A come and go retirement party is taking place from 2-4 p.m. on Friday, February 28 at the Mineola City Hall, 300 Greenville Avenue with a formal ceremony at 3 p.m. to honor long-time civil servant Mercy L. Rushing.
Most recently serving as City Manager of Mineola, she worked as a city employee for 31 years in various capacities. Twenty-six of those were spent working in her hometown of Mineola and five were in Canton. Both towns have reaped the results of her dedication to excellence.
Rushing — originally from the Philippines — was born into a military family and traveled the globe before her father retired to his hometown of Mineola, Texas, when she was 16 years old.
“My father loved the military life, however, he said he had three girls and he wanted to set down roots in his hometown so that his girls would marry a Texan. He said Texas guys make the best husbands.”
And while Rushing did marry a Mineola High School classmate, what her father probably couldn’t foresee is that his daughter would become the city manager of the town he loved.
“Women today have so much more opportunities and choices that were not possible 100 years ago,” she told County Line Magazine in a 2020 article celebrating the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. “[Voting rights] provided women today to have a say in their own life personally and professionally, while giving us protection and equality within our society. It gave women the ability to be more visible and gave us the confidence to be who we want to be and not what is expected for us to be.
“Gender should never hold us back in our dreams of what we want to accomplish or achieve,” she says. “We need to continue to empower young women and promote equality socially and economically through education so that we are treated on the same scale as men when competing for the same positions.”
It’s no surprise to any that know her that she began earning leadership accolades at an early age. She won first place at state in the Distributive Education Clubs of America marketing competition while in high school.
She started a ladies clothing business in downtown Mineola in 1984 at the age of 25. During the next 14 years, she became active in Mineola’s Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Main Street Program, both stepping stones to her 31-year career in city government. She worked for five years as executive director/CEO for the Canton Economic Development Council and as executive marketing director in charge of promoting Canton and First Monday Trade Days. For 26 years, she worked for the City of Mineola as Main Street director, community and economic development director, and assistant city manager. In 2016, she was promoted to city manager.
Rushing’s marketing and economic development skills are well-honed and renowned. She has received many awards, including Young Woman of the Year, Woman of the Year, and the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. Her hard work, energy and drive garnered her recognition across the state, including receiving the Texas Economic Development Council Development Award for Regional Project for the critical role she played in finding a location for Sanderson Farms in East Texas. She was also one of the key people in the persuasion of Amtrak to add Mineola as a stop in 1996.
She has served as a board member of Texas Eagle Marketing and Performance Organization, a group committed to supporting the Amtrak Texas Eagle passenger service, and was a founding member of the I-20 East Texas Corridor Council for High Speed Rail. She also served on the Texas Downtown Association Board and Texas Main Street Board. She was the Texas Historical Commission’s Main Street Manager of the Year in 1999.
During her time as Main Street and Community Development Director, Rushing oversaw the rebuilding of sidewalks with groundbreaking state grants, building of a gazebo, and rehabilitation of the town’s depot to its original charm, all of which earned state awards. Her countless economic development achievements include getting a Best Western built in Mineola in 2004 and she has been working with developers in getting another brand name hotel built there as well.
In her five years in Canton, Rushing developed and implemented a marketing plan for First Monday Trade Days, led business and industrial recruitment, got a Veterans Memorial Plaza built and much more. After being persuaded to return to Mineola as assistant city manager and economic development director, she worked to put on the fundraising Hometown Hang by Kacey Musgraves, resulting in $60,000 being donated to schools in Wood County and infrastructure improvements at the Mineola Nature Preserve.
Her list of accomplishments, certifications, training, and responsibilities is lengthy.
In the last nine years of her career Rushing served as the first female city manager for Mineola. She has overseen budgets, managed all departments, fundraised local events, and served as a leader for more than 50 city employees.
Rushing recommended the current city secretary, Cindy Karch, as her replacement and the city council unanimously selected her as its next city manager.
The ripple effects of Rushing’s work will continue to transform the people, cities, and organizations she served, and all of East Texas, for many years to come.
