Former Mayor Elizabeth Wilson Speaks Out on the MLK Service Project
“What a Difference These Little Things Make”
Sitting on her serene, screened-in front porch, former Decatur Mayor Elizabeth Wilson reflected on the impact the MLK Service Project has had on her neighbors, friends, and acquaintances. While there was a time when she referred to these elderly people as her ‘seniors,’ she now mischievously calls them her ‘posse.’
During an hour long conversation – with the rain coming down and cooling off the summer day – Mayor Wilson discussed how her posse’s lives have been made better by the work volunteers performed on their homes. And she counts herself as one of the fortunate recipients.
While her story begins in Greensboro, Georgia, she has called Decatur home since 1949. With public office, including commissioner and mayor, now behind her, Mayor Wilson continues to be a critical link to countless senior citizens who sometimes need help with navigating home ownership. She has spent hours on the phone with those who have worked their entire lives and are not accustomed to reaching out for a boost. Mayor Wilson has helped many of them ‘get on the list’ so MLK Service Project volunteers can repair a leak in their roof, clean debris from a gutter, replace a low toilet for a higher one, put in a needed light fixture, reconstruct a bathroom, or clear out an overgrown yard.
Mayor Wilson herself needed some help with the screen on her porch and placing safety bars in her bathtub. Reluctant to ask for help, she finally acknowledged what she needed. Of course, she spent the days the volunteers were in her home making food for them in her kitchen. (Actually, they wouldn’t let her stay in her kitchen and they brought lunch to the house.)
And, of the help she and her posse have received through the MLK Service Project, Mayor Wilson said, “What a difference these little things make” in someone’s life.
Ever the volunteer, it was her turn to be a recipient.
To read more about the remarkable life of Mayor Wilson, go to http://www.turknett.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Elizabeth-Wilson.pdf