Commissioner Gary Collins honored for 30 years of service
Times photos/Regina Mozingo Family members, present and former commissioners from Ozark and surrounding counties, courthouse employees and SCOCOG officials gathered Thursday afternoon to honor Eastern District Commissioner Gary Collins who will retire at the end of the year after collectively serving 30 years as an Ozark County Commissioner. Pictured from left are (front row) son-in-law Chris McFarland, daughter Renee McFarland, the honoree Gary Collins, Shannon County Southern Commissioner Herman Kelly, David Trotter of Birch Tree; (second row) Texas County Associate Commissioner John Casey, Ozark County Collector Darla Sullivan, daughter Lindsay Sellars, wife Nancy Collins, Ozark County Clerk Brian Wise, Ozark County Presiding Commissioner Terry Newton; (third row) former Ozark County Western District Commissioner Greg Donley, former Ozark County Presiding Commissioner John Turner, Texas County Presiding Commissioner Scott Long, former Ozark County Eastern District Commissioner TJ Lewis, Ozark County Circuit Clerk Jackie Smith; (fourth row) Brent Lidgard with SCOCOG, Dennis Sloane with West Plains Solid Waste District, Howell County Presiding Commissioner Ralph Riggs, Texas County Associate Commissioner Robert Ross; (fifth row) Howell County Associate Commissioner Calvin Wood, Wright County Associate Commissioner Tommy Kingery, Wright County Presiding Commissioner Zach Williams, former Howell County Commissioner Mark Collins, Shannon County Northern Commissioner Dale Counts; (sixth row) Ozark County Western District Commissioner Layne Nance, Associate Judge Raymond Gross, Assistant to the Commissioners Jessica Smith and Ozark County Treasurer Christy Thompson.
Present and former commissioners from several area counties gathered Thursday afternoon to honor Eastern District Commissioner Gary Collins who will retire after 30 years as an Ozark County commissioner. Pictured from left are (front row) former Howell County Presiding Commissioner Larry Spence, Shannon County Northern Commissioner Dale Counts, former Howell County Commissioner Mark Collins, Eastern District Commissioner Gary Collins, Shannon County Southern Commissioner Herman Kelly; (second row) Texas County Associate Commissioner John Case, former Ozark County Western District Commissioner Greg Donley, Wright County Presiding Commissioner Zach Williams, Ozark County Presiding Commissioner Terry Newton, Ozark County Western District Commissioner Layne Nance; (third row) Howell County Associate Commissioner Calvin Wood, Wright County Associate Commissioner Tommy Kingery, former Ozark County Presiding Commissioner John Turner, Texas County Presiding Commissioner Scott Long, Howell County Presiding Commissioner Ralph Riggs and Texas County Associate Commissioner Robert Ross.
In 1988, Dora resident Gary Collins decided to take the plunge and file for Eastern District Commissioner. He won and has been serving Ozark County almost continuously since. Collins, who chose not to run for another term this year, will serve his last day as a commissioner on Dec. 31.
All those years of service were recognized during a drop-in retirement party, held Thursday, Oct. 24, upstairs in the Ozark County Courthouse and hosted by Collins’ fellow commissioners.
During the surprise party, Collins was honored with visits from past Ozark County commissioners, family members, Ozark County officials and courthouse employees, commissioners from several area counties and members of the South Central Ozark Council of Government (SCOCOG) with whom he served several years.
Collins was presented with a custom cutting board from the Ozark County commissioners, thanking him for his three decades of service to the county.
Members from SCOCOG also presented Collins with a plaque honoring his many years of serving on the board. The plaque also honored his dedication to making sure that the counties had “what they needed” to do their jobs, said a Shannon County commissioner while presenting the plaque.