A group of women who are members of Brooks Memorial Baptist Church hid in Atmore Mayor Jim Staff’s office waiting for the right moment to enter the city council chambers.

Staff read a proclamation named in honor of Nancy Karrick. Before he read the proclamation, the church members, who are friends of Karrick, made themselves known.

The proclamation for Karrick is for her contributions to the city of Atmore as a noted educator, and her endless pursuit of knowledge.

Karrick graduated from Escambia County High School in 1965, and graduated from Auburn University. She and her husband, Charles, traveled around the world due to his work in military intelligence. She was a librarian for the county school system.

“I was quite surprised,” Karrick said. “I had no clue. They did a good job of keeping it a secret.”

Efforts were made before the council meeting began to hide the agenda for the meeting.

“I do appreciate it,” she said. “You don’t do what you do for somebody, and this was very nice of them.”

Karrick is retired, and serves as the President of Beta State, the Alabama State Organization of Delta Kappa Gamma, is a member of the VFW, conducts cemetery tours for the Atmore Area Chamber of Commerce and others.

In other business, the council:

• adopted a proclamation, naming this Sat., April 29, as Healthy Kids Day. Healthy Kids Day is a day put on by the Atmore Area YMCA. The day’s events will consist of a 5K walk, run and bike event, followed by various activities from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The 5K event is from 7:30 a.m. until 8:45 a.m.

• approved an abandoned house on Hollis Street for demolition. Building Inspector Chris Black requested the council declare the structure a public nuisance and ordered its removal, which the council did. A 45-day notice of demolition and signs were posted on the property on Jan. 19, a 30-day appeal period expired on Feb. 18 and the 45-day notice period expired on March 5.