Grady Howard was the first mayor of Spring Lake, North Carolina and a member of the Democratic party.

Early life and career

Howard was born in Greer, South Carolina, the son of Narsissie "Cissy" and Davis Milford Howard in South Carolina. Grady Howard was elected first democratic mayor of Spring Lake during the town's incorporation in 1951.''Fayetteville Observer''
April 5, 1989 In April 1951, Howard was appointed mayor of Spring Lake by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

following the town's

incorporation Incorporation may refer to: * Incorporation (business), the creation of a corporation * Incorporation of a place, creation of municipal corporation such as a city or county * Incorporation (academic), awarding a degree based on the student having ...

. He went on to win a special municipal election and continue to serve for 10 years. He served four more years in two later terms. He served as the first president of the Greater Spring Lake

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

organized in 1962 and for almost 20 years on the Cumberland County Joint Planning Board. He was active in the Spring Lake Lions Club and was a past commander of

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

Post No. 230 in Spring Lake. He also served as chairman of the Spring Lake

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

precinct. Howard held membership in the North Carolina Beekeepers' Association, handling gallberry and gum honey in several farms in Cedar Creek and Harnett County, North Carolina.''Fayetteville Observer''
April 4, 1989, He was a member of Cape Fear Valley Hospital's original board of trustees and a member of Highland

Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

in Taylors, South Carolina although he attended the First

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

in Spring Lake for more than 50 years. The Grady Howard conference room was dedicated on June 24, 1979 at the new Spring Lake Town Hall.

Personal life

Howard was married to Elma Mattie Walker (1917–2007) from 1941 until his death in 1989. He had one daughter: Dianne, and two granddaughters: Jami and Megan.

Notes

* Pate, HB. and J Sheppard.(2007) Spring Lake, North Carolina. Arcadia Publishing. .

External links

* http://www.spring-lake.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Grady 1911 births 1989 deaths Mayors of places in North Carolina 20th-century American politicians People from Greer, South Carolina People from Spring Lake, North Carolina