Greenwood Mayor Sheriel Perkins said residents and business leaders have come together to move Greenwood forward during her first 104 days in office.
"We're promoting Greenwood. We are the star in this Delta area. We're No. 1 in this Delta. That's how I expect us to carry ourselves," Perkins said Wednesday at a meeting of the Greenwood Voters League.
"Other towns are going to have to look to Greenwood to see how we're doing. They're going to want to emulate us. We're going to set the mark."
Perkins stressed that she loves her job as mayor of all the people.
"I love my city, and I'm going to work hard for my city, and I'm going to be the best mayor that you've ever seen.
I'm standing firm on my faith and my beliefs," she said.
Perkins said she was a realist even before she took the oath of office. "I tell anybody, 'Bring it on.' I'm not weak-kneed. I am nice, yes, but I know how to be firm," she said.
"I don't expect to have a bed of roses the whole time while I'm here in Greenwood as mayor. I don't expect it, but I love it," Perkins said.
She said she and the City Council are working well as a team, as are other city employees.
Perkins said citizens share an equal responsibility in helping the city progress.
She said she has maintained an open-door policy in the office of mayor. At first, citizens and business leaders came in simply because many had never seen the mayor's offices.
Then they started coming in with problems. "That's fine, too. A good leader has to listen," she said.
As impressive as Greenwood's large businesses such as Viking Range Corp. and Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. are, Perkins said, she's equally impressed with the many small businesses.
"I'm also proud of our gas station owners, our beauty shop owners, our restaurant owners, which might employ three or four people. They are people with jobs, and that's a good thing," Perkins said.
Perkins said litter is the No. 1 problem for Greenwood.
She said the city litter enforcement officers will increase patrols of areas where litter is a problem in the near future.
She encouraged citizens to get involved. "We can start right on our own street," she said.
Perkins said a citywide litter campaign, independent of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce's "Clean-up, Green-up" campaign, would help attract more tourists.
In talking with young people, Perkins said, she's found a pressing need for revamping the city's parks to give children year-round activities. She also said young people crave a movie theater, a Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant and a water park.
"We need these things for our young people," Perkins said. "I want you to see more than what's right here. You have to visualize it."
Perkins announced three major initiatives she'd like to implement in order to help bring Greenwood's citizens together.
These include a monthly prayer breakfast and a "Chew & Chat with the Mayor," which would be held at various churches around the city.
Second, Perkins said she wants to try a similar effort with the city's young people -of all races.
The final proposal is for a "Unity Walk." "What we'll do is start the walk on one side of the city and walk to the other side. We're all going to walk together," she said.
Improving the city's future will require a change in mindsets, Perkins said.
"We are here to work, and we are here to work together," she said.
