Warner Robins Mayor looking ahead to 2025, announces re-election

Mayor Patrick announces new developments, re-branding for the city and discusses plans for re-election.

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The City of Warner Robins continues to grow under the leadership of Mayor LaRhonda Patrick.

41NBC’s Monica Diaz-Meek spoke with Mayor Patrick about what lies ahead for 2025, while reflecting on 2024.

MONICA- Welcome back. We have Warner Robins Mayor LaRhonda Patrick joining us. Thank you for being here today.

LARHONDA- It’s my pleasure. So good to see you. Happy New Year.

MONICA- Happy New Year to you as well, and it brings us into what we are talking about today. Reflecting on 2024 and looking forward to 2025. Warner Robins has had quite a bit of change, a lot of great work. Congratulations for all you’ve done for the city.

LARHONDA- Thank you so much. We’ve had a great time. Council and I working on these initiatives together.

MONICA- I think you have seen it. I think the fruit of your labor is very evident in Warner Robins. People are talking about it. The International City is on the map and booming. And so I want to reflect on 2024. First off, how do you feel about the past year? What were your biggest accomplishments in 2024?

LARHONDA- Well, I’ll say the biggest accomplishment in 2024 was finally getting a home for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It’s been in talks since 2011, and to be able to bring that news to the community, to the veterans and our community, Council and I have been ecstatic about that.

MONICA- And what does that mean to you? I mean, you are getting to serve your community. You have Robins Air Force Base. They’re a community that is really circling around and rallying for them. What does that mean to you?

LARHONDA- It means everything. You know, I’m an Air Force brat. I had a grandfather who fought in Vietnam. One was drafted, the other one actually fought. They had friends who lost their lives in Vietnam. And I have a great uncle who lost his life in Vietnam. And his name will be on that wall. So it means more to me than just making a promise to people and keeping it. But it honors my family, too.

MONICA- Well, that is incredible. Now, talking about 2025, it’s here. What do you hope to accomplish as Mayor in Warner Robins for 2025?

LARHONDA- Well, Council and I’ve been busy since just my first year, all the way through last year, doing a lot of planning on the things that we said we were going to do. So this year, we actually get to physically show everyone that these things are happening. So that execution stage is over in on my fourth year, being able to see what the renderings look like for a new downtown. Being able to have a ribbon cutting for Haven Hope House, which is our homeless shelter. Ribbon cutting for our Community Innovation Lab, which is a collaboration with Apple and Ed Farm. That’s going to be phenomenal. There’s just so many things that we’re working on that we’re really excited about. The people seeing the fruits of all the labor we’ve been doing for three years.

MONICA- I think that is incredible. There has been so much work behind the scenes, and now we’re having these ribbon cuttings appear. You are getting ready to start more growth and more movement in Warner Robins, which is great for folks living there because there’s more jobs coming, more growth. What does that mean to, you know, that you can help out folks in Warner Robins through these new accomplishments.

LARHONDA- Well, it’s the reason I ran. I mean, this is my this is my home, our city, our future. I said that when I was running for office the first time. Just being able to make Warner Robins be that place, that suits us best. We are not a small city anymore. We have a small city heart, and that’s what everything that we’ve been doing is about. Keeping that small city heart, all those great, great qualities of a smaller city, but also being able to expand our territory and grow to provide more resources and opportunities for people who live in our community, people who are coming here from Robins Air Force Base, and those who are retiring and making this their permanent home. So it’s just been phenomenal. All the development, all the growth, the housing, the industry, all those things coming into the city. It’s been more than I could have ever asked for.

MONCA- All right. And so with that, as we, you know, prepare for 2025 and moving that International City forward. What do folks have to look forward to? What’s something that you guys are working on? What insight do you have for us?

LARHONDA- So of course, I’ve told you all the things we’re working on and being able to show people were here. We’re also working on some rebranding for the whole city. That’s been really exciting.

MONICA- That’s huge, re-branding the City of Warner Robins.

LARHONDA- It’s been so great, so fulfilling. And we really want to find a way to really drive home that. We’re the gateway of innovation, gateway of innovative excellence. Being the home of Robins Air Force Base, having all the different high tech engineering type jobs right here in our city. So that’s what we’re really trying to drive home in our rebranding, having something that’s not just a city seal, because most cities have more than a seal. We only have a seal. So it’s important for us to do this now. We have our city app already. The city of Warner Robins app. We have a new website. We’re doing this new, adding more infrastructure for our technology capabilities. It’s just so many great things we’re doing to get with the current times to drive home, and new branding is just the icing on the cake for us.

MONICA- All right. And so lastly, what do you want to tell the City of Warner Robins, your community? What do you want to tell them?

LARHONDA- I want to tell them thank you so much for entrusting us to do what we’ve been doing in our community, to make Warner Robins be that great place that we know it is, and allowing the not just the state to see it, but letting the world see it. I mean, we got an International Smart City award. Last year, 21 other cities in the world only received that. So we were given a lot and it was one of them. We are one of them that received it. Only two cities from Georgia got it and we were one of them. So we are on an international stage now, and I just want to thank everyone for the support, for letting us hear what you want to see so that we can do what we need to do to serve you. And it’s just been a pleasure. I look forward to doing it for another four years after this term.

MONICA- Thank you so much.