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COLUMBUS, Ga. — After a lifelong career of public service ranging from the U.S. Army’s field artillery to the city’s council chambers, district 10 at-large city councilor Colonel John House has retired from public life to best care for his beloved and wonderful wife, Marilyn — though our city and community members wouldn’t let him leave that easily without first rightfully honoring his and Marilyn’s decades of servant leadership.

After John & Marilyn were both presented with military honors from Ft. Benning along with several parting gifts and a resolution from city council, House nominated a man he believed would best serve the people of Columbus to fill his seat: Tyson Begly. 

After a vote by city council, Begly was sworn-in as his wife Rebekah held the Bible and became Columbus’ newly-appointed interim city councilor for district 10 at-large.

Here are the details of the rare and historic event, along with the heartfelt words shared by House’s colleagues and members of our community.

MILITARY HONORS

To House’s genuine surprise, before Mayor Henderson granted him the opportunity to formally offer his resignation to private life, Henderson invited two representatives from the offices of the commander of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, Major General Curtis A. Buzzard, and the Fort Benning garrison commander, Colonel Colin P. Mahle, to step forward to the podium. 

The men held a framed and matted award — the United States Army Meritorious Public Service Medal — as they approached the podium, offering the following words in honor of John & Marilyn House’s service to our city:

“You know, periodically, we get an opportunity to say thank you. On behalf of General Buzzard, today is one of those days. So if we could have the Honorable House, if you could be making your way down please (House walks to podium).

So one of the things about being able to say thank you to individuals is: so many times we do it — and we often do it kind of on the backside and not on the front side — so what we wanted to do today, sir, is to really say thank you. 

Throughout, being in the short time here at Benning that I’ve been in this role, one of the things that you get to see is incredible individuals that show Leadership — and we know leadership is extreme unselfishness. And throughout the time that I’ve known you, just the ability that you’ve been (able to be) loyal; you’ve been able to uphold your duty; you have led with respect; you have shown an amazing selfless service. With honor, you’ve had the utmost integrity and personal courage.

So what we wanted to do on behalf of General Buzzard and Colonel Mahle, the garrison commander, is present you, sir, with the Department of the Army Meritorious Public Service Medal.”

The medal’s citation reads as follows:

The Department of the Army

This is to certify that the Secretary of the Army has awarded the Meritorious Public Service Medal to The Honorable John and Marilyn House. Councilman John and Marilyn House are officially commended for exceptionally-meritorious service in support of the soldiers and families of the Chattahoochee Valley community, from July 18, 2018 to April 25, 2023. As the City of Columbus At-Large District 10 Councilman, John’s leadership and selfless service exemplifies the strong partnership between Columbus and Fort Benning. John and Marilyn’s volunteerism and care for soldiers and their families is in keeping with the highest traditions of community service. Their contributions have made a difference and will be felt for years to come. John and Marilyn’s outstanding dedication to the community reflects great credit upon them, the Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning, and the United States Army. 

[SIGNED]

21 APRIL 2023

MG CURTIS A. BUZZARD

After a long round of standing applause from the entire audience and members of council, Mayor Henderson made an exceptionally-astute observation:

“Well deserved. Well deserved by both parties,” Henderson said. “You know, I gotta say it, too: I find it interesting that as we are really on almost the eve of the renaming of the military base (Ft. Benning) for a couple who were dedicated to soldiers (Col. Hal & Julia Moore), this award is also recognizing a couple dedicated to soldiers. Well done, Colonel House.”

HOUSE’S OPENING REMARKS

House then took the opportunity to make a heartfelt statement of thanks and gratitude, but not merely for the recognition of the prestigious award that he and his wife had just received from the Secretary of the Army. Instead, House continued to demonstrate his prestigious example of servant leadership by thanking the residents and workers of the City of Columbus for what they do each and every day. House continued to show his true and humble marks of leadership by recognizing the work of others:

“Thank you, Mayor,” House began. “Well that was certainly unexpected and very much appreciated — especially that you included Marilyn — because she has been a partner throughout our married life for forty- nine and a-half years, and that is the reason why I’ve had to make this tough decision. She’s at the point where she’s not comfortable if I’m not standing there with her. And given all the stuff the Army and I put her through — and four children and I don’t know how many dogs — she deserves my attention. And so, I’m gonna go focus my efforts on her very shortly. So, thank you again very much to the Fort Benning community.

