The November 2022 elections led to the City of Red Bank welcoming two new individuals to serve on their five-member Board of Commissioners along with one re-elected Commissioner.
Jamie Fairbanks-Harvey and Hayes Wilkinson were elected to begin serving their first term and Hollie Berry was re-elected for her second term on the Commission.
Fairbanks-Harvey will be serving for the first time on the Board of Commissioners. She is a widow, mom to one son, and a grandmother. A graduate of Red Bank schools, she attended Alpine Crest, Red Bank Junior High and Red Bank High School (class of 1975). Fairbanks-Harvey is a teacher and shared that her teaching career has been joyously experienced at University of Tennessee, Chattanooga (UTC), in the Health and Human Performance Department for 38 and a half years. At UTC, she was elected to a 3-year role as Faculty Senate President.
“In a commissioner’s role, listen and learn from others because this can offer opportunity to progress,” said Fairbanks-Harvey. “When I contemplated becoming a candidate, this was a part I knew would take much of my time. I discovered these actions to ‘learn and listen’ during many hours of visiting door to door in the campaign. This gives others a chance to speak and for me to assimilate comments toward a topic. Comments are sometimes similar and other times extremely different.”
Wilkinson is also serving on the Board of Commissioners for the first time. He and his wife have been married for seven years and have a two-year-old son. Wilkinson is the Senior Aerial Mapping Specialist at Wingfield Scale & Measure in Chattanooga. He is a Certified Mapping Scientist through ASPRS, planning and managing geotechnical mapping projects. While he has not been involved in a public service role previously, he volunteers at the White Oak Bicycle Co-op using his skills as a bike mechanic to benefit kids and folks in need in the greater Chattanooga area.
Wilkinson said he decided to run for the position of Commission after an inspiring conversation with Mayor Berry outside a local shop. He admired the leadership and energy she brought to the city after her first two years as Mayor.
“Ultimately though, I ran for the seat on the City Commission for the sake of my son,” said Wilkinson. “My goal is to make Red Bank the best possible place for him (and all the other kids in Red Bank) to grow up and thrive. I wanted to take some ownership of the decisions being made in the city and not just observe from the sidelines. We have some wonderful opportunities to grow as a city and I'm honored to have been chosen to help guide that process.”
Berry is beginning her second term on the Board of Commissioners. She was first elected in 2020 and was chosen by her peers to serve as Mayor of Red Bank. After her re-election in 2022, the Board once again voted to have Berry continue in her role as Mayor of the City of Red Bank.
“I’ve been so proud of what our city team has been able to accomplish in just two short years, especially considering all the challenges we faced during that time,” said Mayor Berry. “My hope in running again was to continue making the same great strides in the next four years that we have in the past two. After winning my re-election, I was even further honored to be selected by my colleagues once again to serve as Mayor. I will continue striving to represent our city well and I look forward to working with my new colleagues for the next four years.”