Rose was appointed to the council in June 2007, filling the vacancy left by Wallace Cartwright when he was elected Shelbyville mayor.

"My year on the city council has given me to opportunity to learn more about how our city operates, and I'm still learning," Rose said. "Although my 29 years working as a reporter with the Shelbyville Times-Gazette gave me an insight into numerous operations of Shelbyville and Bedford County, being a councilman allows a new perspective."

Rose retired from the Times-Gazette in April 2007.

"I recently took part in a strategic planning session for our city council concerning the direction we want to take our city, using what's called a SWOT analysis -- identifying and analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, both externally and internally. As a part of that seminar, we discussed the various steps needed to improve our city, necessary action that must be made for a successful and prosperous future. What I want for Shelbyville is to see us move in a direction that maintains a successful balance between necessary growth and the preservation of our small town character."

Rose said one of the most important bridges in making this happen is to increase job opportunities through the development of an industrial park. Improvements must also be made, she said, in the overall appearance of the city through such steps as renovating or demolishing dilapidated buildings.

Developing retail businesses and improvement of recreational facilities and services are imperative in successful growth, she added.

"I love Shelbyville and Bedford County," said Rose. "We have an outstanding educational system, terrific public safety programs, a new hospital -- wonderful, caring people. We have so much to be proud of, but we must not be complacent. As times change, our city grows, we must keep on our toes. And we must grow or we will find ourselves simply a suburb of Murfreesboro."

Rose has lived in Shelbyville for 46 years. She and her husband, Harold, have two children and three grandchildren.

She is a board member of the Child Development Center, Skills Development Center, Next Step Home and Caregiver Relief of Bedford County. She served on the board of the Shelbyville chapter of the American Heart Association and was an advisory board member of the Tennessee Technology Center at Shelbyville for many years. She is a member and past president of the Shelbyville Woman's Club and is a member of First Baptist Church on Depot Street.

In her spare time, she enjoys tennis, golf, reading, travel and especially watching her grandsons play baseball and football and her granddaughter play T-ball and soccer.