By Christian Warren Freed
The political winds of change have blown. The holidays are winding down and we inch closer to ignoring our carefully selected New Year’s resolutions. With that in mind, Holly Springs is primed to enter a new era. The mantle of stewardship has been passed down by the retiring Dick Sears and handed, by will of the people, to Sean Mayefskie. It is that awkward period of adjustment as the policies and way of doing business fumbles through transition as the new mayor establishes his office and gets to work in the name of all of us.
But how many of you know who Sean Mayefskie is? If you’re like me, the sort who kinda keeps his head down and slips through life, you really don’t know anything more than a name on a sign placed throughout the town back in the fall. Allow me, or perhaps I should say, him, to rectify that. Ladies and gentlemen, meet your new mayor.
CWF: Tell us a little about yourself, who you are and what makes you tick.
SM: I am a 23-year resident of Holly Springs who lives in the Holly Glen neighborhood. My wife, Patricia, and I have been married for 28 years and we have three adult children. Our three kids attended public schools in Holly Springs and played soccer and lacrosse. In 1999, I started GMA Supply and in early 2000 we moved our distribution and operations into the business park. Keeping my business in Holly Springs has always been important to me. It was through GMA Supply that I began involvement with various local organizations. The Chamber of Commerce, Knights of Columbus and Meg’s Smile Foundation to name a few. I wanted to know more about my community and also look for various ways to give back. It was through the company, civic engagement, and our kids’ extracurricular activities that we met some amazing people and became friends with other business owners and organization heads here in town. Since then, my family and business has done a lot to invest in our community whether that be my volunteering at the Holly Springs Food Cupboard or donating funds to help the Holly Glen swim team get off the ground. My family and I have been very blessed, and it brings me joy to share those blessings with friends and community.
CWF: Why politics? What made you want to run for mayor?
SM: Mayor Sears has been mayor almost the entire time my family has lived in Holly Springs. He led the town through tremendous growth and, over the years, I have gotten to know him and the various individuals who have served on our town council. It’s hard to see this as politics for me. I knew Mayor Sears would be retiring and I was concerned about the direct of our town after he left office. I believe because of my background, experiences, and love for our town that I would be able to continue to lead our town forward in a positive direction.
CWF: What is your vision for the future of Holly Springs?
SM: I love the community we have in Holly Springs and it is important to me that we balance growth with our small town characteristics. I would like to see the continuation in developing the downtown. What we have now has become a focal point for the town. It is great to see the sidewalks filled with folks walking around, families pushing strollers and the local establishments filled with people shopping and eating. I would also like to work on getting a new post office in town. The one we currently have does a great job serving our residents, but the town has grown and so should our post office. For those of us who use it regularly with PO boxes or shipping packages, I think we could make not only the wait time shorter, but we might make the postal workers’ jobs more efficient.
CWF: Thinking ahead, if you could pick one thing from your agenda, what would you like to be known for when it is your time to leave office?
SM: It is not so much an agenda item that I want to be remembered for, but rather the type of leader I am while serving as mayor. Someone who values his faith, family, and friends. Someone who continued to be involved in the community and who made the town better than when being sworn into office.
CWF: How do you plan on maintaining the balance between small town and growing market so Holly Springs continues to feel homey while keeping pace with growth and development in the region?
SM: When I moved to Holly Springs, I never would have imagined how much the town would change. And while the town has grown significantly since 1999 there are still many aspects of our town that make it feel more like a small town. We can continue to keep a small-town feel by making our downtown an attractive place for folks to come. The growth is coming, and the new town council will need to be ahead of the curve on where the growth will be 10 years from now. What we do now will help the growth down the road. Things like water, infrastructure, and town services will all need to be addressed in anticipation for this growth.
So there you have it, Holly Springs. None of us can predict what will happen in the coming years or how well our new mayor will do the job but the one thing I gleaned from this conversation is, regardless of your political ideations or your personal feelings about how things should be done, we have a man here who loves his town and is willing to do what it takes to ensure we keep progressing into tomorrow while maintaining that quiet, small-town feel Holly Springs has had for the last hundred years or so.
Here’s to the next few years. Let’s see what’s in store!
