Times Staff Writer
LAKE BUTLER — The city of Lake Butler has its first woman and African American mayor, and Annette Redman is very proud to fill the position.
Redman was serving as vice mayor when the resignation of then Mayor Jack Schenck made it necessary for her to move up and fill the position late last year. City Commissioner David Stegall was selected by the board to fill Redman’s position as vice mayor.
The board voted to wait until the council seat left vacant by Redman’s rise to the chair position could be filled through an election in the spring before electing someone to serve as mayor with a full board.
Until that time, Redman is titled as acting mayor and Stegall as acting vice mayor. For now, Redman is chairing the meetings and proud to do so, hoping to be selected by her peers as mayor for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Redman is a life-long resident of Lake Butler (except for her time in the military) and comes from a family of 14 children, where she is one-half of four sets of twins.
She graduated Union County High School in 1975 and worked a number of jobs while deciding what she wanted to do with her life. She joined the U.S. Army in 1980 and did her basic training at Fort Dix in New Jersey, where she discovered real cold weather for the first time (and still does not like it). She trained as a chaplain’s assistant and starting fulfilling that role at her first posting at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.
After Maryland she was posted to serve in Germany, then returned to the states serving at Fort Ord, California, then it was back to Germany, then Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Fort McClellan, Alabama, came next in her postings, followed by service in Korea and finishing in West Point, New York. After 17 and one-half years she retired as an E7, sergeant first class, and came home.
“I truly enjoyed the time I spent in the military,” Redman said. “I got to see places I had only read about in history books. It was nice to go and see, especially Europe (she visited France, Greece, Belgium and Switzerland) and saw some beautiful country. I had the opportunity to train with other country’s military — German, British and other NATO countries — and met some wonderful people.”
Redman said she was offered positions in New York after her retirement, but decided to come home because of family, the people she missed in her hometown and to get out of the cold. When she first got home, she worked at the VA in Lake City, then later at CMC in Starke for 10 years until they closed. She began there working in the parts room, but worked her way up to purchasing before the company shut down.
She had earned in bachelor’s degree in general studies while in Europe as well as a teaching certificate through the military, so she applied to the Union County School District. She worked as a paraprofessional at Lake Butler Elementary School for more than 10 years and now is working as a substitute teacher, mostly at Lake Butler Middle School.
Redman first ran for the Lake Butler City Commission eight years ago and is now in her third term, which will end in 2026.
“When I first ran I just wanted to be part of a group working to ensure a good future for generations to come,” Redman said. “I wanted to make sure there was something here for the families, opportunities for the young people, like recreation, and to keep our money here in the community. I was always especially worried about the young people and what should be done for them.”
Redman said she still is focused on working toward the best possible future for the city. Her focus on the welfare of the city’s youth has led her to become involved with creating a regular movie night during warm weather to allow families to attend events together that are both appropriate to family viewing and fun for everyone. She is also one of the most involved proponents for the FarmShare food distributions, not only supporting the program but also participating on site to sort, box and pass out the food.
“I only want what is best for our citizens,” Redman said. “This is my hometown and I cannot think of any better way to serve the people who live here. Everything I do is for the betterment of this wonderful place we live in. I work every day to make that happen.”
