CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) Bill Summers, candidate for mayor of the City of Clarksville in the November 6 election, was the guest speaker at the Kiwanis Club of Clarksville at their Tuesday, September 18 meeting.
Summers is a retired U.S. Air Force veteran who served nearly 20 years. He has lived in Clarksville since 1994 and has also served two terms on the Clarksville City Council. Summers previously ran for mayor of Clarksville in 2014.
As a management engineer, Summers compared his years of service in the Air Force working with the functions of a military base to running a city. He said the city has missed planning opportunities in the past and hopes to take advantage of some that are upcoming.
“To recognize those opportunities and to put them into place we have to have plans. We’ve got to know where we’re going, how we’re going to get there, and when we would like to arrive there,” Summers said.
Summers said public safety is a priority of his and also of the people he has talked with during the campaign. He also praised both the Clarksville Police Department and Clarksville Fire Rescue, but said more personnel are needed in each of those organizations.
His campaign is also focusing on local business and Summers would like to eventually open an entrepreneur center somewhere in the city.
In reference to the downtown area, Summers said redevelopment is key.
“It needs to be vibrant and contribute to the tax base and quality of life that you experience,” he said.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting Kiwanis President Dan Black presented a donation to Kiwanis member Frazier Allen and his son Garrett for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Garrett is a type 1 diabetic and the Kiwanis Club has made donations to the JDRF each year for over five years.
A new Kiwanis banner which is displayed at the meetings and Kiwanis events was also unveiled.