Since this (award) happened, I’ll also have to point out Sharon Bunn back there (points at crowd) she brought me a bunch of flowers for Marilyn and me. So thank you, Sharon. I appreciate that very much. 

I do want to put a special thank you out there to the citizens of Columbus. Thank you for allowing me to serve and for allowing Marilyn to be there with me. I’ve always felt like she and I were a team, and I’ve done my best to drag her around to wherever I went. So we very much appreciate that opportunity and thoroughly enjoyed meeting people all over the city — and there are great people all over the city, doing a wide range of things for their fellow citizens. 

I want to thank the Mayor and the council for putting up with me (smirks) and whatever kind of questions I had. I appreciate that help throughout this time — and the city manager and the staff. They’ve answered a constant flow of incessant questions about one thing or another, asking for help or just saying ‘why is this done?’ 

One thing that being on the council does allow somebody to do is to see how much the public servants — the paid employees — do. And it’s not always apparent what those general government and public safety employees do every day trying to take care of all of us and trying to keep the city running. There are a lot of folks out there doing a lot of great stuff — from the garbage collectors to the police officers — so thank them any time you get a chance, because they don’t always get a thank you and they all deserve it. And I very much appreciate them.

THE PROCESS: EXPLAINED

House then transitioned to discussing the pressing topic-at-hand of how the Columbus City Charter provides procedure for how he would be succeeded. House began by accurately describing the process as-governed by the Columbus City Charter:

“In case some of you don’t know the way this process works, the city charter actually governs it. And so Council gets to pick whoever’s gonna take my place because of the timing of where we are in my term.”

House’s description correctly outlined the process dictated by the city charter that requires council to appoint an interim city councilor if the former-sitting councilor vacated their position at least eighteen months into their term. Since House has served longer than 18 months of his term, an intern councilor must therefore be appointed. 

House continued by describing the rest of the rare and important process:

“In about a year, in May of 2024 — and if I say something wrong, Mr. City Attorney, of course tell me — there will be an election — because that’s when the election was going to happen to replace me anyway. But that election now will be a special election and a general election. So you’re gonna get to vote for somebody, twice. The special election will cover May to December, and the general will be for January, forward. So as long as you’re a citizen of Columbus and you’re gonna vote: pay attention to that ballot in May of 2024, because it’s really important. And you’re gonna have to sort out who you’re gonna vote for then. 

HOUSE’S NOMINATION OF SUCCESSOR

House then continued his remarks by rightfully nominating his successor, in keeping with the proper political and social traditions for situations similar to that of the present.

House gracefully moved to nominate his successor for the approval of council by following the example of the late great Evelyn Turner Pugh who served as a Columbus City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem for more than thirty years. After resigning in 2019 due to health issues, Pugh sadly passed away on July 11, 2021. Our city misses her dearly, though her work today lived on in the words of now-retiring council member John House who had the grace to honor her example:

“In following Evelyn Turner Pugh’s example — because, you know, when I began to look at this, I talked to the city attorney about what had been done before — Evelyn Turner Pugh picked somebody that she’d known for a long time. And so I decided that I’m gonna nominate somebody that I’ve known for a long time — and the council’s gonna vote, and they’ll decide who’s gonna be it. But the young man I want to nominate has served the city on the Public Safety Advisory Commission, the Development Authority, and the Charter Review Commission. In fact, he was one of the prime architects for something that the council is still trying to figure out how to do — and that’s the Audit Committee that we’ve got to get sorted out because the budget’s about to happen. He’s also been a CFO and COO of Delta Data. So my nomination is that Tyson Begly take my place — but then that’ll be up to the council. I make a motion that Tyson Begly take my place.”

House’s motion was immediately seconded by what sounded to be — though we cannot be certain — the voice of Charmaine Crabb (District 5).

HUFF’S ADDITIONAL NOMINATION

It was at this point that Bruce Huff (District 3) seized the opportunity to address members of the audience before making an additional nomination.

