GLENS FALLS MOURNS THE LOSS OF ITS MAYOR
GLENS FALLS – Mayor Le Roy B. Akins, Jr. died Sunday morning, Aug.10, at his home surrounded by family and loved ones after a determined and courageous battle with brain cancer that lasted more than a year. Mayor Akins was 66.
Born Dec. 26, 1941, Mayor Akins was the second of five children and firstborn son of his family. A native of Glens Falls, Mayor Akins grew up in the Fifth Ward and graduated from Glens Falls High School in 1959.
Following graduation from high school, Mayor Akins enlisted in the United States Navy where he trained in the field of electronic communications and served honorably.
Following his discharge from the Navy, in 1965, Mayor Akins married his sweetheart, Phyllis Norton and together they raised three children – two boys, Sean (wife Stephanie) and Le Roy III (wife Laurie) and a daughter, Suzanne. The Akins’ children have to date honored their parents with five grandchildren (Morgan, Madison, Denver, Dawson and Brantley) and two step-grandchildren (Blake and Riley).
Roy and Phyllis enjoyed an unbreakable bond that saw them through good times and challenges throughout their life together. During the mayor’s illness, Phyllis was at his side as a constant companion, living each triumph with him and enduring each hour of pain.
In his professional life, Mayor Akins left his mark in a number of fields including radio broadcasting, tourism promotion, real estate and government.
Early in his career, Mayor Akins moved to Philadelphia where he found success as a producer and technician working with some of the city’s most famous radio personalities, including George Michael, who later went on to be a groundbreaking television sports broadcaster of “Sports Machine” fame.
Later, Mayor Akins returned to Glens Falls where he continued to work in radio. He was a pioneer in broadcast education and founded and developed the radio broadcast program at Adirondack Community College.
Mayor Akins was instrumental in developing a cohesive tourism program for Warren County, serving the county as Director of Tourism. Later, while working with New York State Tourism, he partnered with iconic graphic artist Milton Glaser to develop the “I Love NY campaign,” one of the most recognizable logo and advertising campaigns ever created.
Mayor Akins retired from New York State Tourism in 2005 and soon after launched a campaign for mayor of Glens Falls. Framing Glens Falls as America’s Hometown for the 21st Century -- a play on Look Magazine’s “Hometown USA” vision of World War II era Glens Falls -- Mayor Akins defeated four opponents in a tough-fought race, taking office on Jan. 1, 2006.
During his administration, Mayor Akins was a tireless advocate for the city, aggressively pursuing his vision for Glens Falls’ future. In that vision, Mayor Akins saw Glens Falls as a vibrant tourism hub, the missing link between Saratoga Springs and Lake George. He spoke often of the need to view all three areas as one cohesive region offering anything that visitors could possibly want. He often invoked the model seen in Branson, Missouri as an example of what is possible in the Lake George/Glens Falls/Saratoga region.
In his all-too-brief time in office, Mayor Akins saw several key projects to fruition, not the least of which was the state-of-the-art Village Green Apartments built to replace the dilapidated Henry Hudson Townhouses. Village Green was the culmination of one of Mayor Akins key campaign pledges and he delivered a project that brought first-class low-income housing to Glens Falls that vastly improved the quality of life for some of Glens Falls’ most needy residents.
During Mayor Akins’ administration the face of downtown evolved dramatically with the successful completion of the roundabout at the intersection of Glen, Ridge and Warren Streets and Hudson Avenue. At a ribbon-cutting at the completion of the project, Mayor Akins announced that the roundabout would hereafter be known as Centennial Circle, in honor of the city’s 100-year anniversary as a city.
Other landmark projects downtown that will forever mark the Akins administration include the Barton Mines building at the corner of Ridge and Warren Streets, the Crandall Library expansion on Glen Street and The Mill at 20 Elm Street in a former shirt factory.
Mayor Akins had a grand vision for Glens Falls that he eagerly shared with whoever would listen. Next to his family, his greatest joy and sense of accomplishment came from being mayor of a city he loved with all his heart and promoted with all his might.
Part of Mayor Akins’ vision was linking the city’s future with its glorious past and returning Glens Falls to its rightful place as the gem of Upstate cities. Symbolic of that effort during the city’s Centennial year, Mayor Akins envisioned that a clock be installed in the tower of City Hall, something that was included in the original City Hall plan but was never accomplished. The community rallied to the cause and thanks to numerous donations, the Centennial Clock was unveiled at the stroke of midnight, Jan. 1, 2008.
Mayor Akins was a shining light at City Hall. Possessed of an eternal optimism, he would often speak encouragingly when those around him became down-hearted. Quick with a smile and positive words, he was a model of determination as he set about accomplishing the work of the people, a work that he loved and about which he felt such passion.
Mayor Akins will be dearly missed by his staff, his colleagues on the Common Council and those who’ve had the privilege of working with him. Indeed a city’s heart is broken by the loss of one of Glens Falls’ greatest advocates and servants. But his spirit lives on in the words, thoughts and deeds of the people of this great city, a people that Mayor Le Roy Akins loved beyond measure and worked for tirelessly as their mayor and friend.
Mayor Akins is survived by his wife Phyllis, his three children, Sean, Le Roy and Suzanne, five grandchildren and two step-grandchildren, his sister Sharon (Sears) and his brother Richard.
Funeral arrangements are pending and additional information will be released as it becomes available. The media are asked to respect Mayor Akins family’s privacy at this difficult time.
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