Although the Dec. 15 Covington Metropolis Council assembly was like most others in that it had its fair proportion of impassioned dialog and robust opinions, there was an unignorable elephant within the room: It was Councilwoman Susie Keck’s last assembly.
Keck has served on the Covington Metropolis Council for eight years. In her two phrases, she steadfastly represented the individuals of Covington and of her ward. Hardly a gathering handed the place Keck didn’t converse on some subject to some extent, which is precisely what constituents require of a consultant.
Forward of her last assembly as a council member, Keck posted a press release to Fb expressing her gratitude for the chance to signify the individuals of her metropolis.
“Serving this neighborhood has been one of many nice honors of my life,” Keck wrote. “Covington is a outstanding metropolis filled with promise, filled with spirit, and full of people that genuinely care about each other.”
Keck advised The Covington Information in July that her choice to not run for reelection this 12 months stemmed from her perception in time period limits for native authorities. She campaigned for a two-term restrict for metropolis council members and stood by that perception as her eight-year mark approached.
However Keck’s governmental philosophies weren’t the only real think about her choice to open a brand new chapter.
“Dropping my husband of 51 years on April 14th was essentially the most tough second I’ve ever confronted,” Keck wrote on Fb. “Within the months that adopted, I made the choice to maneuver to North Carolina to be near my son and his household, who’ve been an amazing supply of consolation and energy.”
On the last Covington Metropolis Council assembly of 2025, every sitting council member supplied some heartfelt phrases for Keck. In addition they offered her with a bouquet and a small reward to specific their gratitude and say goodbye.
Although Keck was not the longest tenured council member when her time period got here up, she had held the function lengthy sufficient that many individuals had come to lean on her for recommendation and course.
“Susie’s been very useful to me,” stated Mayor Fleeta Baggett. “And it’s been rather a lot. They don’t hand you a e-book while you get to be mayor to inform you what to do. You must determine it out…Susie—and her husband John—have been very useful to me after I first stepped into this enviornment.”
When Keck spoke in her council member feedback on Monday night, she supplied some phrases of recommendation to her successor, Councilman-elect Dwayne Turner, whom she watched be sworn in simply an hour earlier.
– photograph by Kate Verity
“Eight years flies by,” Keck stated. “And Dwayne, I want you the very best. I’m certain that you simply’ll proceed to do the work of town and do it effectively. We’re an incredible group, we signify all various kinds of individuals, and compromise is the important thing phrase.”
Keck signed off her time serving as a member of the Covington Metropolis Council with a last, honest assertion:
“Thanks for permitting me to serve you.”
