In addition to being an avid golfer, city of Shenandoah’s Position 3 City Council member, Darrell Frazier has always held an interest in airplanes. He earned his pilot’s license when he was 17 years old, flew professionally in the ’80s and went on to work as an air traffic controller at the Enroute Center of Air Traffic Control in Houston. He even built his own experimental fixed-wing single engine airplane.

“I grew up in the birthplace of aviation—Dayton, Ohio,—so when an airplane goes overhead, I look up and always have,” he said.

Frazier and his wife, Kay, have lived in Shenandoah for 29 years. When he retired in 2008, he decided it was time to serve his hometown. Frazier was elected to the Shenandoah City Council in 2009 and is now serving his fourth two-year term.

“After retiring from air traffic control, I had the time and wanted to give back to the community, along with trying something different,” he said.

Frazier said he was interested in following through with city leaders’ plan to connect the city with sidewalks. He also made it easier to gain insight into the activities of City Hall by making the council agendas and city budget information readily available online.

He said satisfying moments of serving on the council are the resident reactions to completed projects, such as the pathways and parks. His role requires that he make the best possible decisions that benefit all residents, he said.

“This cannot happen as an ‘I,’” he said. “It is a ‘we’: the City Council. You try to provide the best services to the people you represent for the best possible price. I feel that is happening. We try to provide our residents with the best customer service possible.”

Frazier said he has witnessed a significant amount of growth in the past 10 years even as Shenandoah’s property tax rate has plummeted.

“If there was not [the] foresight of previous councils and the commercial growth, Shenandoah would not be the sought-after place to live, and the benefits that we have would be at a much steeper price,” he said. “Twenty-nine years ago, the frontage road at the Shenandoah Drive entrance was a two-lane, two-way road. Look at us now.”

Shenandoah Mayor Garry Watts said Frazier’s accomplishments include making sure the needs of the entire population are represented. Frazier created a transportation program for seniors and the Shenandoah Resident Scholarship, which gives high school seniors special opportunities to apply for scholarship funds.

“It’s been said that a politician is planning for the next election, but an ambassador is planning for the next generation,” Watts said. “Darrell has been an outstanding ambassador, putting vision and the future of the city of Shenandoah first and foremost.”