For the sake of brevity, we will not cite Huff’s lengthy but heartfelt words to his constituents. 

In summary, Huff explained that he had received many emails and phone calls from several people seeking their own nomination for the soon-to-be-vacant district 10 seat. Huff politely explained to his constituents that, in fairness, he had already given his word to one constituent in particular who had contacted him first “quite some time” ago. 

Huff then nominated Ku’Wonna Ingram after the primary nomination of Tyson Begly had already been made and seconded to be put forth for a vote.

THE CHECK OF PROCEDURE

It was at this time that Mayor Henderson then sought to clarify the proper procedure, given that House’s nomination of Tyson Begly had already been seconded for a vote. 

“Ok. Well, we have a motion and a second for Mr. Begly, and we have a motion for Ms. Ingram. 

Not one member of council moved to second Huff’s nomination of Ku’Wonna Ingram, though it would not have mattered even if they had.

Councilor Judy Thomas (District 9 at-large) then broke the silence by voicing the correct parliamentary procedure for the given scenario.

“Action on the other nomination, and you don’t do the second(ing of the other subsequent nomination),” Thomas correctly stated, as City Attorney Clifton Fay sat close by in support of the properly-executed procedure.

In short: votes for nominees must be taken in the order they were nominated in. 

According to parliamentary procedure, actions are taken in the order in which they are presented. In this case, since House’s nomination of Tyson Begly was the first to be made and seconded, it must be voted on before any additional nominations can have the opportunity to be acted upon. If council’s vote then approved the nomination, that’s it: the show’s over. If the vote did not approve the nomination, then and only then would any other subsequent nominations have the opportunity to be acted upon. They are put forth in the order they are made: first as a motion to nominate with the opportunity to be seconded, and then to a vote if and only if another councilor seconds the motion — but always in the order those motions are made and seconded. 

THE VOTE OF CONFIRMATION

Mayor Henderson then proceeded by again reiterating that the nominees will have the opportunity to be voted on in the order in which they were nominated. As Tyson Begly was nominated first, Council followed procedure by voting to confirm him first. 

Henderson then also reminded everyone that councilors Tucker, Garrett, and Davis were attending virtually and were in fact present for the vote. 

“Alright,” Henderson began, “So we’ll take them in the order that they were nominated. All those in favor of Mr. Begly, please raise your hand.” 

Clerk of Council Sandra Davis then counted the votes aloud:

“One, two, three, four, five, six, and then the three councilors are also voting for Mr. Begly,” Davis stated. All councilors voted in favor of Tyson Begly with the sole exception of Bruce Huff (District 3).

In accordance with parliamentary procedure, it is our sincere understanding that since no member of council even seconded Ms. Ingram’s nomination, it should not have even been put forth to a vote. Nonetheless, Henderson proceeded anyway, likely for the sake of avoiding conflict given the foreseeable outcome after the first vote for Begly.

Henderson then called a vote for Ms. Ingram, Huff’s subsequent nominee.

“One,” Davis said aloud as she counted Huff’s lone vote. 

Henderson then confirmed the decision of council given the nine votes received in favor of Tyson Begly. 

“Ok,” Henderson said. “Mr. Begly, then, will be sworn-in to take Councilor House’s seat.”

THE PARTING GIFTS

Immediately following the vote that officially relieved House of his public duties, House politely made a gesture to stand in his attempt to sneak out the back door and head home to his beloved wife Marilyn who was anxiously awaiting his return. 

It was at that moment that Mayor Pro Tem Garry Allen (District 6) took the opportunity to hold House hostage for just a few more moments.

“Mr. Mayor, could I interrupt just a minute?” Allen asked.

“Yessir,” Henderson replied. 

House then comically confessed his attempts to sneak out the door and head home to his wife.

“Ah, man!” House exclaimed. “I was just about to run out! My plan all along was to slink out the back and go home!” Laughter could be heard from the audience and the council’s bench. 

“Just hold on!” said Judy Thomas eagerly from across the room. 

Mayor Pro Tem Gary Allen then proceeded with a wonderful and thoughtful presentation to House.

