Mayors Coleman, Joyner announce retirements
Two long-time West Tennessee mayors are celebrating their retirements after a combined 46 years of service to their communities
Collierville Mayor Stan Joyner has retired after 26 years of service while longtime Medina Mayor and past TML Board Member and Vance Coleman retired following 20 years of service.
Joyner’s retirement was celebrated at Collierville’s Historic High School, which Joyner graduated from and was instrumental in acquiring for the city to be renovated into an office space for town government. Built in 1935 and constructed with CCC labor, the building was named in Joyner’s honor at the ceremony as the Stan R. Joyner Municipal Annex.
At his retirement ceremony, Collierville Mayor-Elect Maureen Fraser recalled Mayor Joyner’s “generous sharing of knowledge and insight, as well as his desire to simply do the job and not be in the spotlight”. She thanked him for his guidance over the years and in the years to come. Former Town Administrator James Lewellen noted Mayor Joyner’s “generous gift of his time to the Town of Collierville, and his decision to put criticism aside and always do what he felt was the right thing for the Town”.
Tennessee State Representative Kevin Vaughn, Shelby County Commissioner David Bradford, and Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor all thanked Mayor Joyner for his friendship and guidance over the years and wished him a wonderful retirement.
Coleman was first elected mayor of Medina in 2004 and served 12 years on the TML Board as District 7 Director and an At-Large Director.
“At the time, Medina was on the verge of enormous growth projections, and I was approached to consider running for mayor and to provide an optimistic outlook for building a strong community while maintaining our hometown environment,” Coleman said of his initial run for mayor. “I have met a lot of great people in the last 20 years including U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, UT President Randy Boyd, all the governors during this time span, but for me, the individuals I have had the privilege to work with is personally the most interesting. Their dedication and commitment to the city has always amazed me. All these extraordinary, wonderful people have become part of my family. I am so blessed to have had these friends by my side. On a special note, Kim Gilley (Medina's city recorder) has been with me from Day One. Thanks, Kim, for making me a better person and mayor- always helping point me in the best direction. To all my co-workers, thank you for all you do for me and the city. Words cannot express what each of you mean to me.”
During his tenure, Medina has grown from a city of 969 residents to one of more than 6,000. Coleman this growth presenting his biggest challenge as mayor, which was “preparing the city for the growth by implementing policies and procedures to safeguard building standards, putting the right people in place to inspect and oversee the growth, and partnering with state and local officials to secure grant funds to supplement the cost of amenities such as parks, infrastructure, traffic signal, fire and police equipment so that the taxpayers did not have to bear the burden.”
Coleman said he has had the pleasure of working with “extraordinary people” throughout the state of Tennessee, Gibson County, and all the surrounding area mayors on projects like parks and recreation, economic development, and overhauling the city’s buildings and codes.
“One of my most memorable moments was the day we walked into the new municipal building,” he said. “We were meeting with the potential investors of Food Giant, prior to them committing to building in Medina, they came to visit our new municipal building when it was just a footprint with sand and a layout. It was so important for them to see that we were investing in our city, just as we were encouraging them to do. It was a known fact that we could not expect anyone to invest in our city if we did not show our dedication to investing in Medina ourselves.”
Coleman hopes his successor gets to build the same relationships with city employees and citizens that have made his own time as mayor such an honor.
“To the next mayor, I say stay positive, stay proactive and always put Medina first, which in turn puts the citizens first,” Coleman said. “Always remember, you don’t do it alone. It takes a team to make this city work. I want to thank the citizens of Medina for entrusting me as mayor for the last 20 years. It has been an honor to serve and has been my most important and challenging job of my career. A special thank you goes out to my wife, Kay, as she has stood by me and supported me through this journey.”