After 26 years serving Decatur on one board or another, Mayor Pro Tem Fred Boykin has announced he’ll step down at the end of this year and literally sail into the sunset.
Starting in 1992 Boykin has been in the Business Association and on the Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals and the Library Board. He’s been on the City Commission since 2000 and earlier this month was appointed mayor pro Ttem for the second straight year.
But his fate was determined last year when he retired from Bicycle South, the business he founded at age 20 in 1971, and purchased a 42-foot trawler.
“I’ve been around boats most of my life,” Boykin said. “I’ve had sail boats, power boats, hydro boats. This new one is big enough to live on, and I just might.”
Actually, with the boat docked in Ft. Myers, Fla., Boykin and his wife plan to stay mostly in Decatur and close to their daughter who’s a freshman at UGA.
No one has yet announced they’re running for Boykin’s District One seat, though qualifying isn’t until August.
“I think now is time to close this chapter of my life on the city commission,” he said. “I’m 66, and you can’t keep hanging around boats when you get old.”
About the Author
