Mayor Edd Akers on Becoming Mayor of Branson, MO

Branson, MO Mayor Edd Akers was born and raised in the Ozark Mountains. In the seven decades since, he’s been the chairman of Skaggs Community Hospital, President of the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and chairman for the Taney County Board of Adjustment, to name a few. This servant leader shares why he became mayor at age 77.

Why he wanted to become mayor: “I’ve grown up here, and I love this community. There was a lot of discord in the community. I was being approached by people who were frustrated with some roads we’d gone down in the past. I don’t know everything, but I do know some ways to reduce our debt and seek income so that we can have a viable, vibrant community in the future.”

His vision for the role: “I would like to bring good communication within our community. I would hope to bring people to a point where they’re recognizing that you have to look ahead, you have to have vision. You can’t always look at the snake closest to your foot; there are more down the road.”

First thing he put in his mayoral office: “My wife would tell you I’m a pack rat, but I’ve brought in some things that I thought would be helpful. I’ve collected for years comments, idioms, sayings, and I have a drawer that has information in it about being inspired, about looking beyond. It’s my place to go to think and exercise my brain muscles.”

Where he finds inspiration: “I’m a man of faith. I quite often pray over direction and figure out a path. I also recognize that there are people who are wiser than I am. I grew up in Silver Dollar City and know the Herschend boys. I was in the Shepherd of the Hills play. My roots, my whole being, are tied to this community. So I find my focus for the future from all I’ve seen of the past. And if you plan ahead, if you do things well, good things happen.”