2025 Endorsements
To the Citizens of Conover,
I encourage Conover citizens to vote for Brenda Powell for Conover City Council. Brenda is a dedicated public servant with a strong and consistent record of involvement in our community. Her valuable contributions were recognized by the city of Conover when she was awarded the Mayor’s Citizenship Award in 2018 and the Outstanding Community Service Award for 2006-2008. Brenda genuinely cares about the people of Conover. She leads with integrity, brings positive energy with thoughtful ideas, listens well, and is collaborative. She believes in the future of our city and works every day to make our community stronger.
Over the past four years as a member of the Conover City Council, Brenda has worked closely with fellow council members and city staff to achieve meaningful results, including:
• Maintaining a balanced budget with the second lowest tax and utility rates in Catawba County.
• Enhancing public safety through Police and Fire department initiatives, improved roads and signals, and reduced neighborhood speed limits.
• Maintaining the excellence of our Public Works department and improving efficiency with the addition of a side-load garbage truck
• Working to support existing businesses and encourage new ones
• Expanding and improving our parks and enhancing the downtown area
I am grateful to live in Conover with the existing strong leadership. Reelecting Brenda Powell will allow her to build upon her experience and bring even more value to the citizens and businesses of Conover. Please VOTE - early or on Election Day - for Brenda Powell for Conover City Council.
Sincerely,
Mimi Michael
It is my privilege to endorse my dear friend, Brenda Powell, for Conover City Council.
When my husband and I moved to Conover from Florida at just 22 years old in 2008, Brenda was one of the very first people I met. We worked together at the Domestic Violence Shelter for women and children, where I witnessed firsthand her compassion, steadiness, and encouragement to women and children in some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Though our time working side by side lasted less than two years, our friendship endured. Brenda quickly became not just a trusted mentor, but also a friend and partner in service to the community.
Brenda’s heart for others has been evident in every project she has taken on. When I took on the role of initiating a county-wide Backpack Program with Catawba County Social Services it relied completely on volunteers. She quickly jumped in and was one of the first Backpack Program volunteers, organizing her church to become both a packing group and food distribution site for Oxford Elementary in Claremont. She and her husband Jerry faithfully led this outreach for nearly a decade, meeting a critical need in an area deeply affected by food insecurity.
In 2012, Brenda and I co-founded Read Out, a summer literacy program for children in the Southwest Community of Conover. Each Wednesday, children came to borrow books, participate in activities, win prizes, and share a meal—funded entirely by local donations. This program existed prior to the Library To Go and helped inspire the ongoing Wednesday meal program now operated by The Corner Table on Herman Sipe Road in Conover.
Over the years, Brenda and I have partnered on countless community projects, fundraisers, and events. Never once did she seek personal gain. Her only goal was to serve others and strengthen our community.
When Brenda first ran for City Council in 2019, I had the privilege of serving on her campaign committee. I was alongside her as she knocked on doors, listened to residents, and attended countless public events to connect with the community. While she did not win that year, the experience prepared her well for her successful election in 2021. Since then, I have seen her grow as a council member, advocating for projects that bring both safety and productivity to Conover. She is consistently available to citizens, engaged with local nonprofits, and present at community events.
My friendship with Brenda has been an inspiration to me as I also strive to live as a community servant. I believe she inspires the same in others by encouraging people to be part of the solution. In a growing community like Conover, we need leaders like her who understand the role of local government and how city council can engage citizens in building a stronger future together.
Although my role as President of a local nonprofit prevents me from participating directly in Brenda’s 2025 campaign, I wholeheartedly endorse her. Brenda is a dedicated public servant, a thoughtful listener, and a tireless advocate for the people of Conover. I am confident she will continue to represent our city with integrity, compassion, and vision.
I encourage you to join me in supporting Brenda Powell for Conover City Council.
Sincerely,
Amanda Freeland
2021 ENDORSEMENTS
Officer Danny Baker has known Brenda Powell as a community advocate for many years and worked alongside her community's neighborhood watch and knows firsthand her efforts in making Conover the best place to live, work, and raise a family. As the Resource Officer at Newton-Conover Middle School Danny knows first hand the impact of caring adults in the life of a child and states "Brenda Powell is an asset to our Conover community and she has been busy at work in the community for many years. She would be an outstanding representative on Conover City Council and she has my vote."
Vicki Shull is a lifetime resident of Conover and supports Brenda Powell in her campaign for Conover City Council. "My family has been linked with her family for many years and I know how kind and genuine she truly is. She will represent the city of Conover beautifully and I have full confidence in her."
Roger Shull is a resident of Conover and has been working alongside Brenda and her husband as volunteers for the Backpack Program for over 7 years. "In serving alongside Brenda I have seen her servant heart for our community at work. She genuinely gets along with everyone and does whatever it takes to get a job done. She has a great perspective and will add great value to our City Council."
