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Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of six articles, each highlighting one of the 2024 inductees to the Franklin Community Wall of Excellence.

The Franklin Community Wall of Excellence gained six new names via its 2024 class.

Those names included James P. Councill III, Wyatt B. Durrette Jr., the late Charles “Chip” Fisher Kingery Jr., Dr. Chiquita L. Seaborne, Daniel T. Balfour and Dr. Amy K. Cheatham.

The eighth annual Franklin Community Wall of Excellence Induction Dinner and Ceremony took place Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Cypress Cove Country Club.

As noted in the event’s program, through the vision of some local Franklin City Public Schools alumni and school personnel, the Franklin Community Wall of Excellence Inc. was established in 2016 as a program to honor former Franklin and Hayden high school students, administrators, teachers and staff who have excelled or distinguished themselves through personal and/or professional success, as well as to recognize those community members who have made significant contributions to the public schools in Franklin.

“The Wall” is located at Franklin High School, adjacent to the gymnasium, a Wall of Excellence news release stated. Names and photos of each inductee are displayed for generations of Franklin High School students and community members to see as they walk by on their way to class or an event at FHS.

JAMES P. COUNCILL III

James Councill was inducted in the category of Outstanding Career.

The induction dinner and ceremony’s printed program noted that Councill was a 1963 graduate of Franklin High School.

Brian Hedgepeth, who is vice president of the Franklin Community Wall of Excellence Board of Directors, shared a brief summary of Councill before summoning Robert Holt to formally introduce him.

“Jim is an individual who has dedicated his life to his faith, his family and his community,” Hedgepeth said. “It’s always great to have one of our own homegrown graduates come back home and make a positive impact on our community.”

In his introduction of Councill, Holt noted that he and Councill first met in September 1951 as they entered Franklin Elementary School, which was located on the site now occupied by Joseph P. King Jr. Career and Technical Academy.

Holt said they played sports together, including varsity football and basketball.

“I think Jim played on the golf team in the spring,” Holt said.

The printed program noted that in addition to sports, Councill was involved in the HiY Club, the Varsity Club and the Beta Club while at FHS, and he was voted the Most Versatile male in his senior class.

Councill attended Hampden-Sydney College, graduating from there in 1967, and then he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, serving in the military from 1967-77. The printed program added that he was a maintenance officer on C5-A aircrafts.

The program continued by noting that after Councill left the military, he moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to begin his career in financial management. Not long after that, in 1978, he moved back to Franklin where he founded Councill Wealth Management. 

The program noted that in recent years, Councill’s son, William, joined him in the business, and he still runs it today.

“Jim’s very successful career in the financial business spanned more than 52 years,” Wall of Excellence officials stated in the printed program.

Next, the program noted that since moving back to Franklin, Councill has also had a long tenure of service to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has held positions including bishop and counselor, and he served as the Virginia State President for eight years, which involved overseeing 12 congregations located in Virginia and North Carolina.

Councill served eight terms as the mayor of Franklin, which equaled 16 years. The program noted that during that time, he helped the city recover from two flood events, including one caused by Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

The printed program stated that Councill served as president of the Virginia Municipal League.

He also was co-founder of the Virginia chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“The very first ‘wishes’ of that national foundation were granted in Virginia,” Wall of Excellence officials stated in the program. “(Jim) served on the board of that chapter for over 20 years.”

The program noted that Councill worked tirelessly with International Paper when it was taking over the Union Camp mill, helping it during the repurposing discussions, and he helped to keep the paper mill open in Franklin.

Next, the program highlighted how Councill helped to start Smart Beginnings Western Tidewater, a program designed “to convene and facilitate stakeholders building community capacity responsive to the needs of children from birth through the third grade.”

The program also noted that Councill was a founding member of the Franklin Boys and Girls Club.

Holt, who is chairman of the Franklin City School Board, highlighted the impact of Smart Beginnings and the local Boys and Girls Club when he said, “All of us in education in Franklin know what a benefit those two groups have done for our students.”

