Former City of Crossville Mayor James Mayberry being remembered as a mentor who was instrumental in foundational work on major economic developments.
Cumberland County Mayor Allen Foster said Mayberry served as a vital guide to him during his first term in office after the two established a partnership based on mutual respect between the city and county governments.
“He took me under his wing, he was in his second term as Mayor, I was in my first term as Mayor, and we agreed early on, city and county sometimes just don’t agree, but that we would work through any problem and that we would still be friends when it was all over,” Foster said.
Foster said the former mayor was instrumental in laying the groundwork for major retail projects like Buc-ee’s and Rural King.
“I guess one of my special moments with James was when I decided I was going to run and I’d talked to a couple people about it and one of them suggested, he said ‘you need to go see James Mayberry,'” Foster said. “And so I just showed up down at the furniture store and went in and found James and he found us a couple of recliners and we sat and talked for probably an hour and he was just so good to help me, told me he was going to support me and he certainly did and he was my mentor and friend and I’m so blessed to have known James Mayberry.”
Foster said Mayberry earned the nickname “The Hammer” during a joint meeting where he aggressively challenged state of Tennessee officials to protect the interests of local residents. Foster said Mayberry often worked behind the scenes to help others and likely entered politics only out of a genuine desire to be of service to the community.
Foster said the long-term impact of Mayberry’s leadership is visible in the current construction projects and upcoming economic announcements throughout the area. Foster said Mayberry frequently expressed a desire to see physical progress, often stating that he wanted to see bulldozers moving dirt on the various deals they had negotiated together.
“I know with- worked with him on the Buc-ee’s deal and Rural King and all these other things and some other things that we’re probably going to be announcing over the next few weeks,” Foster said. “All of this came from the work that James did as the Mayor of Crossville so many years ago.”
Foster said Mayberry’s influence extended beyond his political and business achievements through his role as a father, uncle, and mentor to young people in the community. Foster said the Mayberry family maintained a reputation for high-quality customer service at their furniture store while James Mayberry remained available to help anyone at any time.
Foster said Mayberry was not one to want the spotlight. The work he did was for the love of the citizens of Crossville and not for the attention.
“You know, I would just thank him for being my mentor,” Foster said. “But if he was listening today, he would be aggravated at all of us for making such a big deal out of this, that’s just the kind of guy he was.”
