With the beginning of a new year, there will almost always be the beginning of new things, as well as the ending of many old things.  

Regrettably, such is the case with the political tenure of the man I am considering and celebrating in my column.  This piece is of great concern to me due to the fact that former Councilman Randy Goings is my brother.  To be truly honest about it, he was perhaps the older brother who had the greatest influence and impact on my life while growing up and through our high school years.  
When we were young, he was the leader of our gang of boys that consisted of me, my younger brothers, Cliff and Earl, as well as the George brothers and Peppers brothers.  
In my autobiographical book, which was officially released in December 2016, called “Growing Old in New Town,” I refer to the gang as the Lucius Road Gang because we all lived on the same street.  
Randy was also very influential to me and so many others in school as the captain and most valuable player on our Gordon High School football team in the years of 1968-1969.  In my estimation, his greatest impact came during his senior year in high school when he spoke out and challenged an unfair system that certain biased faculty members had created, to assure that only those students who were in the top tier of their class academically could run for certain positions, like president on the student council.  
His daring and unprecedented protest forced them to change the system, thereby clearing the way for him to run in the election for president, which he easily won, by a landslide.  
His courageous and historic act paved the way for me to easily win what most of the student body of Gordon High considered as my right to succeed my brother.
I do not mean to overdo or bore you with all of these historical facts about former Councilman Goings; however, I believe it necessary to clearly show you some of the history of the person we are discussing today.  
From his childhood, Randy has always been an outstanding leader.  He has always demonstrated the attributes and qualities of which true and great leadership is comprised.  
Things like integrity, honesty, servitude, patriotism, and civic mindedness, that so many people take for granted today, when they cast their ballots for candidates on all levels, define the character of Randy Goings.  
Ironically, to the loss of Newtown, District One, and Dillon County was it his impeccable character and his refusal to lower his standards and bow to the pressure and bribes that ultimately made him unpopular to the majority of his constituents and a one-term county councilman?  Is this why the majority of the voters in District One, especially in Newtown, decided that he was the wrong man to represent them because of his character and caliber?  Although all of this is water over the dam now, it has been a topic that I have had to consider and grapple with since the Democratic Primary election in June of last year.   Being a Newtown born and reared person, who has not been ashamed or afraid to tell people throughout this nation and many parts of the world that I am from a little impoverished community in Dillon, South Carolina named Newtown, I have retained a love and loyalty for the place of my upbringing.  
I honestly thought that my brother Randy would be the ideal person to provide the leadership and inspiration that would begin the healing process that would ultimately lead to a revitalized community with hope for the future.  
However, when he lost the election and it was told to me that one naive and pitiful man, caught in the debilitating hold of Newtown’s ignorance and poverty, said that now that Randy had lost and his opponent had won, we are going to get some things done in Newtown.
Hearing these words repeated to me temporarily disturbed and angered me.  
After all, I had been one of the people who had convinced Randy to run for the position; and now that the majority of the voters had rejected him, I felt betrayed and that they were not worthy to have a man of his caliber and character to represent them.  Since I am not one to hold a grudge, time has dispelled all of the displeasure I had for those citizens in District One, especially Newtown, who allowed themselves to be bamboozled and deprived of a good and honest man to represent them on the Dillon County Council.  
As I have considered Randy’s loss in the ensuing days since the June Primary, I have come to believe that the very things that should have been his greatest asset for public and civic leadership was ironically his political downfall.  
Perhaps if my brother lived in another community or time, where people of his character and passion to serve are respected and valued, he would still be in politics.  
I know I speak for many, many others in District One, Newtown, and Dillon County when I say thank you, Randy, for serving our county with distinction, integrity, passion, and vision.  
Thank you for being a man of conviction, courage, and of a good conscience toward God.  In your short four-year tenure as a County Councilman, you have helped to set a standard that others will ultimately have to strive to measure up to.  
Men of your caliber are often not appreciated or celebrated while they are in office.  
Regrettably, it is often only after an individual is no longer serving that some people truly realize what they had and took for granted.
Thanks, Randy, for a job well done and for making us proud to know that we had someone on the county council representing Newtown who would not make us ashamed.  
Thank you, for your gallant attempt to give true leadership, inspiration, and hope to Newtown, a community where far too many of the residents are sweltering in the oppressive heat of poverty, ignorance, and hopelessness.  
Your initiation of a monthly community meeting gave the citizens of Newtown a forum and opportunity to come together and discuss and strategize for the betterment of their own community.

Through your leadership and hard work, Newtown now has its own park with a walking track and some very durable and expensive playground equipment for children.  
We who have relatives buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery are also grateful for your endeavor to cleanup and maintain this historical burial site almost singlehandedly.  
Perhaps, we appreciate you most of all for being a true Christian and family man who has been a faithful husband to Mrs. Joyce McBride Goings for nearly forty-six years and for rearing some very outstanding children (Sheshawnda, Rand, and Charity), who like you and their mother, are making an impact in the cities and communities where they live.  
Thank you, brother, for raising the bar of leadership on the Dillon County Council through your integrity, commitment, and courage.  
History will be your greatest witness of a job well done.