Did you know that Trace Adkins‘ mother is the mayor of the town where he grew up?
That’s right: Peggy Adkins, a retired high school teacher, became mayor of Sarepta, La., in 2013.
According to an interview she gave local NBC affiliate KTAL, Peggy was mayor pro tem when Sarepta’s major, E.L. Edwards, unexpectedly died in 2013.
She was automatically seated as a temporary mayor, then told that she’d be appointed to the position full-time if no one else ran during the next election cycle.
Peggy wound up running for the job unopposed. She’s now been Sarepta’s mayor for the past 13 years, and only the second female mayor in the town’s history.
What Does Trace Adkins’ Mother Do As the Mayor of Her Small Town?
During a recent interview on This Past Weekend w/Theo Von, Adkins spoke about his mother’s career in small-town government, joking, “Nobody else wants to do it.”
“There’s not really a lot going on around there anymore, once the mill shut down and everything…The population decreases every year. So she’s trying to hold it together best she can,” the singer elaborates.
“She just writes a lot of letters to people telling them to clean their yards up,” he adds. “She’s always writing people letters: ‘Your yard looks bad, you gotta clean it up.'”
But the mayoral position also means that it sometimes falls to Peggy to “play judge” over minor criminal activity in the town, Adkins reveals — and she’s employed some pretty unconventional tactics to set those wayward citizens straight.
Trace Adkins’ Mother Once Sentenced a Criminal to Attend Sunday School
Adkins remembered in particular one incident when his mom was responsible for coming up with a punishment for a young woman who had “got in trouble for something, I can’t remember, something to do with drugs.”
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“She sentenced the girl to go to Sunday school for six months,” the singer continues. “…I called my mama and I’m like, ‘You can’t do that. I’m pretty sure that’s illegal. You can’t make somebody go to church.’ She said, ‘Well, I did.'”
When Will Trace Adkins Retire?
Trace Adkins has talked about the possibility of hanging up his touring career sooner rather than later.
READ MORE: Trace Adkins Might Retire After His 2026 Tour
In February, he said he’s committed to his 2026 tour dates, “but then I can’t promise anything after that.” Adkins also hinted at 2026 being his last major tour when he announced the dates, saying in a statement to fans that he hoped “to see you one more time.”
But he hasn’t announced anything official, nor has he shared plans about what his life after retirement might look like.
If Adkins follows in his mother’s footsteps, maybe he’ll embrace a second career in local government.
19 Country Artists Who Just Disappeared
“Who I Am” and “Ode to Billie Joe” are songs we all know the words to — we’ve sung along to them on more than one occasion — they were huge hits! But what ever happened to Jessica Andrews and Bobbie Gentry?
You’ll often find us reminiscing over some of our favorite artists who took a break from music, whether to start a family, solely write songs … or just plain vanish(?!).
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
