On Thursday it was announced that District 4 Commissioner Julie Hughes-Nix will not seek re-election to the Dawson County Board of Commissioners at the end of her current term. 

"Its been a great honor, it's been a privilege, I've enjoyed it," Hughes-Nix said at the board's voting session Thursday night. "I just want to thank the people from the bottom of my heart for having trust in me and supporting me over the last years, it's just meant the world to me." 

A lifelong county resident, Hughes-Nix, became the first woman elected to the commission in 1996. After taking four years off following her first term, she was re-elected in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016.

Hughes-Nix told the crowd that the decision to retire from the board came after many hours prayerful consideration and she would be moving forward to focus on volunteer work and spending time with her family.

"It's just now time for another chapter of my life," she said. "I've just been blessed is all I can say." 

Hughes-Nix term in office will end on December 31, 2020.