Mayor Billy Ward addresses a crowd gathered for the unveiling of a monument honoring Faison’s native son, astronaut William Thornton. Completion of the monument was one of the highlights of Ward’s first year in office. The project was begun under his predecessor, then-Mayor Carolyn Kenyon. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Mayor Billy Ward shows off some of the many items donated by local residents to provide aid to those in the western part of the state who were impacted by Hurricane Helene. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
FAISON — As he reflects on his first year as mayor, William “Billy” M. Ward II admits, “My biggest surprise is just how much goes on even in a little, tiny town,” he says. “I mean we’re doing the same thing that they do in Raleigh, the same thing they do in Charlotte, it’s just a smaller scale. Our budget’s not as big, but as far as what we do, we do the very same thing they do.”
Other than that, not much else has surprised Ward, thanks to the steady, one-step-at-a-time way in which he prepared himself for the job.
The 52-year-old, lifelong Faison resident, who lives with wife Heather in the same neighborhood in which he was raised, was working a demanding job with the N.C. Department of Public Safety (now the Department of Adult Corrections) when he eased into local government by joining the planning board. “I had neighbors, family, and friends saying, ‘You should run for mayor,’” he recalls. But, “I felt like Faison was already in a good spot; I just kind of wanted to help, so I got in on the planning board, kind of got my feet wet.”
After a couple of years, he decided he wanted greater involvement with issues facing the town, so he ran for and won a seat as a town commissioner. In fact, he was eventually elected to four four-year terms. His dedication to the town was evidenced by the fact that, despite his 70-hour-workweek with NCDPS, he never missed a board meeting. At that point, his sights were not set on becoming mayor. “I was good with being a commissioner,” he says. “I felt like I was making an impact.”
Ward had every intention of serving out his full fourth term as commissioner, but several factors came together to point him in the direction of leaving halfway through that term to take a seat behind the mayor’s desk instead. First, he retired from NCDPS on November 1, 2022, freeing up more of his time. Second, then-Mayor Carolyn Kenyon had served several terms and was ready to pass the baton — and, importantly, no one else was showing any interest in the job. “She kept saying, ‘Somebody’s got to take my place.’ And none of the other commissioners wanted to do it.
“I felt like it was the natural progression,” Ward continues. “Of course, I talked to my family, friends, prayed about it. Everybody said, ‘Yeah, you need to do it. Faison’s depending on you.’”
Still, he admits, “I had second and third thoughts about doing it.”
But there was a third factor that finally convinced him to go for it. With time on his hands and Kenyon still in office, he had an opportunity to get valuable on-the-job training that would allow him, as mayor, to hit the ground running.
“The first year that I retired I would come in here and sit with her and she would just show me the ropes, show me what was going on,” he remembers, estimating that he initially shadowed Kenyon two to four times a month, increasing that to two or three times a week as the time grew closer. “She went over all the paperwork, email, how to run the computer, how to run the phone system; she showed me everything.”
Of course, the position of mayor is one that is elected, not appointed, so Ward did run — but he did so unopposed. “It was kind of like meant to be, it just worked out,” he says. He was sworn in on December 6, 2023.
The position of mayor, he estimates, requires about 10 to 15 hours a week, and he also works part time in the private sector, about 15 to 20 hours a week. As mayor, he has maintained his perfect attendance record at board meetings.
He sees his inaugural year of mayorship as a success, which he credits not only to the preparation he put in ahead of time, but also to the many town employees who “make my job easy,” including Executive Administrator Jimmy Tyndall, Town Clerk Sharon Lee, Assistant Clerk Anne Letchworth, Public Works Director Billy Mello, and Recreation Director Matthew Scott.
One of the town’s greatest achievements under his leadership came very recently, with the unveiling of a monument honoring Faison’s most famous son, astronaut William Thornton. He points out that planning for the monument was begun under Kenyon, his predecessor. “Miss Carolyn was one of the people who helped get it started. When I became mayor, we never stopped. We just kept right on rolling.” A state-funded grant, facilitated by the Eastern Carolina Council, paid for the park that houses the monument, while the monument itself was paid for by private and business donations. The only cost incurred by the town was for the purchase of sod.
Another recent success was the completion of a re-build of the town’s water plant. “Everything was failing, it was not working properly, it was falling apart,” Ward explains, “so we had to do something.” Using grant money and Covid funds earmarked for infrastructure, the water plant was re-built “better than it was originally,” he insists, using parts engineered specifically for Faison’s filtration system.
“It’s now complete, and our water system is running great; it’s top-notch. The contractors did a great job fixing it and repairing it.”
One of the town’s crown jewels is its impressive Recreation Department, which has continued to flourish since Ward has been in office. The department offers programs at two venues — the Anne Stroud Taylor Recreation and Wellness Center (in the heart of town) and the Stewart Precythe Sports Complex (located at the edge of town). Shortly after he became mayor, the department added an after-school program to its long list of offerings. Through this program, children are picked up from school and cared for until 6:30 p.m., a major help to working families, Ward points out.
And numerous improvements have been — and are continuing to be — made at the sports complex, including the addition of a concession stand, bathrooms, and lighting. “We’ve done a whole lot of work out there,” Ward points out, adding that there’s more work yet to be done. “We just ordered picnic-area type coverings… so we will have covered picnic areas in the park (behind the Wellness Center) and at the soccer field (at the Sports Complex). That’s another big thing that we’re just getting off the ground.”
Another of Faison’s successful endeavors has been providing aid to folks in the western part of the state who were impacted by Hurricane Helene. In a building adjacent to Town Hall, volunteers have sorted and organized the many donations brought in by local citizens; one truckload has already been taken to the mountains, and another truckload — possibly two — is ready to be transported. Ward points out that getting the items transported isn’t as straightforward as it might seem, as individual towns are no longer accepting donations; instead, Faison must coordinate with a distribution center. Therefore, as the current stockpile is awaiting transport, the town has temporarily hit “pause” on accepting new items.
Probably the biggest issue Faison will contend with in the coming year, according to Ward, is the necessary repair of a sewer line that runs beneath Highway 403. This will require navigating a bureaucratic maze that will include getting updated estimates for the work, awarding the contract, working out the funding, and coordinating with the Department of Transportation (since the work will necessitate detouring a state road). “There’s no start time for any of this,” says Ward, “It’s just something that we have got to start working on.”
And that, it seems, will top the mayor’s to-do list, as he embarks on his second year in office.
