‘Cullman City Councilman Garlan Gudger officially resigned from his position Friday afternoon as he is prepares to enter his new role as an Alabama State Senator in a few weeks.

In a special called meeting Friday afternoon, Gudger’s resignation was accepted by the council and he read a prepared statement to those in attendance.

Gudger, who has served on the Cullman City Council for the past 14 years, said he was grateful to serve with three mayors and his fellow council members, and he will continue to serve the city and others in the state senate.

“I am honored to be a part of the City of Cullman,” he said. “I was taught that if you wanted to make a difference in this world, you be humble and you serve others, and that’s just what we’ve done.”

He also thanked the council members and city employees who have showed support for him and his family while they worked together to make Cullman a better place.

“For every positive act that we’ve passed, for every road paved, for every industry that we’ve recruited, for every problem — and Lord knows there have been a bunch — that have been solved, we did it as a team,” he said.

City Council President pro-tem Johnny Cook, speaking on behalf of past and current mayors and council members, said Gudger will be sorely missed.

“You never did anything that wasn’t for the good of the city as a whole. You never had an agenda,” he said. “With that, we expect bigger and better things out of you, and we know that it will reflect back on us.”

Gudger, along with other members of Cullman County’s state legislators and County Commissioners, will be sworn in to his position on Nov. 20 at the Cullman Civic Center. The four current members of the Cullman City Council will appoint a community member to fill the vacant position.