Travelers Rest Mayor Brandy Amidon began her address at the Municipal Association of SC 2025 Annual Meeting by expressing great excitement. Delegates from cities and towns across the state elected Amidon as the president at the conference.
When first asked to join the Association’s board, she said she agreed to the opportunity, “and the main reason why is because the [Association] has been so helpful to me over the years. I cannot tell you how many times I've had a ‘911 moment’ where I was just in dire need of information — and the Municipal Association team, they're so helpful and comforting.”
In the City of Travelers Rest in northern Greenville County, Amidon has served on city council since 2010, and was elected mayor in 2018. She has served on the Municipal Association’s board since 2020, and is a graduate of the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government as well as the Advanced MEO Institute.
Amidon said she had undertaken a project to discuss the Association’s work with mayors around the state to get a better sense of their concerns, worries and points of pride, ultimately talking to about 60 mayors. Many common themes emerged from these conversations: first, that local elected officials are among a small group of people dedicated to better their municipalities, even when it means “we can’t go to the grocery store without hearing about the pothole on Main Street.”
“Every mayor I talk to genuinely cares about their city or town. They genuinely care about their team of councilmembers and how they work together, whether it’s the hometown they grew up in, or maybe they moved in a few years ago – they truly want the best for their residents and communities.”
She also found that “what’s top of mind for our South Carolina mayors is also top of mind for the Municipal Association,” whether it be promoting civility among city councils and the larger public, or advocating among state lawmakers to maintain cities’ ability to make the best decisions for their communities.
In asking her fellow mayors what they appreciated about the Municipal Association, Amidon said “overwhelmingly, education and advocacy were themes over and over again. They stood out as clear attributes of the organization. We really need to give our Field Services representatives some capes, because they got mentioned in almost every call — ‘We have them on speed dial, and they come running when we call them.’”
She said she felt honored to be representing the state’s 271 cities and towns in her new role, and invited officials to continue talking to her.
“We really do have hard jobs, and we need to take advantage of each other's experiences to work through those hard times together, because the rewards of seeing our cities and towns do their best are so worth it,” she said.