Mayor Jody McLeod Designs Local Leadership JACK CASSIDY NCLM Communications Strategist Mayor Jody McLeod isn’t your typical local leader, and he’ll be the first to tell you. “I’m not the usual,” he said. “I’m the unusual.” Ordinary or not, there’s no arguing he’s a mainstay. For more than two decades, McLeod has led Clayton, North Carolina as both Mayor and as an integral part of the community. McLeod’s presence has been felt for so long in Clayton that it can be difficult to remember the town before him. Credit that at least in part to his larger-than-life personality, constantly emanating enthusiasm and joy for his town. It’s a trait seen not just by his fellow citizens, but by television executives too. McLeod, along with his late mother, Mavorine, were cast in a 2016 ABC commercial to promote the new television show, “The Mayor,” which follows a newly elected mayor and his mother in Chicago. “Nothing like being upstaged by your 84-year-old mother,” said McLeod, remembering the day of filming. “She died two years ago. It’s a precious memory for me. I would trade nothing for that.” What drives McLeod though, even beyond a passion for his hometown, is a talent for design, seen most clearly in his day job as a florist. Mixing old with new, large with small, busy with quiet, and creating a unified, single piece—McLeod works with Clayton the same way he works with a bouquet. Unusual, as he admits, but now leveraging these skills in Clayton during a time of rapid change, his successes are readily apparent. ˘˘˘ As the owner and operator of Annie V’s Florist in downtown Clayton, McLeod started out decades ago among stiff competition. All within one block of each other were three florists. His goal, then, was to stand out—to seen as unique, to provide a high-quality product and to stand as a top-tier option among a crowded field. The parallels to Clayton and central North Carolina write themselves. “Oh, there are similarities all over the place,” said McLeod. “How do you become distinct, in the best way? How do you do things completely different than what everybody else is doing? Yeah. You know, customize it, make it novel.” Among a map of attractive, growing towns in the Triangle area, McLeod has worked to elevate Clayton among the very best and to make it, like Annie V’s, a top-tier option. Five terms in, Clayton is now the fastest growing community in North Carolina’s fastest growing county. It began with storytelling—or rather, a need to prioritize storytelling. “If you don’t tell your story, someone else will,” said McLeod. “I needed to get involved and tell this story.” McLeod first entered the local government scene in the late 1990s when he became the “first young person to the town council,” as he puts it, during the same year too that a woman joined the previously all-male council. From there, he turned his sights to the role of mayor. He saw it as an opportunity for the town and for the role to be revitalized and reshaped through proper marketing. “I felt like it was time to redefine the role,” McLeod said, reflecting back. “It was more about economic development, marketing, and branding, all of that. The mayor could no longer be just two meetings a month and ribbon cuttings.” He lost his first mayoral election by under 100 votes—52 as he recalls it. Four years later, he tried again and won. “Again, by 52 votes. Or thereabout,” he said. Once mayor, the story McLeod immediately began to tell hit the high notes: prime geographic location, school quality, and affordability. Mostly, though, he pointed to the community. Telling the story now, he starts at the end. “Look at the people of Clayton WITH A FOCUS ON BALANCE AND ALL PARTS WORKING TOGETHER, MAYOR JODY MCLEOD HAS LEVERAGED A UNIQUE SKILLSET TO TAKE CLAYTON TO THE NEXT LEVEL. Look at the people of Clayton and how welcoming they’ve proved to be. People continue to move here, and the people of Clayton continue to accept them. Everybody knows everybody. It’s what maintains our great sense of community through this growth. Mayor McLeod stands outside the Clayton Center. Photo credit: Ben Brown SOUTHERN CITY Quarter 2 2023 18
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTY1NDIzOQ==