A concurrent RESOLUTION

TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR BUTCH WOMACK, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF EASLEY, FOR OVER FORTY YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CITY.

Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly is deeply grateful to the Honorable Butch Womack for his more than forty years of dedicated service to the City of Easley, the last four of which he has served as its mayor; and

Whereas, during his leadership of the Easley Fire Department, Butch Womack restructured the Easley fire service to be among the best in the nation.  After his retirement from the Easley Fire Department, he decided to run for mayor to better serve the community as a whole.  He was elected and was sworn in as mayor in January 2020; and

Whereas, shortly after taking office, Mayor Womack guided the City of Easley through the COVID 19 global pandemic, and during those uncertain times, he worked endlessly to protect and enhance the city's parks and natural recreation areas to ensure the ecological beauty of the community and provide a place for children and adults to connect with nature and safely recreate outdoors; and

Whereas, in August 2023, the Easley Police Department endured the tragic loss of Officer Matthew Hare in the line of duty, devastating for the Easley Police Department, as well as the City of Easley, at a time when the Easley Police Department was without a permanent chief of police.  Mayor Womack provided his full support to the department during this tragedy and was a driving force to organize a large-scale police funeral to recognize the service and sacrifice of Officer Hare; and

Whereas, in December of that year, the police department suffered another loss when retired Police Chief Tim Tollison passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer.  During Mayor Womack's tenure as mayor, he showed leadership, vision, and guidance in assisting the city and the police department to  move forward while remembering these dedicated policemen; and

Whereas, with resilience and strength during these difficult times, Mayor Womack gathered resources needed from multiple agencies to assist the City of Easley and the Easley Police Department, and the police department was able to persevere and reestablish itself as a great strength for other departments and agencies to emulate; and

Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly values the stability that Mayor Womack has provided to the City of Easley that has enabled the city to maintain its character and driving force as a great and close community through some of its most difficult challenges, and the members commend his long years of service to the city.  Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize and honor Butch Womack, Mayor of the City of Easley, for over forty years of service to the city.

Be it further resolved that the copy of this resolution be presented to Honorable Butch Womack.

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