Retirement Announcement: Mayor Roy L. Bell

To the citizens of Garysburg,

It is with mixed emotions that I inform you of my retirement in November 2025. As I reflect on my 32 years serving as your mayor, I can say that it has been an honor. During those 32 years, I have had some highs and lows. The main objective of mine, which God placed on my heart, was to help my community to be a better place to live and raise children.

At the beginning of my tenure, I knew I did not fully understand the duties and responsibilities of a mayor. I sought knowledge from those who had served before me; especially Wendell Perry (deceased). I sought further knowledge from the League of Municipalities, Institute of Government, and the Rural Center Leadership Program. I felt that because of my responsibility and commitment as Mayor, I had to attend every meeting that would benefit the town. It is my opinion that you cannot be an effective leader if you are not knowledgeable of the duties of a leader. There are federal, state, and local agencies available to assist you with that knowledge.

My entire life has been about serving others. My parents instilled that in me from my childhood. Also, because of my belief in God, I believe that He gives visions not only to religious leaders, but also to leaders such as myself. I believe that God can do anything but fail. I have had many things that I wanted for the town, but they were not things God showed me. Those things that I fasted and prayed and waited on God for were successful. He placed the right people in my life to help me. I thank past and current council members, employees, and citizens for your support. I am not naive to the point that I believe I accomplished this on my own. I was fortunate enough to have council members who caught the vision and supported me.

I can remember when I became Mayor, we had one police officer in the town. That officer was Raymond Vaughan. We later hired Wardie Vincent (deceased) and Marvin Moody. I shared my office with them until they renovated the town garage and turned it into a police station. I promised them that I would do everything I could to find funds to build a facility to house police, town hall, and a meeting chamber for monthly meetings. Through much prayer and waiting on God for guidance, He directed me to USDA. I owe great gratitude to Susan Christenson for assisting me and guiding me through the process of building a municipal complex. At the grand opening, US Senator Richard Burr was our guest speaker. Senator Burr was so impressed with our municipal complex that he asked if we had another need in the town. I quickly responded that we needed a new fire station. His designated representative was assigned to work with me and the rest is history.

The next opportunity that presented itself was the purchase of the Benjamin Harding family property. My vision was to build a strip mall for this piece of property; however, this is not what God wanted. His plans were to build an auto body shop, and the rest is history because Rook Auto Body Shop now operates on the property.

After much prayer, God showed me that Garysburg Elementary School was the most beneficial for the town. Through the vision God showed me and the support of the town council members at that time, Lola Ausby, Iris Williams, James Mayo, Woodrow Harding, and Chemeka Williams, we used the funds from the sale of the Benjamin Harding property to help us purchase the school from the Northampton Board of Education. We now call it our Town Center. We have renovated the library, gymnasium, kitchen, cafeteria, and bathrooms. We also converted the kindergarten classrooms to our Health and Wellness Center and added a walking track.

Special thanks go out to Michael Wray, past member of the NC House of Representatives, Lowe’s Distribution, Dominion Energy, USDA, NC Department of Commerce, and Upper Plains Council of Government.

I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize the employees of the Town of Garysburg. The employees are Diane Gallimore, Juanita Owens, Peggy Crossen, Reginald Hux, Police Chief Marcel Goffington, Lieutenant Matthew Walton, Iris Williams, Shirley Miller, Justin Gibbs, and Tina Williams. I can never thank all of you enough for your service to me and the citizens of Garysburg. A very special thank you to Diane Gallimore who has been a God-send for me. I could not have accomplished any of the town’s objectives without you. I love your spirit, and I love you as a my second mother. You have been my right and left hand. Thank you so much.

What is next for me after retirement from the Town of Garysburg? First, I will reflect on how God has blessed me. In 1993, the decision to run for Mayor was made through much prayer and support from my wife, at that time, Sarah C. Bell. There are no words that I can adequately use to explain how much she meant to me in this walk of service to the citizens of Garysburg. On March 18, 2021, God called my beautiful wife and friend home. The God whom I serve has always provided for me. After her death, my children were my immediate support, but they had to go back to their family responsibilities. Before my son left for home, he asked a family friend to check on me. That family friend had experienced the same loss that I had four months earlier. That friend was none other than Lola Ausby. We have known each other for over 50 years as classmates and in service to the citizens of Garysburg. Lola and I married February 14, 2024. With God’s blessings, we are going to enjoy our remaining years serving God and community.

In closing, I want the citizens of Garysburg to know that it has been an honor serving you as Mayor. I pray that our next mayor will love and enjoy serving as much as I have.

Love Always,

Mayor Roy L. Bell