Former Mayor Bill Hughes Recognized at Distinguished Citizen

James Hylemon, Executive at Daniel Boone Council, BSA and Distinguished Citizen Bill Hughes

On Tuesday, March 5, 2019 at a fundraising dinner for the Daniel Boone Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Mr. Bill Hughes was the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Citizen Award.  

Bill is a native of Murphy.  His grandfather, who raised him, was station agent at the L&N Railroad in Murphy.  Bill developed a deep love for all things pertaining to railroads.  He received his education in the local school system and went on to Western Carolina University where he received three degrees in education.  After teaching for just six years, he was selected to be Principal of Murphy Elementary School at the age of 27.  This made him the youngest Principal in North Carolina public education.

During this time, he became active in Boy Scouts as a leader for several years.  One of his highest honors was when he received The Order of the Long Leaf Pine which is the highest honor a citizen can receive from the governor of North Carolina.  When he decided to retire from being a Principal, he had already served ten years on the City County and he could see it was time for the town of Murphy to move forward.  He was elected Mayor in 1997 and brought several new and improved ideas to the area.  He retired on December 4, 2017 and he LOVES retirement.  He would also love to see the train return to Murphy.

A total of $6,345 was raised during Tuesday evening's fundraising dinner to support

*Full program can be seen in photos