The Mountain Brook City Council formally honored the Marsh family this week by naming John Marsh as Mayor for the Day and permanently renaming the city’s annual tradition in memory of his late sister.
During its January 12 meeting, the council designated the city’s Mayor for the Day program as the Sarah C. Marsh Mayor for the Day, honoring the 8-year-old Mountain Brook girl who died in the July 4, 2025, flash flood at Camp Mystic in Texas.
John Marsh, her brother, became the first child to receive the newly named honor.
According to Village Living Online, Mayor Graham Smith announced the change as her first official act after taking office and invited John to preside over portions of the council meeting.
“My first act of business,” Smith said, after John closed the meeting with the gavel. “I loved that little girl very much. I knew her, and she was so special and dear.”
“Sometimes you just know what the right thing to do is. This little one loved politics. She did. She loved campaigning. She was ferocious in her own special way. She had a lot of love.”
John, a fourth-grade student at Cherokee Bend Elementary School, stood alongside Smith as she read a proclamation honoring his sister’s life and interests. His parents, Jill and Patrick Marsh, were also present for the ceremony.
“Sarah demonstrated an uncommon enthusiasm for civic life and public service,” Smith read from the proclamation. “She was an avid ‘politico’ with a deep passion for campaigning and assisting in local municipal elections — always eager to participate, to learn and to lead.”
John opened and closed the City Council meeting with the gavel and sat at the head of the table during the pre-council session. While council members moved into executive session, he spent time in the mayor’s office upstairs.
Sarah C. Marsh was among 27 people killed during a catastrophic flash flood at Camp Mystic in west-central Texas last summer.
The renaming of the Mayor for the Day program ensures her name and legacy will remain part of Mountain Brook’s civic life going forward.
Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].
