Church honors Gwaltney for service

When Jerry Gwaltney arrived in Danville eight years ago as the new city manager, Doug Barber did something out of the ordinary.
Barber gathered several of his fellow area pastors and they prayed for Gwaltney, launching his tenure with a blessing and hope for good leadership.
“Since that time, it gave us a great relationship,” Barber said Sunday morning as he prepared to lead a service honoring Gwaltney at Westover Baptist Church. “I became a sounding board for him.”
Though Gwaltney is not a regular member of the church, he attended occasionally and the two became friends. Barber held a service Sunday honoring Gwaltney and presented him with a plaque of appreciation, citing Danville’s economic recovery under his watch. Danville Mayor Sherman Saunders and City Councilman John Hamlin also attended, in addition to Gwaltney’s executive secretary, Janet Shaw, and executive assistant, Vicky Farmer.
Barber mentioned the Biblical principle of giving honor where it’s due as a reason to recognize Gwaltney.
When Gwaltney came to the city in 2000, it was in a “challenging time,” Barber said during the service. But from 2004 to 2008, Danville has gained about 7,000 jobs during a revolution from textile and tobacco to technology and other industries, Barber said.
“That doesn’t happen by accident,” Barber said. “It represented four years of work by Gwaltney and others.”
Danville has moved into a stronger position under the leadership of Gwaltney, who established a fiber-optic system throughout the community and kept taxes low, Barber said. A slide show gave a short history of Danville, highlighting the last six years of economic growth beginning with the arrival of Essel Propack.
“Folks, that’s progress, that’s great progress,” Barber said after the presentation.
Barber presented Gwaltney a plaque of appreciation.
“It really is humbling to be able to come and be honored by a group of citizens that you care about,” Gwaltney said to the congregation.
Sunday’s service is a fitting end to Gwaltney’s eight-year run as city manager, where he was able to partner with city council, municipal employees and economic-development officials to help the area progress, he said.
“It takes a team to make these kinds of things work,” Gwaltney said.
However, Gwaltney lamented an underlying pessimism among many Danvillians about their city.
“The only criticism is I wish this community would believe in itself more,” he said.
Barber, during his regular sermon, continued a lesson on the life of Joseph and the qualities he possessed: humility, grace and faith. Gwaltney also exhibited those characteristics during his time as city manager, Barber said.
Gwaltney officially retires today.

Contact John R. Crane at jcrane@registerbee.com or 434-791-7987.