Rashad Woods

Youngest member, first African-American elected to council touts teamwork

Rashad Woods, 26, stands in the room where he serves on the Dardanelle City Council. Woods, who was elected when he was 23, is the youngest person and the first African-American elected to the council. He’s also assistant editor at the Dardanelle Post Dispatch. “I love Dardanelle,” he said.
Rashad Woods, 26, stands in the room where he serves on the Dardanelle City Council. Woods, who was elected when he was 23, is the youngest person and the first African-American elected to the council. He’s also assistant editor at the Dardanelle Post Dispatch. “I love Dardanelle,” he said.

Rashad Woods covered a lot of ground on the Dardanelle High School football field, and now he’s making an impact as the youngest and first African-American elected Dardanelle City Council member.

Woods, 26, assistant editor of the weekly Dardanelle Post Dispatch, was elected to the council when he was 23.

It was never in his game plan to work for a newspaper.

“I took a leap of faith,” he said.

Woods said he thought he wanted to teach, like his mother, Renee, who taught elementary school in Dardanelle for more than 30 years.

“I wanted to go to college for early-childhood [education],” he said. Woods enrolled at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway and started down that road, but he did an observation at several schools and decided teaching wasn’t for him.

“I wanted to give back and help people, not only children. Being in the classroom eight hours a day wasn’t for me,” he said.

A friend told him about an opening at the newspaper, and Woods — who had no writing background — was hired on the spot in December 2013 by publisher and editor Mary Fisher. She and her husband, David, bought the paper in 2014.

“I didn’t know anything about newspapers,” Woods said. “I knew I could find out the scoop on things.”

He was hired to work in the office and take photographs. He became sports editor, and two years ago, he was promoted to assistant editor. The newspaper has a staff of six, including Woods.

Fisher said she took a chance on Woods, despite his lack of journalism-related background.

“When we hired Rashad, he was one of those people who I felt needed a job, and he knew everybody in the town, and I thought that was a good strength for him. And he takes pictures.”

She said his biggest strength is “his personality, and he is doing very well.”

“I really have enjoyed it,” Woods said of his newspaper job. “I worked hard to get where I am.”

He said the position has opened up connections with many people he never would have met otherwise, and he enjoys getting to know them and telling their stories.

“When things are happening, you’re in the know,” he said. “My favorite thing, especially, is … being on the sidelines [of football games]. I played football at Dardanelle; then I got to cover it.”

His decision to run for the Dardanelle City Council was motivated by several reasons.

Prior to being elected to the council, he covered the council meetings for the newspaper. Woods said council members would sometimes try to bring him into the discussions.

“I was fortunate enough to know City Council members and the mayor,” he said. “They’d look at me, ‘Rashad, what do you think?’”

Woods said he would think, “Wait, what? Am I allowed to talk?”

He also said he had an aha moment coming back to Dardanelle from an event.

“I was coming back from a benefit golf tournament, crossing the bridge, and said, ‘Something is smoking in downtown Dardanelle.’”

It was a raging fire, three blocks from the newspaper office. He snapped a couple of photos of the blaze, in which three historic buildings were destroyed and two others damaged.

“I got to Millyn’s, and I was helping move stuff out [of the store] and got the cash register. I realized I wanted to run for City Council. Our volunteer firefighters blew me away,” he said, adding that firefighters from several areas assisted the Dardanelle Fire Department. “Our volunteer firefighters put their lives in danger. I said, ‘I’ve got to do more.’”

Another reason he decided to take action was more personal. His mother, Renee, had a near-death experience in 2009 that changed his perspective on life.

“Mom had a stroke my senior year of high school; that changed my whole demeanor,” he said. “I realized I want to do something so much that when I die, people remember me by it, and I want to do something that pushes me. I want to die doing something I love to do.”

Woods said his mother was hospitalized for a while, but now she is retired and doing well.

“It helped our family to slow down, believe it or not, and realize that what we have is God-given. We’re blessed to have her with us,” Woods said. “Dad, he’s been a trooper. God does things for a reason. My dad never left her side. … I say I’m blessed with the best, for sure.”

