Editor’s note: Portions of this story were originally published in the July 16, 2020, and July 22, 2021, issues of the Telegraph-Times-Monitor.
BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Terry and Jennifer Vaughan of Starke have experienced some big life changes recently and are prepared to make an even bigger one when they move to Thomasville, Georgia.
Last year, Terry Vaughan announced he wasn’t seeking reelection as Bradford County’s supervisor of elections — a position he served in for 30 years. Jennifer followed him into retirement, with the 2020-21 school year being her last as principal at Starke Elementary School. That brought a close to a 34-year career in education.
In an Oct. 13 post on Facebook, Terry Vaughan wrote: “Jennifer and I will be retiring to Thomasville, Georgia, later this year. We learned of an opportunity regarding a condo downtown and decided this was a time in our life to downsize and move out of our comfort zone.”
The post generated 361 comments, with many, of course, expressing how much Terry and Jennifer would be missed.
“Terry, you and Jennifer will leave quite a void leaving Bradford County, and you will be missed greatly by the many friends you have made over the years,” John Conneely wrote.
Tom Smith wrote: “Terry, you and Jennifer are two of the best people I have ever met. Starke will never be the same.”
“We will miss you both so much,” Patty Kobiata wrote. “You will both forever ben known as Bradford County’s finest couple. Thanks for all the great memories you guys.”
Paula Register wrote: “Both of you will definitely be missed in Bradford County. Y’all have touched so many lives here.”
“The impact you made in Starke and Braford County will never be forgotten,” Paul Hutchins wrote.
A reception honoring the Vaughans, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Starke, Dale and Pam Woodruff, James and Bobbie Sue O’Brian, Johnnie and Melba Johnson, Amanda Seyfang, and Bob and Carol Milner, will be held Tuesday, Nov. 16, at the Bradford Agricultural Fairgrounds arena from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
Proclamations by the city of Starke and Bradford County designate Nov. 16, 2021, as Terry and Jennifer Vaughan Day, ciiting how the Vaughans have given generously of their time and talents in dedicating their lives to the service of others.
Using ‘gifts and graces’ in role of elections supervisor
It’s probably hard for a lot of people to wrap their minds around the fact Terry Vaughan is moving away because those same people are still adjusting to the fact he’s no longer Bradford’s supervisor of elections. He was appointed by then Gov. Lawton Chiles to serve out the remaining term of Neva Flynn, who informed the governor she was resigning on Sept. 30, 1991, and stayed in office until he served out his 2017-20 term. Vaughan faced opposition only twice — in the 1992 and 2000 elections.
“I’ve been so blessed,” Vaughan told the Telegraph prior to his retirement. “It’s been a wonderful ride. I never envisioned that it would last this long. Politics can be a very fickle friend. I’ve just been very fortunate to have been in this position through all these decades.”
Before Vaughan was appointed as supervisor of elections in 1991, he had decided that he was going to run for the office anyway. The Florida State University graduate, who was the general manager of WEAG 106.3–FM at the time, thought his background as a Communications major would be a plus in that position.
“I’ve always had an interest in politics and in the public-relations aspect that it involves,” Vaughan said. “At that time, I was managing the radio station and kind of saw the power of communication, so to speak. When you think about it, the supervisor of elections position is the only constitutional office in which participation by the citizenry is completely voluntary. It involves the promotion of the process, instilling in confidence in voters.
“I felt that the gifts and graces I possessed would fit the job.”
Vaughan said he had no interest at first in being considered by the governor to serve out the remainder of Flynn’s term. He thought Carol Milner, who had worked in the office for 16 years and was the chief deputy supervisor at that time, should be the appointee.
However, Vaughan noticed a trend in the governor’s appointments to fill vacancies in constitutional offices — they usually had no ties to the office they were appointed to.
“I would’ve been satisfied if Mrs. Milner had received the appointment,” Vaughan said. “She certainly had a lot of merit and deserved it, but it was just smart to at least put my name in the hat.”
On Oct. 1, 1991, Vaughan received a call from Chiles’ office, informing him that he had been selected. One of the first things he did afterward was ask Milner to remain in the office, which she did. Milner worked alongside Vaughan until retiring in 2013.
“I’m not sure I could’ve made it without her help,” Vaughan said. “I’ve been forever grateful for that. She remains a wonderful friend to this day.”
What Vaughan enjoyed the most about the position was creating lasting relationships.
“As a result of being supervisor of elections, I’ve made lifelong friends — not only in Bradford County and the surrounding regions, but all throughout the state,” he said. “So many former supervisors, for example, remain dear friends, as do current supervisors.
“No matter where I travel in the state of Florida, I have a friend there as a result of my tenure in my office.”
Vaughan was more than just a supervisor of elections. He was known as “Scott in the Morning” during his on-air job at WEAG prior to holding public office. People still heard Vaughan on WEAG, though, as he handled the play-by-play duties for WEAG in its broadcasts of Bradford High School football games. He was the Voice of the Tornadoes for 31 years, with 2015 being his last season behind the mic.
Being behind the mic must have certainly been easy for Vaughan — or he made it look easy anyway. He stepped up and emceed numerous events every year.
