Town Board member Lynn Bedford and Town Justice John Potter attended their final meeting Town of Arkwright Board member Lynn Bedford spoke at her final Town Board meeting about her time as a member of the Town Board.

as elected officials on Monday.

“I’d like to thank everybody from the Board for making this very, very adventurous for me – going through COVID, especially,” said Bedford. “A lot of trials, a lot of tribulations, a lot of working things out, a lot of compromising, but it’s been a great experience. I don’t regret being on the Board.”

Bedford’s term as a town board member comes to a close at the end of the year, at which point Polly Gambino takes over. Gambino was in attendance at the recent meeting.

Town of Arkwright Board member Lynn Bedford spoke at her final Town Board meeting about her time as a member of the Town Board.

“Lynn always led with her heart, I mean that sincerely. Nobody was going to push Lynn around and she always, always had the best interest of the people of Arkwright in mind,” Supervisor Brian McAvoy said.

Bedford claimed she never had any intention of serving on the Town Board, but after members of the community expressed their desire for her to run, she left it up to the vote.

“I said ‘Well, it’s not in my hands. If I’m supposed to be on that Board, I’ll be on it,'” Bedford said. “So here I was for four years. I thank you, because I learned a tremendous amount about how the town is run and the functions of it.”

Bedford then stated that Arkwright has “the greatest Highway Department in Chautauqua County.” She urged the Board to support the Highway Department in future years.

“We don’t have town governments if people won’t do these jobs. They are thankless jobs, you don’t do it for the money, you do it because you care, and Lynn absolutely cared,” McAvoy said.

The meeting then closed with a goodbye to Potter, who has served as the Town Justice in Arkwright for two decades. He will relinquish his role to Jeff Huyck, who ran unopposed in the recent election. Potter, a lifelong friend of McAvoy, was surrounded by his family and friends at the meeting.

“It’s not an exaggeration when I say I’ve known Johnny my whole life. Our mothers were in the hospital at the same time when we were born, we go back that far. I’ve always known Johnny,” said McAvoy.

Referring to his youth, McAvoy said, “Young Johnny was funny. … He was funny first, and he worried about the consequences later.”

McAvoy looked back and stated how no one in Potter’s childhood would have believed he would go on to serve as a Town Justice for more than two decades.

“Being a Town Justice for 20 years plus, and being as good at it as Johnny has been, I think is kind of amazing,” McAvoy said.

The more he thought about it, McAvoy reconsidered his initial opinion. While he was always funny and carefree, Potter also always had a good heart.

“All these years without a doubt, I’ve always trusted Johnny to do the right thing,” McAvoy said. “I’ve always trusted him to be fair and honest, and unbiased, and to apply the law appropriately.”

Potter was presented with a plaque to celebrate his service to the town. The meeting then concluded with more gifts and a cake to celebrate the occasion.

“The Town has been lucky to have you all these years,” McAvoy said to Potter.

Potter responded to McAvoy after a round of applause.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege serving as your Town Justice for all of these years. God bless you all for accepting me and standing behind me,” Potter said. “I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.”