Meet the city official: Madill Vice Mayor Davis

Editor's note: The Madill Record is going to be running a weekly segment about city and county officials in Marshall County.

Lifelong Madill resident Bobby Leroy Davis wears many hats. He is a husband, father, a pastor and the Vice Mayor of Madill. The Davis family moved to Madill from Louisiana when Davis was just a small child.

The large family with 13 children soon settled into town planting roots that would remain for generations. Davis and his late wife Martha Fay Davis, married in 1969 and had five children. They also have 15 grandchildren, and 14 great grandchildren. The Madill Record recently sat down with Davis for a short Q&A for Marshall County residents to get to know the Madill Vice Mayor.

Q: Tell our readers a little about yourself.

A: “I was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and at a young age, right after World WarIImydadmovedouthere and has been here ever since. I was about four or five years old.Therewerenineboysand three girls. We went to Madill schools. After graduating I joined the National Guard. That was a big portion of my life I really loved. I was in the National Guard for 23 years. I worked as a supply technician at the National Guard Army in Tishomingo. When I retired from there, I was a platoon sergeant. I worked for a septic tank company, workedatapeanutcompany, and for Uniroyal. I worked there making tires for 23 years and retired from there.”

Q: How long have you served on the Madill City Council and what made you decide to serve on the council?

A: “I just started my second term, so this is my fourth year. It took me a while to get here. It wasn’t until the age of 50, I’m 77 now, when my eyes opened up to the fact that there is a world out there and you are living in this world. And everyone around me and each other needs to work together in order to accomplish things in this life. I never had an idea about it until I thought about who was in charge of the streets and started taking a look at who’s who in our community. Then that is whenIgotinterested.Mydad worked for the city of Madill, he retired from the city. But I never took an interest in the city and what was going on back then.”

Q: How long have you been a pastor at the Baptist Church in Tishomingo?

A: “I have been a pastor for 12 years in Tishomingo, that is my pastoring position. I have been in the Ministry since 1999.”

Q: What made you decide to get into ministering?

A: “That is a tough story. That was something that was in my heart. It seemed like it was getting heavier and heavier. I had an inkling when I came out of high school that I was supposed to be doing something like that. I didn’t want it so I ran from it for a bunch of years. Then finally I sat down and took a look at it and looked at myself and saw how my life wasn’t going too good. So, I accepted it and when I did it was life changing. I changed my life all the way around.”

Q: Does being a pastor and being on the city council give you an insight into the community?

A: “Both the misty and the community are about people. Thatismythoughts.Theway the world is today people are struggling mentally, physically, and emotionally. Both positions can give me an opportunity to help in any way that I can with the desires of the people. I am a people person and I love family. The community is really a family.”

Q: You recently lost your life Martha in 2023, what advice would you give to anyone else that is going through the loss of a loved one?

A: “Just keep waking up the next day and keep going. I had people tell me to keep going, that it would get easier as you go. And it did. It has been almost a year, and I was thinking it would happen quicker but it takes time. It helps having family nearby. I have a daughter that lives down the street from me. My son lives in Tishomingo and my other two daughters live in the city. My brother lives in Ardmore, one brother that lives in Oakland, and another brother that lives in Mcmillan.”

Q: With all the new growth in population and business expansion do you see this an exciting time for Madill?

A: “I have lived here all my life and Madill is beginning to grow. We can tell by all the traffic out there. Businesses are beginning to come in and I’m tickled pink that we're beginning to move in that direction. I’m glad to see we are beginning to expand and grow. With growth there needs to be tolerance. It is going to be that way we need to grow. We just take care of the issues, it takes time. Just be patient. Things take time. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

Q: As a lifelong resident what else could the city do for the community to bring in more development, what otherneedsinthecommunity need to be addressed?

A: “I think we are headed in the right direction. One of my main concerns here is the young people. There aren’t too many things for this to do. There ought to be something here in Madill that would address for them to have something to do. A bowling alley, a movie house, something because right now they really don’t have anything to do. There needs to be something positive for them to do. I know I was 15, 16yearsoldbefore.Theyhave to go somewhere else like Durant, Ardmore, Sherman, or Denison to really enjoy the positive things. They need something on the weekends and at night for them to do. To me it is a big issue to me because our young people are our future, they are the ones to carry the ball. The more positive things they have in their life growing up would be better for Madill.”

Q: Is there anything else you would like our reader to know about you and the city of Madill?

A: “I think most people already have an idea about who I am. Just as far as the city is concerned, we just need to continue to pull together, andworktogether.Bepatient and grow with the growth.