about needing to drop off some paperwork at the same church
that we fi rst met, Dix Creek Baptist Church. It was November
30th, 2012, a Friday night, and I told Ashley we would go
grab dinner in Waynesville afterwards. When she walked in,
the church was empty. It was just Ashley and me and I asked
her to marry me. I was so nervous and excited that I forgot to
kneel.
Moxxie: Ashley, did you know he was going to propose to you
that night?
Ashley: Not in that moment. We had been talking about it,
but I was not expecting the proposal that night.
Zeb: Well, after about two years of dating, once the dust settled,
I did ask her how much longer she was going to give me.
She quickly said six months.
Ashley: Yeah, I wasn’t waiting forever.
Zeb: July 13th, 2013, we got married at the First Baptist
Church of Canton where both of our grandparents were members.
Th e rest is history and we just celebrated our 5th year
anniversary last year.
Moxxie: How is it being a school teacher in todays day and
age? Hearing Zeb talk a lot about his hopes and dreams for
these children to be raised with hope and change for Canton,
do you think our children are seeing things that way?
Ashley: I think that being a kid today is a lot harder than when
we were growing up. With cell phones and social media and
the expectations we put on our children, it’s harder. But our
children today have so much more access to information. I do
think they have taken notice in what’s happened in Canton
and what’s coming. I think that they do see the growth with
new businesses opening and having new places to work.
Moxxie: Do you remember the moment, the exact date and
place you were when you decided to tell Ashley that you wanted
to run for Mayor of Canton?
Zeb: Oh WOW! I tried to warn Ashley early on that this was
something I wanted to do. It was important to me from a
young age. It is a hobby… I get paid nothing to be mayor. I
must keep my day job as a lawyer. I believe that people need
to get off the sidelines and get in the game. If you care about
something, you need to stand up for what you believe, you
need to fi ght for it, and you need to get involved. Apathy is
such a thick fog, it gets into people’s minds. I wish more people
would get involved. Th ere are so many wonderful opportunities
to become a part of the solutions and growth here.
Moxxie: In order to stay focused on moving forward and not
get pulled down, what is one thing you live by in your position.
Zeb: I stay away from reading comments on social media. I
take the “Atta boys” with the “go to hells,” equally. My secret
weapon is Ashely. My mouth to God’s ear, she is my secret
weapon. She is my anchor. During the highest of highs, she
brings me back down to earth again, and during the lowest of
lows, she is there to pick me up. If you’re going to be in this
line of work, I think you must have someone like Ashley in
your life to keep you sustained and moving forward.
Moxxie: So, what’s the next step for you both as a family? Are
there babies in the future?
Ashley: Well, we’ve been focusing on each other the past fi ve
years. We have traveled and done a lot of cool things. We’ve
enjoyed it, but right now, we are just trying to fi nish our house
remodel. (laughing)
Zeb: It is a very common question we get, especially from the
ladies in our church.
Moxxie: So, what’s the next move? I have a feeling that being
Mayor of Canton is not your fi nal stop.
Zeb: You cannot fi nd happiness in politics. I fi nd happiness in
Ashley, being around our friends, and traveling. What other
adventures lie ahead… who knows? We’re not fi nished yet in
Canton and have a lot more work to do, but we are getting
there. I’ve always thought if other adventures are ahead, people
will fi nd Ashley and I when the time is right. If we decide to
do anything else, it will be centered around fi nding practical
solutions to the problems we face that rise about partisan warfare.
Time and time again we have witnessed the goodness in
Canton and Haywood County and we feel it’s our obligation
to give back.
7
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