Eddy York called himself a late bloomer, but he’s made up for lost time by getting involved in the thick of things in Mayflower.
A passionate supporter of his hometown, he started volunteering at his twins’ school and coached their sports teams; then he got involved in city government.
He served on the Mayflower Planning Commission before becoming a City Council member, and he upped his game a couple of months ago by taking over as president of the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce.
“I said, ‘Let’s breathe some new life in here,’” York said. “My mission is to make sure the progress of Mayflower is done with integrity and done the right way to make sure services are there for all ages.”
York, 49, said he’s excited about the Heart of Mayflower project, a long-term plan to create a walkable town center. The plan was developed by the University of Arkansas Community Design Center in Fayetteville.
The first piece of the project is a $2 million community center, which will be built on Ashmore Street across from City Hall, he said, pointing from where he was seated in the courtroom.
The community center will include a chamber office, which the city doesn’t have now. The center will also house the Mayflower Police Department, which has needed a new facility for a long time, York said.
“I think [the community center is] going to be the first step in the progress of Mayflower,” he said, adding that the project is scheduled to get underway in July.
“When it takes full fruition, you’re not going to see just kids walking; you’re going to see young adults and even the elderly. There will be a big gazebo in the square with a farmers market, maybe.”
York said that when he grew up in Mayflower, he rode his bicycle or walked all over town, unafraid.
“Every direction I went — north, south, east and west — I was surrounded by family,” he said.
He played baseball at Mayflower High School and walked on the University of Central Arkansas team, where he played catcher one semester. He said that thanks to Jack Fulmer, his coach in American Legion Baseball and at UCA, he was prepared athletically. But York said he wasn’t cut out for college.
He went to work at Tokusen in Conway for five years, then Molex in Maumelle, which makes electronic components. He also worked for a television outdoor show. York said he used his videographer experience to install cameras on equipment in his department at Molex to “catch bad parts.” Although it had been tried in the past, York said, he and another man improved the use of cameras in the inspection system.
York said he left Molex and started his own production company, and his specialty was videoing father-son or father-daughter hunts of duck, pheasant or other game. “I’d spend time with them and ask them about their most proud moments of their son or daughter,” York said.
He had been involved in his twins’ school and sports activities, but leaving Molex about eight years ago allowed him to be a full-time dad and run his production company. His wife, Melonay, is a nurse.
He didn’t regret a second, he said, especially because his twins, who are now 16, are what he calls “my miracle babies.” He said after three failed attempts at artificial insemination, he and his wife tried in vitro fertilization, and two eggs were implanted.
They both took. “They’re just a blessing to me,” he said of Ethan and Esabella, whom they call Bella.
“I’ve always loved volunteering,” he said. While he worked at Molex, he started a Watchdog Dads program at his children’s elementary school.
“I volunteered at school for anything I could help teachers out with, at sporting events, announcing ballgames, raising money for boosters,” he said.
York said he enjoys knocking on doors, whether it’s asking for donations for sports or campaigning for a political candidate. He helped Mayflower Mayor Randy Holland in his second term.
“He was my friend before he was my mayor,” York said of Holland.
Holland asked York to serve as part-time code-enforcement officer, which York did for about a year. Most of the time, he knew the person who answered the door.
“I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’ve known just about everybody. I’m a junior, and I grew up as little Ed,” he said.
When an elderly resident had code-breaking high weeds, York said he would ask if the person had a teenage grandchild who could come mow the lawn. If not, York recruited volunteers from churches to mow the yard.
He thought code enforcement would be a hard job, but he said he loved it.
“It wasn’t about the pay; it was about what I was doing, rekindling those relationships,” he said.
York was approached by Mark Albright of Maumelle, a former executive producer of the outdoor show York had worked on, and was asked to join HD Wraps, a business that puts advertising wraps on vehicles. He and Albright started another business, VFab Inc., vinyl fabrication, which makes customized tarps for industrial car washes — locomotives or big buses.
“We just did one for the [University of] Alabama Crimson Tide, for their diesels,” he said. “What’s so gratifying, the job still allows me time to make sure I get to go to the kids’ ballgames and serve on the City Council,” he said.
He became a member of the City Council in January, he said, running unopposed in a new ward.
“I have a ward, but my ward is this whole town,” he said.
York said that although he’s always enjoyed volunteering, when he rededicated his life to Jesus Christ three years ago, he got a renewed passion to serve others.
“I’ve always wanted to be on the City Council, … but I just have a different outlook now that it’s spiritually driven,” he said. “The last two, almost three, years of my life, it’s like I’ve been shot out of a rocket. A lot of this energy I have is due to me getting up and praying and not getting burned out and still wanting to make a difference in the community.”
York said he served on the Planning Commission, which was a challenge to keep people happy.
“I saw how bad this town needed to see growth in the right spots, the right direction,” he said. “What I want people to know — we are like a Muhammad Ali. We’re going to take some off the chin. … We’ve been knocked down, but we’ve always gotten back up.”
Another of York’s friends and mentors, former Faulkner County Judge Allen Dodson, asked York to oversee the logistics of the cleanup after a deadly tornado ripped through the community in 2014. The storm killed four people in Mayflower and destroyed 160 homes.
“I started seeing then how the city worked together,” York said. “I started thinking how the chamber could be an influence.”
He’d turned down several requests to serve on the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce Board, he said, because he had too many other activities. York said he won’t get involved with an organization or project if he can’t give 100 percent, but the timing was right.
He said he approached the chamber president and offered some ideas.
“I said, ‘Listen, I don’t mind taking this over,’” he said.
Mayflower School District Superintendent John Gray is secretary of the chamber board, and he said York is a good choice.
“I’m proud of Eddy,” Gray said. “He’s very community-minded; he’s obviously wanting to help and do the best for the Mayflower community.
We had talked for a while about the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce and revitalizing it. He took the bull by the horns and offered to be president.
“We’re working on an economic-development plan,” Gray said. “The chamber sort of faded away, so he really wants to build it up, redo the website, reconnect with our business community and give them support.”
York said half the budget will be spent on existing businesses, and grand openings will be held for businesses that haven’t had official ribbon cuttings.
“Our first priority is to win back the trust of the people already here. It’s all about the businesses first, then the residents. It’s all about boots on the ground,” York said.
And York said he is ready to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.