if you’re going to be in the mayor’s office.”
As a lifelong resident of a small town Walker emphasizes that the goal is not to get so big that Boaz loses its character, but that if the community doesn’t work together it could be lost all the same.
He noted that he wants to make the city and the mayor’s office “the ultimate partner” with all the organizations that make up Boaz including the chamber of commerce, board of education and the utility boards.
“I’m motivated, I think I’m prepared and I’m ready to work.” Walker said. “I very sincerely ask for your support for the mayor’s position because I think we can do it again, and when people say that we haven’t every recruited anybody tell them to come see me because there’s a long list of people. There are stories like I told you and I know those are in the past but they have everything to do with the plan for the future.”
Following Walker’s address the Rotary Club closed out its meeting with one final piece of business as they welcomed a new president for the club. Eric Duke passed over his gavel to Chris Washburn, who is officially the new president for the club.
Washburn expressed his gratitude for the opportunity and reminded everyone of the importance the club carries in the community and his desire for the future.
“Each and every one of you guys has invested in me and I’ve gotten to know most of you pretty well,” Washburn said. “I have seen the good of Boaz and a lot of the good of Boaz exists in this club. This is one of those assets to the community that I do not want to see fall by the wayside, I want to see this club grow and I want to see members of our community investing in our community.”
The Boaz Rotary Club meets weekly, though due to the upcoming Fourth of July holiday there will be no meeting this coming week. The next meeting for the club will be held on July 9 at 12 pm in the Snead State cafeteria building, where they will welcome Jana Pair to speak on her candidacy for Boaz mayor. More information about the club can be found on their Facebook page at “Boaz Rotary Club.”
