Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin is known for taking selfies wherever she goes -- to a point where people actively seek out opportunities to take selfies with her.
At the June 21 Jefferson City Council meeting, a group of people posed for a selfie with Tergin when she gleefully announced it was National Selfie Day. Some members of the audience laughed while others appeared unfazed that Tergin had the official day earmarked on her calendar.
It's a given Tergin will designate time for selfies at any event she attends -- which could equate to several in a single day. And it's not uncommon for Tergin to stop on the street and snap a selfie, with both familiar and unfamiliar faces.
"Oh, the iconic selfie," giggled a grade school student as she participated in one of the mayor's legendary snapshots during a retirement celebration June 28. At the same event, a schoolteacher fondly recalled how on his first day of the job Tergin congratulated him and asked for a selfie.
"I've just taken probably a World Record for the most (selfies), who knows, but it's become a thing," Tergin said.
The photos often are posted on her social media pages like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, with the #SelfiewiththeMayor. Social media is not just for fun but informative purposes, Tergin said. She said she wants to document events to show what the city is doing. Tergin more often attends events solo, which is how the selfies originated.
"When I went to these events, I was by myself. If we want a picture, it's just going to have to be a selfie and then suddenly hashtag selfie with the mayor," she said.
When she was elected as mayor in 2015, Tergin attended everything she was invited to. Her near-pristine attendance at city activities hasn't leveled off seven years later. Seen in colorful dresses or form-fitted pencil skirts, Tergin is dressed accordingly for every occasion, laden with jewelry from her downtown store. While the routine ebbs and flows, a typical day begins early in the morning and continues until late in the evening, involving a range of city events, socials or charity functions, which are entered into her phone calendar with the help of her administrative assistant, Jennifer Suchanek.
While privacy is somewhat a concern for Tergin, she aims at being accessible, often picking up the phone from unknown callers or giving her private number out to others. It's important the mayor is visible and supporting the city, Tergin said, and she hopes this mindset will continue with the next mayor when she wraps up her second term in April 2023.
While the position of mayor certainly comes with privileges -- its level of renown, for example -- it hasn't come without difficult drawbacks. With this level of commitment, Tergin said she's given up relationships sometimes at the expense of putting others first. For example, Tergin was married for 16 years, but the couple grew differently, and they split amicably, she said.
"It can be a tough balance," she said. "I can be tough to handle when it comes to that because being out and about, there are a lot of other things that are grabbing my attention intentionally or not."
Tergin won 41 percent of the vote in the mayoral race with five other candidates in 2015, and in 2019, she won with 81 percent of the vote. She campaigned on positive leadership and building partnerships with local entities and organizations.
Before becoming mayor, she served as a member of the City Council for six years, running for re-election every two years. During her final bid, though, she lost her council seat. The shock of losing is eventually what led to her mayoral campaign.
Tergin said she is a better mayor today having lost her council seat those years ago.
"When you lose a council seat, that's very public, everybody knows you lost like ... it's a loss, and to come back from it and win a six-person race as mayor, that's exciting," she said.
Her mother, Irene Tergin, remembered feeling surprised when her daughter decided she wanted to run for mayor.
"I still ask her all these years, 'Why,?" she said jokingly.
All joking aside, Irene Tergin said, "People go like, 'This is the mother and father of the mayor' ... and I think we are just Carrie's mom and dad."
"It just makes me feel good she made the right decision, and of course, we support her in anything she wants to do," Irene Tergin said.
The eldest of three children, Tergin remains extremely close with her family, and she said they are instrumental in supporting her during the busy moments. She eats dinner with her parents every night.
Both her maternal and paternal sides have Greek heritage, something Tergin is proud of. Her grandfather, George Tergin, was a Greek immigrant and owned a shoeshine service in the city. Tergin's parents later opened Carrie's Hallmark Shop and named it after their daughter.
Tergin said she hires people to work at the store when she is unable to be there as she puts her role as mayor first. Her parents still drop by the store and help out.
After her term limit expires, the path for Tergin is still unknown.
"So, what will I do after that? We'll just have to see," she said. "I'm open to all possibilities. I wish I knew right now what that was going to be, but I just don't know yet."
Tergin would like to complete development at the Missouri State Penitentiary before leaving office. The city is still negotiating plans with a developer to build a hotel and conference center at the site where the historic state prison was located. Additionally, two health care associations are drafting architectural plans to build a new facility valued at $20 million.
"Now we are seeing it come to fruition. Some of our staff work with the developer on a daily basis," she said. "That will be a huge economic boost."
Once the development at MSP breaks ground, Tergin will be right there, phone in hand ready for a selfie.
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In the accompanying video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHBKaslREYE, Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin talks about why she chose to run for mayor.
Julie Smith/News Tribune file photo: On the day the Bicentennial Bridge was dedicated, Mayor Carrie Tergin posed next to the Deborah Cooper Park sign at the entrance to Adrian's Island.
Julie Smith/News Tribune file photo: Following a group photograph with the Boys and Girls Club students, Mayor Carrie Tergin then posed for a selfie with the group. Tergin visited with students in after-school care with the Boys and Girls Club in the annex at Knowles YMCA. 
Julie Smith/News Tribune file photo from April 2022: Mayor Carrie Tergin poses for a selfie with Jefferson City Fire Department Captain Dirk "Buck" Protzman on his retirement day during a ceremony at Fire Station #3.
Julie Smith/News Tribune file photo from June 2022: Mayor Carrie Tergin poses for a selfie with two crew members of the USS Jefferson City. They are Frank Cook, at left, and Darren Ensley.
Kate Cassady/News Tribune file photo: Citizens gather at Jefferson City's Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 18, 2022, at Community Park. Mayor Carrie Tergin, right, buys baked goods from Angela Buckhall.