MURFREESBORO – There is nothing like jumping in feet first.

It is the exact way new Murfreesboro Town Administrator Cathy Davison made her entrance.

At Tuesday night’s Murfreesboro Town Council, Davison made her impromptu debut by filling in for Interim Town Administrator David Overton who was absent due to a family emergency.

Citizens and board members alike greeted Davison after the meeting, welcoming her to the community.

Davison was approved on July 10 by the board.

“I’m excited about working with council and helping them implement their vision for Murfreesboro,” said Davison in a post meeting interview.

Davison, originally from Michigan, received her degree in political science and legal studies from Anderson University located in Anderson, Indiana.

Davison said she will soon receive a master’s degree in organizational leadership

focused on public relations and marketing from the University of Denver.

She was a planning commissioner and served on the board of trustees for the Vernon Township in Michigan.

Before accepting the position as town administrator, Davison was the small business development manager for Franklin Southampton (Va.) Economic Development, Inc.

Davison said being a town administrator was a role she always wanted to take on and now with her new position she will be able to utilize all of her skills.

She added she had interest in the community before she applied for the job.

“My husband (Jim, a firefighter in Suffolk) and I had thought about buying a house here,” she said. “In fact I had contacted Mr. (Lloyd) Hill without knowing he was on the board.”

Davison said what attracted her to Murfreesboro was the quaintness of the town as well as the history and how the people are involved with their community.

Davison will soon call Murfreesboro home as she and Jim, along with their three year old son John Henry, are in the transition of moving to town.

Davison first official day on the job will be on August 1.

The search for a town administrator began in February after Molly Eubanks retired from the position after 23 years.

Jeanne Milliken Bonds of Knightdale was selected by the town council originally in June, but two weeks later a “catastrophic medical emergency” involving her mother-in-law caused her to turn down the job.