Hixson resigns, Reed takes over as mayor

SOUTH FORK—South Fork Mayor Jerry Hixson announced his resignation during the regular monthly meeting of the town board on April 25 stating that he had been offered an opportunity in the oil field industry in Texas that he could not pass up. The board listened intently as Hixson recounted his last seven years in South Fork stating that he came to the area after the oil filed crashed in 2010 with hopes of staying busy doing work at home. “I came here to work from home, so you can imagine how happy I was when we finally got internet,” joked the Mayor.
Hixson began his term as mayor by taking over for previous mayor Shawn Goforth in 2015. Hixson stepped forward into the mayoral seat as the pro tem and then ran for re-election in the following election. In the time that Hixson served as mayor, he has brought a wide variety of new challenges to South Fork. The lively mayor made it his mission to bring the fun game of pickle ball to the deserted tennis courts near the community center, advocated for the legalization of ATVs in town limits and worked very closely with the town board to ensure the survival of South Fork.
Hixson’s resignation was met with gratitude from the board of trustees, all of which spoke up and thanked him for his service. Town Manager Tom Acre took a moment and thanked Hixson for the work he has done for the town and spoke briefly about what a pleasure it had been to work with him. Hixson continued by stating that he too had enjoyed his time as mayor and enjoyed working with Acre and the board. He finished his speech with two quotes from a book, that he had become known for doing over the past several years.
“It has been my custom to begin each meeting with a quote and here are my last two, ‘I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is trying to please everybody.’ And next is, ‘You don’t hold your own in the world by standing on guard, but by attacking and getting well hammered yourself,’ and with that I will pass the gavel over to Rodney Reed,” finished Hixson.
Board members applauded Hixson and continued the conversation of appointing a new mayor by listening to the options from Acre. Acre explained that the board could choose to take 60 days to find or choose a replacement for Hixson stating that Pro Tem Mayor Rodney Reed would stand in place of the mayor until then or they could opt to hold an election.
Board members discussed the options briefly before Trustee Kris Steffens moved to nominate Reed for the mayoral seat which was then seconded by Vicki Phelps. Reed took the motion and asked for further discussion before passing the nomination on the table and becoming the new mayor of South Fork. Board members also voted to elect trustee Don Spencer as the new mayor pro tem.