Longtime Drexel Alderman Terry Yount resigns

Longtime Drexel Alderman Terry Yount resigned his position Wednesday afternoon, effective immediately. Yount cited ongoing health issues as his reason for stepping aside.

Yount had been unable to attend board meetings for the past several months, although he sometimes participated via cellphone.

“I love the Drexel community and have enjoyed serving its residents for many years,” Yount said in a prepared statement. “It is with deep sadness that I must resign my elected position as alderman for health reasons.

“Now,” he continued, “I must leave the work in your capable hands and applaud your success. I have been honored to serve, as well as protect, our Drexel community.”

Yount has been on the Board of Alderman since 1999, more than a quarter century of service. He was last re-elected in November of 2023, and his term will expire in December of 2027.

Yount said prior to the November 2023 election that he “really wanted to serve another term” in order to see the reclamation of the old Drexel Furniture site come to fruition as well as the renovations at the R.O. Huffman Center.

A Drexel native, Yount has been, according to Town Manager Bill Carroll, “a cornerstone of the Town of Drexel for decades (who always had) a passion for public service.”

Yount began serving the town as a volunteer during his childhood at the Drexel Community Fair and later served in official capacities with the Drexel Fair Board for 20 years, as board member and treasurer.

Yount was honored as Jaycee of the Year in 1977, Drexel Citizen of the Year in 1997, and Drexel Christmas Parade Grand Marshal in 2023.

Longtime residents of Drexel know Yount not as “Alderman Yount” but rather as “Chief Yount.”

In 1966, Yount was appointed to the Drexel Police Department as a reserve officer and in 1969 he was hired as a full-time officer. He rose through the ranks until being appointed chief of police.

In 1998, he retired from full-time police duty in Drexel and went on to serve in the U.S. Marshals Service.

After his retirement from the Drexel Police Department, he ran for and won a seat on the town board in 1999. Carroll noted that Yount was “held in high regard among his fellow board members and was elected by them to the office of Mayor Pro Tempore on multiple occasions during his years of service.”

Yount said he and his wife of 58 years, Candace, a retired high school English teacher, will continue to live in Drexel and remain “dedicated members of the community.”

After learning of Yount’s resignation, Drexel Mayor Dennis Anthony said, “Terry is a legend in this town and has several decades of exceptional public service. He has been a great resource for our board, and we will miss his experience and knowledge. Thankfully, we know he is not too far away when we need him.”

Carroll said the board will likely formally accept Yount’s resignation at its May meeting and will announce plans to fill the vacancy soon.