Bobby Ray Owens has announced his bid for re-election to the Opp City Council in District 1.

“It has been my honor to be your councilman for 12 years and I am looking forward to the next four years providing leadership to our city, if re-elected,” he said.

Owens retired from Opp and Micolas Cotton Mill after 45 years of employment, which he says allows him to have the time to devote to being a councilman.

“Opp has been my family home for half of a century and I feel blessed to live in a town like Opp,” he said. “I’ve received much and try to give as much in return, working and trying to help people have a better way of life is my goal.”

Owens and his wife, Virginia, have been married for 54 years.

“She has been a hometown businesswoman for 53 years and continues to run a successful embroidery business,” he said. “We have one son, Greg, who graduated from Opp High School in 1984 and then pursued a degree in environmental science at Troy University. Employed by BSF Chemical Co., of McIntosh, he resides in Mobile where he lives with his wife, Tana, and twin girls, Krista and Kayla, who are both recent registered nurse graduates of Spring Hill College and bother pursuing further education to become doctors.”

Owens has served on the Opp Utilities Board for two years, several terms on the Opp & Micolas Credit Union executive board and completed certification of municipal official and advanced certification of municipal official.

Owens said he has worked to help complete the following paving projects in District 1:

• 84 West from Opp Exxon to the bypass;

• 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 15th and 16th Streets;

• Palmer Street;

• Rosalyn Drive;

• Samuel Avenue;

• Douglas Avenue; and

• 7th Street to the end of Rosalie.