“It’s my pleasure,” Allen began, “to offer a resolution for Councilor House. Councilor, we also have a plaque here that says:

With sincere appreciation, John M. House, Colonel, Retired, U.S. Army, Columbus Consolidated Government City Council District 10, 2018-2023

And it’s got the seal of Columbus on there for you.”

“Thank you,” House replied — though he was still patiently and comically captive to the gratitude of his fellow councilors.

“Let me read this resolution into the record,” Allen continued. 

Though Allen read the full and lengthy resolution into the record including all of House’s extraordinary achievements, the resolution concluded with one single-most important takeaway:

“His lifetime of service to his country and his community are a shining example of servant leadership. We wish him and Marilyn all the best in their retirement.”

Once the motion was adopted, every person in the room including the audience stood and provided House with another bona fide and well-deserved standing ovation. 

After a few heartfelt remarks from Allen, Charmaine Crabb then handed House an envelope with a rather fitting and humorously well-received parting gift. 

“If she makes me cry, I’m gonna be mad,” House joked in comedic relief. 

Upon opening the envelope, House grinned.

“Oh! This is GOOD!” he shouted like a child on Christmas morning. “It’s a gift certificate to Cook’s Hot Dogs! There is no finer eating establishment in the city! I very much appreciate that, because I enjoy Cook's, a lot! 

House then made his final closing remarks, which again included paying tribute to the actions of others — this time to the incoming council-elect Tyson Begly:

“Thank you very much, everybody, for that. I appreciate it. And again, thank you to the citizens of Columbus, and, I’m sure that about-to-be Councilor Begly’s gonna do a great job. And of course, everybody out there, pay attention to what’s gonna happen when you vote in a year, because that’s super important — but I’m gonna get outta here and go take care of my girl, because, uh, she wants me to get home and take care of her. 

Garry Allen then presented one final parting gift in a tissue-paper-stuffed gift bag. House hilariously responded in his usual joking fashion:

“Ugh! I should’a brought a rucksack to carry it,” House replied with a grin as he stood up to make his exit. The whole room erupted in laughter.

As House walked towards the exit, Mayor Henderson added one final comment:

“I just wanna add my thanks for the way in which you conducted your business, and I want to thank you for the example you set as a husband, and as a father, and as a family man as well.”

“Thank you,” House replied as he walked towards the door. “I appreciate it.”

Garry Allen handed House his tissue-paper gift bag, and House was on his way home to his beloved wife Marilyn.

BEGLY SWORN IN

Immediately after House departed, Mayor Henderson consulted City Attorney Clifton Fay on the proper protocol to swear-in Councilor-Elect Tyson Begly. 

Fay advised that Begly should make his way to the podium so that the appropriate judges could administer the several oaths required for him to begin his tenure as a member of the Columbus City Council. 

As Begly approached the podium, superior court judge Art Smith and probate judge Marc D’Antonio also made their appropriate entrances to perform their duties.

As people all throughout the room moved about to find their appropriate places, Fay revealed his natural knack for legal narration akin to that of a seasoned sports announcer as he explained the situation for the audience and those watching at home:

“For those watching,” Fay explained, “there are two oaths that are administered: one under the Charter by the superior court judge, and one for county commissioners. Technically,” Fay continued, “we are a consolidated government, and the governor issues a commission to our county commissioners, so this will be a double-oath.”

Frankly, Fay’s ability to fill in the gap with such timely information was quite impressive and likely helped many watching to understand what was occurring. Well done, Fay. 

Mayor Henderson then called for Mrs. Rebekah Begly to come forward and hold the Bible while her Husband Tyson took his oaths.

Begly then recited his oaths in succession, affirming that he accepted the terms and responsibilities inherent in his new role as the District 10 At-Large City Councilor of Columbus, Georgia. 

Upon signing the necessary documents following his oaths, Begly then rightfully took his seat next to Charmaine Crabb as the order of business continued.

IN CLOSING

We at the Muckraker would like to thank Councilor Begly and his wife Rebekah for their willingness to have their family serve our city when it needed them. 

To Councilor Begly: We look forward to your success as you follow the examples of servant leadership before you at your discretion. 

Facts are stubborn things — and we’ll keep publishing them, whether city officials like them or not.

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