Inaugural address: Biloxi, proud of it

Here is Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich’s draft of his inaugural address, which he used from the podium during the ceremony on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at the Saenger Theater. To see video of the actual presentation, click here.

Good evening everyone… Thank you all for sharing in this special moment for our Biloxi… I’m honored…

We are also honored today to have with us Pastor Paul Springer,  of the Pentacostals of the Gulf Coast and Bishop Louis Kihneman of the Diocese of Biloxi…  Thank you both…

And also welcome,  to my Brother Mayor,  my Mayor Brother of Gulfport…  Billy Hewes and his wife Paula…

Let me congratulate the members of the City Council… Especially  to Nathan  Barrett,  our new representative  from  Woolmarket… Welcome to the team… I look forward working with the Council,  in making Biloxi a better place for all of us… 

Let me say that CHALLENGES come EVERY  DAY and in EVERY  WAY… I have always talk about our efforts to  MAKE and KEEP,  BIloxi “SAFE , FRIENDLY & BEAUTIFUL”

Please join me NOW in recognizing and acknowledging,  the NEARLY 600  employees (associates) of the City of Biloxi…  who meet those CHALLENGES and reach for those GOALS we have for Biloxi EVERY DAY…

Biloxi is many things,  almost all good,   and many of them great. Our goal is to make every  one of them EVEN GREATER.

I must STOP at this point,  and offer my sincere thanks to my WHOLE FAMILY  for supporting me,  and putting up with me in achieving  a lifelong dream of mine,  to LEAD MY HOMETOWN… ESPECAILLY my wife SERENA,  who tells me on many occasions that this job is going to KILL HER  but NOT ME… Serena I don’t want to lose you…

Many know that I’m not the SMOOTHEST  TALKER around… But I wasn’t elected  your Mayor to make great speeches…  I was elected to make things happen…  However,  I will tell you that I know several LANGUAGES, FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC,  BAL,  JCL, AUTOCODER,  EASYCODER,  VISUAL BASIC  .NET and others…

But ENGLISH is the only one I can use tonight… What I want to touch on tonight is TRANSFORMATION and RESTORATION.

 

I pledge to you TODAY that

We will turn the visions for our BELOVED BILOXI into plans…

We will make those plans a reality…

And, all of us… will be able to re-visit some of those great Biloxi Memories… 

Create new ones for our children and their children… to live, experience and remember…

And all of us can SAY and PROCLAIM…. BILOXI,  PROUD OF IT.