Woods said that when he decided to run for the Dardanelle City Council, he asked Mayor Carolyn McGee’s blessing — and his opponent’s.

He ran against incumbent Kenneth Taylor, a longtime City Council member. Woods said he asked Taylor what he’d think about him running against him.

“He said, ‘Rashad, I would not be offended if you ran against me. I would be happy to go against you.’

“We had the best election between us. I didn’t win by much.”

Woods defeated Taylor by about 50 votes.

“I was very surprised,” Woods said, but he thinks voters wanted “a fresh face.”

“[Taylor] is a great man; he’s the reason we have a lot of things we have — a new community center and ballparks,” Woods said.

Woods still believes there is more to do for the city.

“In Dardanelle, our downtown could be a thriving community like it used to be; we just have a lot of buildings that are vacant,” Woods said.

Some of the building owners have died, and there are legal issues to go through, he said.

One of his goals is “bringing back energy in our community.”

“With the new election, that’s going to happen. You know that energy you had to get your guy elected, or your girl elected? Don’t stop. I really preach involvement and youth involvement,” he said.

As the youngest member and first black person elected to the Dardanelle City Council, he wants to be a role model, he said.

“That means a lot to me, and I’m probably going to get emotional,” he said. “I never saw myself here today doing what I get to do.

“I love Dardanelle. I was the only African-American male in my senior class [of 130]. That means times are changing.

A black woman previously served on the Dardanelle City Council, he said, but she was appointed.

Woods said he appreciates being able to sit at the table “with these great men and women.” And a new mayor will take a seat in January. McGee didn’t run for re-election, and Dardanelle-born-and-raised Jimmy Witt was elected.

Woods said McGee has been “truly amazing,” but he expects great things from the incoming mayor.

“I’m excited for change. I pay homage to our previous mayor because she has helped me get where I am today, but change is good.”

Woods said Witt “did a good job as Yell County judge, so I think he’ll come in and do some good work here, too.”

McGee said Woods “has always impressed me with his appreciation and his love dedicated to our community.”

Woods said one of the more important responsibilities the council has is “putting people in the right leadership positions, from the police department to fire chief to head of departments, really doing that, because when we place people in those positions, they run those departments.”

The assistant editor said he doesn’t see a conflict working for the newspaper — the watchdog of the community — and being on the City Council, too.

“I took myself away from being involved in the newspaper when it comes down to city issues,” he said. “I want the newspaper to report on the good and the bad, not just the good. I’m not wanting, ‘Hey, make sure I don’t get in the paper.’”

Another reporter covers the meetings. “I appreciate that in my mind, I’m not stuck in the middle,” Woods said.

Woods said he talked to the city attorney about what can be discussed and what can’t from board meetings because he wants to follow the state’s Freedom of Information Act and be transparent about the city’s business.

“It is vital that our community knows what we’re doing,” Woods said.

Woods is immersed in community activities. He serves on nine boards of directors. He’s president of the Dardanelle Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors and chairman of the River Valley Prevention Coalition Board, which focuses on preventing youth drug use. He’s on the ARVAC Inc. Board of Directors, which administers the programs of the state Department of Human Services, the Office of Community Service and other entities in nine counties.

Woods also serves on the River Valley United Way Board, committees with the Dardanelle and Russellville area chambers of commerce and the Circle of Friends state board of directors, which supports Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

It’s a lengthy resume for a 26-year-old, and Woods has big plans.

“I would like to run my own nonprofit; I’ve been in the business world, starting my fifth year with the newspaper. … I want to be in the nonprofit world to help others. I’d love to have a Dream Center (a nonprofit organization) in Dardanelle run by me. That’s my big goal.”

He has political aspirations, too.

“I would like to serve one more term on the City Council and run as a state rep. — that has been a dream of mine,” Woods said. “I want to retire someday and become mayor of Dardanelle.

“Right now, I’m very young. I don’t think I would be respected as a mayor. I would still like to get married and have kids.”

His goal is to give back to his hometown and be an example to others.

“When we work together, no matter what background, what age, what gender, we can make good things happen,” he said.

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

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