By MIKE HELM

Most people know Amon McKenzie as a two-term county commissioner and car salesman at Quality Ford in Whiteville. McKenzie is seeking re-election this year to a third term and will face Republican Randy Adams on the November ballot.

Some know the rest of the story of Amon McKenzie – a retired Army veteran with 24 years of service who enlisted during the height of the Vietnam War, earning two Bronze Stars for combat and two meritorious service medals, as well as a box full of other honors.

McKenzie graduated from Mt. Olive High School in 1965 and then attended Fayetteville Community College, graduating in Dec. 1966. Mount Olive was one of the county’s “black” schools when McKenzie attended. The school system wasn’t desegregated until 1967.

When McKenzie graduated from college, he saw the Army as a way to a better future in a heavily segregated society. He served two combat tours in Vietnam – from 1967 to 1968 and 1970 to 1971.

“I wasn’t letting the fact that there was a war stand in the way of my future,” he said. “If I had to fight for my country, I was proud to do it.”

McKenzie began his first tour of duty with the 101st Airborne and came home with the 82nd Airborne. He served his second tour with the 173 Airborne Brigade.

“I was a jumpmaster,” McKenzie said, “and I had the honor of being jumpmaster when General W.C. Westmoreland made his last jump before retiring.”

After his second tour in Vietnam, McKenzie spent 40 months in Germany with the field artillery and then had to make a career decision.

“To stay on my career path, I either had to become a drill instructor or go into recruiting,” he said.

McKenzie chose the latter and spent the last 12 years of his career in the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Campbell, Ky., retiring in March 1990. McKenzie came back to Columbus County and went to work for Quality Ford.

In 1998, McKenzie defeated the first black to serve on the county board in modern times, Chadbourn’s C.W. Williams. He said he became involved in politics to serve people.

“I wanted to help,” he said. “I felt that if I became a county commissioner I could help people economically to progress and move forward.”

“I had a lot of respect for (C.W. Williams), he added. “He had the wisdom but I was a little younger and stronger. I’ve sought his counsel (since being elected).”

McKenzie said politics is a whole different world from the inside than what it appears from the outside looking in.

“I have been successful in accomplishing some of my agenda because I worked with my colleagues,” he said. “If you work against everyone, you don’t accomplish anything.”

McKenzie said of all his accomplishments he is most proud of the reforms in county government.

“The county has finally begun to see the light that we have to conform to the way the rest of the world is doing business if we’re going to compete for industry,” he said. “We have managed to search for common ground and eliminate the good ol’ boy system. I differ with a lot of them and they differ with me but we can come together and do what’s in the best interests of the county.”

McKenzie advocates permanently lowering the hookup fees for water districts and making the water districts viable by creating a countywide system.

“The tax (in Districts 2 and 3) should be eliminated,” he said. “People who can’t get water should not be taxed. If water doesn’t run by your house, you shouldn’t have to pay for it.”

McKenzie said he opposes countywide elections of commissioners because blacks still couldn’t get elected by a majority of white voters.

“I wish it could be,” he said. “I think if the nation was set up the right way and people were judged on merit (instead of race) then we could do it. Based on historical data, that is not the case. The current system is working and electing minority candidates.”

McKenzie said he is optimistic that recent developments such as the soybean plant in Whiteville, that will need 150,000 acres of soybean, and the Dole Foods plant planned for Kannapolis would help stimulate the economy.

“We’re an agricultural county,” he said. “We have plenty of space in Columbus County.”