Vaughan has also been active in the Kiwanis Club of Starke and Boy Scouts of America’s North Florida Council as well as a board member for Community State Bank and Ronald McDonald House Charities–North Central Florida.
Though all of his endeavors, Vaughan met a lot of people and made a lot of friends. When he was honored at the May 13, 2021, Boy Scouts of America/North Florida Council Starke American Values Dinner, he said life is about relationships.
“Therefore, I’m a very rich man,” Vaughan said.
From make-believe to real-life educator
Jennifer Vaughan played teacher when she was a child, and like any child who participates in make-believe, plush animals helped her enact the fantasy.
“I was one of those ones who had the chalkboard in the garage and did have the stuffed animals that I was teaching,” Vaughan said.
Vaughan and her parents, Bill and Cathy Nix, moved to Starke in 1979. Vaughan graduated from BHS in 1982 and attended various colleges before completing her four-year degree at the University of North Florida, which is where she later earned her master’s degree. Real-life teaching began at Clay Hill Elementary, where she worked for eight years. She then moved to Keystone Heights Elementary, where she taught multiple grade levels for 16 years.
Teaching at the elementary level was appealing, Vaughan said, because students at those ages are funny and easy to interact with.
“They still like you at that age,” Vaughan said. “Some may roll their eyes at you, but they still like you and still have that level of respect.”
It was while at KHES that she worked toward her degree in Educational Leadership. She began looking for jobs, but she didn’t want a position that would take her too far away from her home in Starke.
Then came a chance meeting with Brenda Donaldson, who had just been named the principal at Hampton Elementary.
“I ran into Brenda and told her congratulations,” Vaughan said. “We talked about her job. She said, ‘You know, there’s an AP position open at Starke Elementary.’”
Vaughan applied for the assistant principal position at Starke and was hired, which meant she had a job a mile from home.
Making the move into administration was done to give herself a new challenge. Vaughan still loved teaching, however, and said she could’ve been happy staying in the classroom if an administrative position hadn’t come open close to home.
Getting the position at Starke Elementary impacted her career moving forward in administration because she said she had a great mentor in Principal Lynn Melvin. Vaughan said Melvin set the bar high as to how an administrator deals with people, whether they be students or parents.
“She tried to be positive,” Vaughan said. “You can’t do that all the time as a principal, but she really tried to have that positive interaction with everyone.”
Vaughan had the chance to get a sneak peek at the school she would go to for her first position as principal. In 2013, her third and final year as assistant principal at Starke Elementary, Starke Elementary had to be closed for a while due to mold issues, so students had to attend other schools in the district. Vaughan went with some of those students to Lawtey Elementary. She was appointed principal at that school in 2014.
“It was a great school to start at because there were two teachers per grade level,” Vaughan said. “Being at a smaller school, you come up with ideas and do things a lot quicker. It’s just easier to do things in a smaller school.”
She enjoyed her time at Lawtey, but Vaughan also enjoyed the opportunity later to return to where she got her administrative start.
“I was excited to go back to Starke Elementary,” said Vaughan, who was named its principal in 2017. “I was familiar with the teachers, faculty and staff.”
The future
Neither Jennifer nor Terry mentioned much in the way of specifics when it came to future plans when they were interviewed by the Telegraph about their retiring. Both mentioned doing some traveling, with Jennifer saying they have discussed taking a cruise along the Eastern Seaboard.
Both said they anticipated remaining involved in the community and attending events, with Terry saying he expected he’d continue performing emcee duties here and there.
Terry did say he and Jennifer would continue making trips to Thomasville, a city they discovered and fell in love while traveling to attend FSU football games.
Now, it looks as if the visits they’ll be making will be to Starke as Thomasville will become their new home.
Starke and Bradford County, though, will always be special to the Vaughans and never forgotten. As part of his Facebook post in which he announced the upcoming move, Terry wrote: “We will forever be grateful for our Bradford County friends, and this will always be ‘home’ in our heart.”
Those Bradford County friends, likewise, are grateful for the Vaughans. Carol Slater, in commenting on Terry’s Facebook post about moving, wrote: “Two wonderful people, who always put others first and live life as an example of how we all should.”
In discussing his retirement with the Telegraph, Terry Vaughan said it brought to mind the final scene in one of his favorite movies: “Cast Away,” with Tom Hanks. Hanks’ character, after returning to civilization after living on a deserted island for four years after surviving a plane crash, stands at a literal crossroads, contemplating which direction to take as he moves on with his life.
In regard to the figurative crossroads he’s experienced in life, Terry said he’s relied upon God.
“I don’t think God choreographs our every step,” Vaughan said. “He gives us discretion to make decisions, but I do think he provides nudges, as I like to call them.”
Standing at the crossroads of retirement, the Vaughans, perhaps receiving one of those “nudges,” decided to travel in the direction toward Thomasville.
Just so you know, driving to Thomasville from Starke is similar in distance to driving from Starke to Orlando, so if you’re up to seeing why Terry and Jennifer think Thomasville is so special, they’d love to have you. As Terry wrote on his Facebook post, “We love and appreciate you. We hope you will visit!”
