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| Black History Month: Making our community a better place to live |
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Posted: Monday, February 18, 2013 9:31 pm
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In recognition of Black History Month, The Messenger is presenting a series of articles focused on people who are making history today in our own community.
The emphasis is on men and women who have been elected to positions of responsibility throughout Obion County and on those whose jobs involve keeping us safe and coming to our assistance when there are problems. Specifically, the latter will include those citizens who are involved in law enforcement, firefighting and rescue efforts.
These are some of the people who make our community a place we are glad to call home.
Melvin Dowell, a patrol lieutenant with the Union City Police Department, is also a familiar face in the community because of his interest in officiating basketball games. His other hobbies include reading.
He has been employed at the UCPD for 33 years and has been a patrol lieutenant for nine years.
“In this job, every day is an adventure,” he says. “You never know what you will be doing from hour to hour.”
Dowell graduated from Brighton High School in 1975 and attended the University of Tennessee at Martin two years. He is married to Sherry Dowell and is the father of Ryan Atkins of Ohio, Maressa Atkins, Amanda Dowell and Yulanda Dowell, all of Union City, and Brad Atkins, who is serving in the U.S. Air Force in Seattle. The Dowells also have nine grandchildren.
“If you want to help people, then this is the job for you,” Dowell advises young people. “There is no better feeling than to see someone that you helped in the past look you up and say, ‘Thank you for what you did for me.’”
Dowell notes that everyone wants to hold the highest rank in any organization they are part of and says he has a goal of becoming a captain, an assistant chief and then a chief of police, if possible.
Perry Jenkins of Rives has served his community as an alderman for more than 20 years. He makes his home there with his wife, Geraldine.
They are the parents of Robin Jenkins and of Kwame Jenkins and his wife, Casey, of Rives; and Tabitha Tolbert and her husband, Eric, of Cordova. Their family also includes their grandchildren, Whitley Jenkins and Jailyn Jenkins of Rives; and his parents, Ual and Bernice Jenkins of Rives. It is a community where the family has deep roots.
He is a 1967 graduate of Obion County Central High School and has attended the co-op and farm schools. He has been employed at Kohler in Union City for 31 years.
A member of Bashan Baptist Church in Rives, he is also a member of Rives Athletic Association and is involved with Crime Stoppers.
He is a U.S. Navy veteran and a 35-year member of Tennessee National Guard. He also holds membership in Veterans of Foreign Wars.
He volunteers as a softball, baseball and basketball coach — a sport he also enjoys fully as a fan — and has been “traveling with the band” through the years.
Jenkins believes young people need to understand the business side of what makes a city function properly and stresses the importance of doing things to help the people who are their neighbors.
An experience such as he enjoys as an alderman could make a very real difference in a young adult’s life, he says, since it might encourage them to make big decisions that not only affect the place they live but their own lives.
Most important, he says, is realizing such a job is not easy all the time and sometimes the people holding that responsibility make very good decisions and sometimes they make ones that turn out not to have been as good as they had hoped.
He plans to retire in the near future, he says.
Beatrice Wilcox is a newly elected South Fulton city commissioner, representing Ward 1. Her main focus, she says, is to meet the needs and concerns of the citizens of the community.
Mrs. Wilcox is a South Fulton High School graduate and earned a degree in IBM and Office Machines from Memphis School of Commerce. She is also a certified CNA and a retired employee of the former Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Union City. She has also been employed at the Obion County Health Department.
She is the mother of Cherita Rawls of Chicago.
Mrs. Wilcox is a member of Greater Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Fulton and is treasurer of the Ken-Tenn Homecoming and Reunion Inc. organization. She also served that organization as president for 24 years.
She is a member and treasurer of Jacksonville Order of Eastern Star No. 85 and is past chairman of the Martin Luther King celebration committee.
She began her tenure as a commissioner four months ago and says she is looking forward to working closely with the city manager, mayor, commissioners, employees and department heads to bring forth the needs, concerns and jobs that are of importance in South Fulton. She also hopes to be involved in many improvements, such as the appearance of the town she serves.
“I would encourage our youth to play the roles as leaders in helping others and remind them that they have a voice. Yes, they can make a difference and they can help keep the community safe and clean,” she says.
Her plans for the future include helping others in the community, whether as an elected official or a private citizen.
Published in The Messenger 2.18.13 |
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