Soperton City Council Honors Two Retiring Members

Friends, and family gathered Saturday afternoon, December 6, at the Social Hall of the First Baptist Church in Soperton for a Retirement Reception to honor long serving City Councilmen Wade Clark and Izell Stephens. Both council members will be vacating their City Council seats at the end of this year after serving the City of Soperton in council capacity for a combined 32 years.

Mayor Koon presented both men plaques of appreciation as he spoke of the work both had done throughout their years on the council and for the city. The mayor also spoke of how both men had served under three different mayors and how he had served with both men as a fellow city council member before becoming Mayor.

Clark, a Treutlen County citizen since his youth, and a Soperton city resident for 60 plus years, served on the city council for 20 terms. Prior to that he served on the board of education and in several other community organizations. Clark stated, “When I first considered running for the council, I intended to run for one term, maybe two, and now here it is 20 years later, and I can say I have enjoyed every bit of it.” He added, “Even during our hardest time as a community with Hurricane Helene, I still enjoyed it.” Clark, who is 82, also said that although he would no longer be serving on the council, he would always be available to the mayor and to the city to help in any way. “I may be going out, but I will always want to help make Soperton a better place. This is my town. And I pray God’s blessings on it.”

Stephens, originally from Laurens County, moved to Soperton to marry and raise his family and has served on the city council for 12 terms. Stephens said, “Even though I’m leaving the council and moving back to Dublin, I will always have ties to Soperton. I pastor Jordan Hill Baptist Church and still have family here and will continue to work in the community.” Stephens told how he has enjoyed working on the council and being a part of the city moving forward. He also spoke of different city projects he was proud to be a part of, the work done for the recreation department and the street improvement projects. He said that he also wanted to “give kudos to the mayor for leading us, the city, through its two darkest times—Covid and Hurricane Helene.”

Mayor Koon expressed how, nine months into his term as mayor, Hurricane Helene hit and how the council had to really work together often into the night hours to get through that time. “When I’d call on these two councilmen for help, they would always come through…and always encourage me. We came out stronger and a more unified council than before. I’m gonna miss them. The city of Soperton is going to miss them. The new council members have some big shoes to fill.”