HELEN — As 2019 gets underway, Helen has a new mayor and mayor pro tem at the helm.
Cinnamon Spurlock was elected by other city commissioners to serve as mayor for the year. Commissioner Steve Fowler was elected mayor pro tem.
Both were sworn in by City Clerk Marilyn Chastain during Tuesday’s city commission meeting.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to serve in the position as mayor for this upcoming year, especially with our 50th anniversary of being an Alpine city,” Spurlock said after the meeting.
One of Spurlock’s areas of concentration since being elected to the city commission is helping coordinate the purchase and installation of new Christmas lights and other seasonal decorations, for which the city continues to be increasingly recognized.
In fact, business essentially doubled in the city in December, a fact Spurlock attributes to good weather and additional holiday displays.
“Over the past couple of years with our Christmas decorations, and we’ve expanded them just from the center of town to our city limit, it’s allowed us to grow with the decorations, which of course people enjoy,” Spurlock said. “We’ve added some big light features this year, and the word’s getting out through these great publications that the CVB is doing as well, so that’s where we’re seeing that lift.”
