Pearlie Dixon part of Memorial Bench program

It must have seemed like old times.

Tuesday, Pearlie Dixon was off to downtown Perry for a bench dedication, part of the city’s Memorial Bench Program. Then, she was off to Perry City Council for a proclamation.

The only difference this time than in years past, whereas back then she might have been attending those events in someone else’s honor on this day they were solely for her. The two aforementioned events were to honor her for 16 years of service to the city as a member of the Perry Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors.

She, the proclamation reads, “has shaped her community with strength of leadership and integrity by bringing issues to the forefront relative to the economic vitality and aesthetic character unique to downtown Perry.”

Dixon, in the proclamation was praised for “numerous accomplishments” including the Commerce Street improvement project, enhancements along Carroll Street as part of the Downtown Master Plan, the “visioning and creation” of the Big Indian Waterway (now Rotary Centennial Park), “enhanced design controls for architecture and signage within the Downtown Development District”, as well as “many other projects and programs that continue to provide for the health and welfare of this great community.”

Asked at the bench dedication which of the projects she worked on were most near and dear, she said it was the development and landscaping behind the Swanson hotel, as well as the development and landscaping of the downtown area.

“But knowing her,” said DDA member David Grossnickle, who is also the owner of the Perry Chick-fil-A, “I think she’s kind of proud of some of the relationships she built with the board members. And the friendships she developed in the community and the citizens she had a chance to represent in the community.

“So we just want to thank her for the way she carried herself. She always had a little gem of wisdom at our board meetings that maybe made us think of things in a different way than we had before. She is a pillar in the community and a pillar to her family,” many of which were present at both events.

Quipped Councilwoman Phyllis Bynum-Grace: “As appointee (of her to the board), I think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

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