The printed program stated that Councill and his wife, Bambi, have been married for 56 years, and they have five children — Jay, Will, Clay, Jordan and Ann; 18 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Concluding his introduction, Holt said, “Jim loves Franklin, his family loves Franklin, he’s happy to be back, and I’m very happy to invite him to the podium. Jim, thank you.”

Councill opened by saying, “What an unexpected honor and a privilege it has been to be told that I was going to be considered as an inductee tonight.”

He highlighted the character of his parents, noting that he learned service by watching them.

He said his mother was PTO treasurer the entire time he and his brother were in school.

He noted that his father “served in the General Assembly for 32 years in the House of Delegates and was a big key person serving on the Education Committee, and I guess that’s why I got so involved with the Smart Beginnings.

“But what really helped me and got me started was being able to grow up in the school system,” he added, referencing Franklin City Public Schools. “We had wonderful, wonderful teachers.”

He said he could not name them all, but he wanted to mention a couple of them, especially Ms. Thorpe, his English teacher. 

“I, even to this day, don’t write or speak without thinking about doing it right and getting the punctuation right, diagramming the daggone sentence in my head and being sure it was written properly,” he said. “And for that I’m particularly grateful.”

Councill also highlighted Ms. Hale, his French teacher.

Turning his focus to his time leading Franklin’s government, Councill said, “As mayor, we had lots of ups and downs, disadvantages and challenges.”

He mentioned the floods and the mill closure, but he said, “We got through it all,” and he noted that this was due to “a great team effort.”

“This was never a one-man show, but it was a conglomeration of wonderful people,” he said. “Schools were the team that got us to be who we became.”

He indicated that this September marked the 25th anniversary of the Franklin flooding caused by Hurricane Floyd, and he indicated that his children are continuing the service he and many others in the area modeled during that time back in 1999.

Hurricane Helene ravaged North Carolina in September of this year.

“One of my sons, Clay, is in Marshall, North Carolina, this weekend with two trailer loads of equipment, cleaning out houses, tearing out houses, cleaning up mud in houses, (putting) building debris (in) piles and cutting down trees of wood because there was nobody there to do it and nobody was coming, but he learned that by watching and observing,” Councill said.

Looking back on the storms Franklin faced when he was mayor, he conveyed thanks “to the city of Franklin as a team, Bucky Taylor, our city manager, and all the amazing department heads and employees who worked so hard to make our recovery possible.”

Councill said that as a church leader, he always had good counselors who together helped him minister to the Franklin congregation and the congregations to which he was responsible.

“Again, it was a team effort,” he said.

After acknowledging the organization of the Franklin Boys and Girls Club, Councill said, “Smart Beginnings Bucky and I envisioned ourselves. … We worked together and collaborated with some people from Old Dominion to make that happen. What we started here together became a model for the state, and they modeled it across the state, invited Bucky and I to come and share with them how we got to where we were, but it was a team effort all the way along the line.”

Reflecting on his life as he stood at the podium during the induction ceremony in Franklin, Councill said, “However I got here, it’s been a great ride. I don’t know how I got this old so quick, but it’s been fun, it’s been wonderful. My best partner is my wife. Our children are our trophies. We are so grateful for them and how each has chosen to live their lives of service.

“They learned a lot of that from me, but I learned a lot of that from you and from my parents and all those that we got to watch as we grew up,” he said to those in attendance at the induction ceremony.

Councill closed his remarks by sharing two guiding principles that he has possessed for a long period of time.

“The first,” he said, “is from President Ronald Reagan who said, ‘There’s no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he does not mind who gets the credit.’ And I found that to be very appropriate and helpful.

“So with that, thank you all for honoring us and allowing us to be considered,” he continued. “I hope we will continue to make a contribution to our wonderful city and to be able to thank those that are still around us that have gotten us to where we are.

“My last quote,” he said, “is what has been a guiding principle to me for the last 40 years: ‘When you’re in the service of your fellow man, you’re only in the service of your God.’

“So with that, I thank you for the years of service that I’ve been able to have and for you all getting us to be where we are and enjoy a life we feel has been well lived. Thank you!”