Twenty years to the month after taking his oath of office as Celina's mayor, Corbett Howard has announced his retirement from his director position with the city's Economic Development Corporation. 

"After serving the citizens for nine years and working for the Celina EDC for 10 years and four years with the city of Celina, I'm announcing this evening my retirement from the city effective June 15, 2022," he said during the open forum portion of Tuesday's Celina City Council meeting.  

Howard first moved to Celina back when the city's population was 1,700. He was elected to the Celina City Council in 1999 and elected mayor in 2002. He served in the role for three terms. During that time, he led the creation and development of the city's first Comprehensive Land Use plan and was also responsible for Capital Improvement Plan projects that ensured the provision of water in the city's future, according to a previous article in the Celina Record. He also oversaw the voluntary annexation of more than 10,000 acres into the city. 

After his stint as mayor, Howard served as director of the Celina Economic Development Corporation for a decade. His role resulted in the city welcoming several large-scale commercial and residential development projects to Celina, according to a previous article in the Celina Record. 

He was pegged for the role of Celina's Director of Government Affairs in 2018, tasked with researching legislation that would affect Celina. Today, his official title is Director of Business and Government Affairs.

In closing his Tuesday announcement, Howard chose to "paraphrase" words spoken by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. 

"He was one of my heroes," Howard said. “My friends, we did it. We weren’t just marking time. We made a difference. We’ve made the city stronger. We’ve made the city better. And we’ve left her in good hands. All in all, not bad. Not bad at all. And so I say, God Bless Celina.”    

Audrey Henvey is the reporter for the Frisco Enterprise, McKinney Courier-Gazette and Celina Record. Email her with story suggestions at ahenvey@starlocalmedia.com.