GULF SHORES – Carolyn Doughty will finally get to take home an Arbor Day hat and pin. For keeps.

Evelyn Sanders, chairman of the Gulf Shores Beautification Board, made a presentation during the Aug. 22 council meeting to honor the retiring council member. Doughty is stepping down in November after serving 15 years.

Mayor Robert Craft had asked for Doughty’s last few meetings to be a farewell tour of sorts. Two weeks prior Fire Chief Hartly Brokenshaw and City Clerk Wanda Parris gave presentations.

On Aug. 22 it was Sanders and City Planner Andy Bauer who took to the podium to praise and chide Doughty.

“Can I be ugly?” Sanders asked to uproarious laughter. But she had no intentions of going there.

But she did spin a good tale about her and Doughty’s work on the annual Arbor Day celebration.

“Carolyn works the Arbor Day Celebration every year,” Sanders began. “We only get one hat and one pin a year. So I been saving these hats and pins every year so when it’s the Arbor Day celebration I can give away hats and pins. But when it’s over with I take them back.

“Carolyn said ‘Evelyn, can I keep my hat and pin?’ I said no, I have to get them back so we don’t come up short. So she had to give her hat and pin back every year after the Arbor Day celebration. So we’d like you to have this hat and pin.”

Sanders thanked Doughty for years of service not only on the council but with other boards and commissions in the town.

“I don’t know who’s going to keep these men straight on this council without her,” she said.

Similar praise came from Bauer who cited the dedication to Gulf Shores from Doughty.

“When Miss Doughty talks about the City of Gulf Shores she does so with excitement and great passion,” Bauer said. “I can tell she truly loves this city. I can guarantee you all the years she’s spent on this city council, all the board positions she’s held with the City of Gulf Shores, every decision she’s made has been made with the best interests of the citizens of this city in mind.”

Bauer recalled the many conservations he and Doughty have had in his 11 years as the City Planner.

“I had the privilege of riding with Miss Doughty to seminars and you might expect the conversations revolved around the city,” Bauer said. “A couple of things became apparent to me about Miss Doughty.

“The first thing that became apparent to me is she has a vast, in-depth knowledge of the City of Gulf Shores. How I came to realize that was during our conversations, they would range from the biggest topics going on with the city all the way down to the very small topics.”

As a result, Bauer said, his listening skills were greatly improved by his associations with Doughty.

“And last, but not least, when you’re listening to Miss Doughty and you’re having a conversation, you’ve really got to pay attention,” he said. “Because I’ll tell you another thing about Miss Doughty: she can talk the ears off a Billy goat.”

Even Doughty took the time to chide her own talkative nature.

“I will tell you my ex-brother-in-law said one time the difference between me and a radio is you can turn a radio off,” she said.