NATCHEZ — Darryl Grennell didn’t want to accidentally let the county government to grow stagnant under his watch.

That’s why he is leaving his position as a member of the board of supervisors that he’s held since 1998.

“This wasn’t a decision that came lightly, and it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision,” he said. “It was made after a lot of reflection. I am not sure how many new ideas I have, and I still want to see Adams County move forward, so when I decided not to run, I was hoping somebody would come along and say, ‘Let’s move it higher.’”

Elected at 32 from a slate of nine candidates, Grennell has served on the board continuously since his first election while teaching full-time at Alcorn State University — usually taking on an extra class — and the time has come to take a break and take on some roles that are less stressful, he said.

“I am 50 years old, and I will find something to do, but I’ve never even been on a vacation in the 27 years I’ve been teaching,” he said. “I hope to get to some stress-free life, and if that means pushing a broom, I am OK with that.”

In his early years in office, those stresses meant watching Natchez’s remaining industries fold, one after the other — Titan Tire, then Johns-Manville and then International Paper.

The scramble to save the plants was tough, he said, and when IP announced its closure and the local leadership said in no uncertain terms nothing could be done, Grennell and former Supervisor Lynwood Easterling went to then-Sen. Trent Lott and had him set up a meeting with IP’s president.

“We did an eye-to-eye with him to plead for Adams County, but they told us nothing could be done,” Grennell said. “After that we tucked our tails and flew back to Adams County, but at least we tried.”

But not every manufacturing closure ended in such a sour note. When the owners of the then-Mississippi River Pulp approached the supervisors for help keeping the pulp recycling plant open until it could be sold, Grennell and outgoing Chancery Clerk Tommy O’Beirne went to Washington, D.C., to find out what they could do.

The plant was shuttered, but eventually von Drehle purchased it and hired back most of the work force. In the next year, the plant is set to expand and add more jobs than it had before.

Grennell said he still thinks the closure of the factories at the turn of the century was shortsighted.

“I think if they looked back, they would do so with regret, especially post-Hurricane Katrina,” he said. “The products they manufactured at Johns-Manville were what they used in the hurricane rehabilitation efforts down on the coast.”

But, he said, despite the admittedly hard times that followed for the county, it proved the area is more resilient than people gave it credit for.

“I remember when I was a kid, people would say, ‘When IP shuts down, Natchez might as well turn the lights off,’” Grennell said. “A lot of that kind of thinking, we proved to be myths.”

In the intervening years, the board of supervisors never had to raise taxes.

They’ve also worked to encourage expansion at the Natchez-Adams County Port — including adding the T-dock and a profitable warehouse — and purchased the former IP property so it can be marketed to the next generation of industry, he said.

“We made all those decisions in order to create a future for industrial growth,” he said.

They’ve covered more roads and bridges than he can count, Grennell said, and upgraded most of the county buildings. The county is ending its fiscal years with significant cash balances.

“Adams County is doing better, and we still struggle in some areas, but we are improving,” Grennell said.

Even little things, such as adding an IT department in the last term and the adoption of a county flag, are a part of the legacy of which Grennell said he’s happy to be a part.

“I know some people may see that as a minor thing, but Adams County has an identity, and that is a great thing,” he said.

In the early years of the board, the late Supervisor Maxie Wallace took Grennell under his wings and mentored him, showing him the ropes of how county government works, while O’Beirne showed Grennell the bookkeeping and networking moves necessary to keep things going.

Another member of county government, the then-county inventory clerk who was later elected District 3 supervisor, Angela Hutchins, had campaigned against him.

“But after that, after I was elected, she came to me and said, ‘Darryl, I will support you — and she did,” Grennell said. “And through the years, we’ve become the best of friends.”

He’s worked with some good boards through the years — and has served as president multiple times — but the board he’s leaving has been exemplary and has worked incredibly well together, Grennell said.

“When I announced I wasn’t going to run again, I was worried my colleagues wouldn’t pay that much attention to me and would treat me as a lame duck, but all the board members treated me with the utmost respect throughout the term,” he said.

Now, while he looks for something new to do in life — he’s also retired from teaching — Grennell said he’s thankful to God for granting and protecting him during all the years he had in office.

“I’m especially thankful to my parents and family, and my constituents, who have always supported me,” he said.

“They keep you motivated. It is important to have somebody to give you a good word to stay motivated, and they did, and I think that is what has preserved us through those tough years.”