Marilyn Sellers retires as KM’s City Manager

By Loretta Cozart

Last week, the Herald caught up with Marilyn Sellers just one week before her retirement. Sellers is currently acting as Assistant City Manager since the new City Manager, Jim Palenick, took over that role on January 1. Her last official day with the city of Kings Mountain was Tuesday, January 31.

We asked Marilyn what plans she has after retirement, and she shared, “My daughter is getting married in June.” Marilyn and her husband, Jody, have two daughters, Johana, and Morgan. “I am also preparing my house in the city for sale. We are building a house on my husband’s family property in Oak Grove and my daughter is remodeling the family home place there. We enjoy boating and camping. Jody enjoys restoring cars and even has a YouTube channel, so I’m sure I’ll be helping with that.”

At the December city council meeting, it became evident this is a close-knit family. In passing on the morning of December 15, Marilyn mentioned to her daughter Johana that that night’s city council meeting would be her last sitting in the city manager’s chair. That got Johana’s attention, and unbeknownst to her mother, she sprang into action.

She called City Clerk Karen Tucker and together with sister Morgan, they worked on some surprises for the city council meeting. At that meeting, Johana spoke about her mother. As family sat in the council chambers, and sister Morgan listened in from California, Johana shared stories of their mom, and that, “She came to work at the city through a job with a staffing company. Little did she know that she’d spend the rest of her career here.”

“To mom, city hall is more than a government building or a place to pay a bill… This building is also where my mom and dad met. Back in 1991, dad came to city hall to pay a bill. Little did he know he’d meet the love of his life. But for mom, she’s had a headache ever since,” Johana said laughing.

Marilyn’s daughters used See SELLERS, Page 5A