Letter: It is time! Time to VOTE for Brenda Powell for Conover City Council
It is time! Time to VOTE for Brenda Powell for Conover City Council. I have known and admired Brenda Powell for many years. Her sons, and my brothers, wrestled together at Newton-Conover High School. While at the wrestling meets, our families got to know each other and become friends. In 2010, my father, David Day, was serving as Treasurer on the Board at ECCCM, and recommended Brenda be asked to serve on the Board, which she did until 2013. Over the years that have followed, I often run into Brenda volunteering at various organizations in the Newton-Conover area. Most recently, my daughter and I volunteered for the first time at a Library Lunch and Learn (a joint effort between the Library and the Corner Table). Unsure as to what we would be asked to do, I was instantly reassured when I saw Brenda’s smiling face. It was apparent she had volunteered at these events many times and lead us into making this a worthwhile experience for all those who participated that day. There is absolutely no doubt as to how much Brenda cares for the Conover community and its citizens. In 2018, she was the recipient of the City of Conover Mayor’s Citizenship Award. Now, though, she wants to take it a step farther and is ready to bring her time and talents to the Conover City Council. As a woman and an African American, Brenda will bring a fresh perspective to the City Council, one that has been missing. She is a wife, mother, grandmother, former business owner and a lifelong resident of Conover. She is eager to serve and to see that all residents of Conover are represented in the important decisions the Conover City Council makes. Please vote early or on November 2nd and let’s get Brenda Powell a seat on the Conover City Council, so that all residents of Conover have a voice!
Amy Day Yenderusiak
Letter: Powell is lifelong Conover resident with a giving heart
If you live in Conover, Brenda Powell should be one of your votes for city council. If for no other reason, Conover needs at least one female at the table as a part of its decision-making process. Brenda is the only female candidate for a council currently made-up entirely of men. A vote for Brenda can provide the diversity so badly needed by Conover City Council.
But voting for Brenda Powell and having her serve on Conover City Council will do much more. She is a lifelong Conover resident who has made it her mission to improve the place she lives. Having a seat on Conover City Council will allow her to do much more with this passion and her thoughtful approach to government will be a true benefit to this decision-making body. I have observed this first-hand in the time she has served with me on the Board of Directors of Neighbors Network in Conover. Not only does she see the tremendous opportunities that Neighbors Network provides for people 50-plus in our community but she provides hand-on involvement by preparing a breakfast each month for participants at the new senior center.
You don’t have to look far to see what Brenda has contributed to the betterment of our community. I would recommend you Google search “Brenda Powell and Wix” to see her campaign website. Remember early voting is also available weekdays at the Newton Library beginning Oct. 14th and also on Saturday Oct. 30.
Shuford Abernethy
Letter: Brenda Powell has vision for strong, prosperous Conover
I first met Brenda Powell and her husband Jerry several years ago through my volunteer work with the Backpack Program of Catawba County. Brenda had developed a partnership with Backpack to create Read OUT, a summer program that provided meals and fun educational activities for the children and their families of her southwest Conover neighborhood. It didn’t take long for me to learn that Read OUT was just a tiny fraction of what this remarkable woman was doing for her community.
When Brenda told me she was running for a seat on the Conover City Council, I couldn’t imagine anyone better qualified to serve her home community in this capacity. As a lifelong resident of Conover, she truly loves her community and wants all of its citizens to have the same opportunities that she and Jerry were able to provide for their five children. From raising her family, to her experience in business and extensive volunteer work in the community with a seemingly endless list of organizations, as well as to her lifetime membership in her church, Brenda has modeled exactly the kind of vision for a strong and prosperous community that she knows Conover can be.
Unfortunately, as a Hickory resident, I won’t be able to pull the lever for my friend Brenda on Election Day. However, if Conover residents just took the time to meet Brenda, or read about her many accomplishments and her goals for Conover on her campaign website and Facebook page, there is no doubt in my mind they would elect her as a refreshingly positive and dynamic voice on the Conover City Council.
Lamar Mitchell
Letter:
Brenda Powell is an outstanding Christian woman who makes everyone she touches a better person.
I have personally known Brenda for 15-plus years and am most thankful to call her a friend and a prayer warrior. She is a woman of character and integrity. Wherever and whatever she does is complete with passion and honesty.
We are all blessed to have Brenda in our community. She would be an outstanding representative for Conover City Council.
Sharon Killian Radke
Letter:
Brenda Powell is running for Conover City Council and I feel like she is the best candidate for this elected position.
I have known Brenda Powell for 50 years and can confidently say that she is a person of impeccable character. Brenda Powell has been a resident of Conover NC for the majority of her life and has been committed to community service in her community and surrounding communities including Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church where she has been a member her entire life.
She has served in many capacities in her church, President of the Usher Board and the Mission Department. She is currently the Mission Department President, Church Treasurer and is in charge of community outreach.
She has represented her community before city employees and council members advocating for the betterment of her neighborhood and the lives they live in Conover.
Her community service spans many different outreaches and organizations. Here are just few of the community service projects and Board of directors she has served on:
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Neighborhood Watch since 2004
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Board of Directors - Associates of the Vietnam Veterans of America
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Board of Directors - Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry
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Catawba County Board of Elections
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Backpack Program of Catawba County
Brenda Powell will bring new energy and fresh perspective to continue building on Conover’s successes; she will be a leader who cares for and gives a voice to all its citizens. She is known to be a team player and has a strong voice of leadership. She knows what it takes to be a strong communicator and collaborate to get the job done.
More importantly, everyone who interacts with Brenda Powell is always blown away by her enthusiasm, kindness, generosity and most importantly her love for everyone.
It is truly a privilege and honor to be considered Brenda Powell’s friend and I wholeheartedly recommend her for Conover City Council. I assure you that her commitment as well as her high moral values are without question.
Sherelle Abernathy