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Angie Odom has announced her candidacy for County Commissioner to represent the Third District of Carter County. Odom is one of three Republican nominees for the office.
Odom, 52, is a Carter County native and the daughter of Mildred Manning Isaacs and the late Rev. Charles Manning. She has been married 28 years to Leslie Earl Odom of Roan Mountain and is the mother of two children, Bethany and Bella Hope. She also has two grandchildren, Sophia and Colton.
A graduate of Elizabethton High School, Odom is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. She was stationed in San Diego and served on the USS Cape Cod. Odom is a former daycare director in addition to having served as director of the extended school program for Elizabethton City Schools. It was while working there, Odom said she felt God leading her to start Abortion Alternatives and Women’s Center in 2000.
“As the founder and director of that organization, I have seen so many different areas of needs in our community. I have learned over the 22 years of serving thousands in our area on a limited budget, without the help of government funding, how to get the most out of what God provides. I have been to Nashville many times going from office to office presenting packets to senators and representatives on concerns in our community. I had the opportunity to be chosen by U.S. Congressman Phil Roe to represent Tennessee in the Angel of Adoption Program in Washington DC which allows me the opportunity to reach out to those in office on a different level with concerns,” Odom said.
She further noted: “People coming together in this community and working together is proven to work. I have seen it in action. Being frugal and deciding the most important ways to spend money is so important. Meeting the day-to-day needs of the people in this community is a desire that God put on my heart. I see people struggle with transportation, food, housing, employment and childcare issues every day. I would love to help our town improve these particular areas so people don’t have to use neighboring communities to get the resources they need.”
Odom said another reason she is running for commission is that she has a third-grader enrolled in a county school and is very interested in her education as well as the education of others.
“The issue of consolidating the Carter County Schools needs to be examined closer, keeping in mind that those properties will still be there even when they’re empty for basic upkeep. Also, the cost of school consolidation and the importance of having ample staff must be considered. I’ve been serving free meals to the kids in this community every summer for the last 20 years and delivering it to their homes. To some of these kids, their teachers and school staff are their family. In fact, school is the only family for some of these children. We all need to keep an open mind and not make any decisions without looking at all the facts regarding the budget, but the facts regarding the children,” Odom said.
She noted that this summer that Carter County and the Elizabethton City Schools were the only schools in the area that did not participate in the summer feeding program. Odom said she was told it was a “staffing issue.”
“If all the other surrounding areas provide these services to children, we need to reach out to them and find out how they made this happen so that we can better serve the community and families of this county,” Odom said.
“These are just a few of my concerns and ideas, but as a commissioner I want to hear the concerns of our citizens, and I hope to have the opportunity to vote on true facts and not opinions. We need to use our common sense as a superpower and come together as heroes for our community,” Odom said.