City manager: 'It's been a good run'

Jerry Gwaltney will stay in Danville after retiring June 30 but plans to eventually move to Smith Mountain Lake, where he and his wife, Gayle, have a second home.

As he awaits his last day as city manager, Gwaltney said he looks back with pride and satisfaction at his tenure in Danville that started in 2000.

“It’s been a good run,” Gwaltney said.

He said his greatest accomplishments include helping to bring about 7,000 jobs to the Dan River Region, forging one of the best city-county partnerships in the commonwealth, restoring the city to financial stability during tough economic times, and implementing a successful retail hub strategy.

The Portsmouth native came to Danville after serving as city manager in Dothan, Ala., partly to be closer to his children and grandchildren. He said he also sensed what the city could become.

“I saw a great deal of potential here,” Gwaltney said. “I just felt Danville would be a great place to manage.”

Local economic development projects under Gwaltney’s watch have been legion, including the 2004 opening of the $15 million Institute for Advanced Learning & Research. In addition, Boscov’s, Yorktowne Cabinetry, Telvista and Swedwood are just a few of the entities that have added jobs in the region.

“He’s been one of the major players in attracting new jobs to the region,” Laurie Moran, president of the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday.

Moran pointed to Gwaltney’s efforts to put the Danville Development Council under the city’s umbrella. He not only empowered that office, he played an active role in its endeavors, she said. Moran also praised Gwaltney’s tenacity in getting advanced job training for the area’s work force.

“He’s had a phenomenal vision for the city,” she said, “but not just the vision, but he’s had the ability to bring that vision to reality.”

Gwaltney will be missed and has been receptive, maintaining an open-door policy, Moran said, adding he also has been a friend to existing businesses.

Pittsylvania County Administrator Dan Sleeper said Gwaltney is one of the best Danville city officials he has worked with since returning to the county in 2000.

Besides joining forces to bring economic development to the region, Sleeper and Gwaltney worked together on the Airport Commission and on integrating the water and sewer system with the city.

Sleeper and Gwaltney also discussed everyday management issues.

“He was always very helpful,” Sleeper said.

Coy Harville, chairman of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, said he hopes the county and city can continue the cooperation that Gwaltney started.

“I’m hoping we can work to move forward with the things Jerry implemented,” Harville said.

Harville said he was surprised but not shocked by Gwaltney’s announcement.

“Jerry’s done a lot of work here,” he said. “It takes a lot of energy, a lot out of you.”

Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, who served on City Council in 2000 and 2001 until being elected to the House of Delegates, praised Gwaltney’s efforts to get additional funding for K-12 education in Danville and his ongoing efforts to replace the Robertson Street Bridge.

“The city is moving in the right direction,” Marshall said. “I don’t have any fears that we’ll slip back.”

Charles Majors, chief executive officer at American National Bank and Trust Co., remembers Gwaltney coming in at a rough time for the city, when it was losing jobs from its dying textile and tobacco industries. He accomplished much for the city while maintaining fiscal responsibility, Majors said.

Majors has worked with Gwaltney in several capacities, including on the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and on the Danville Development Council Board.

After eight years, Gwaltney garners a high level of respect across the state for helping create an effective city-county relationship that has become a model for others to follow, Majors pointed out.

“I think the city is going to miss his leadership,” he said.

Gwaltney said he would like to transfer his economic development skills to another Virginia community as a consultant. Gwaltney said he has accomplished what he set out to do for Danville and has enjoyed his run as city manager.

“I really believe that God sent me here and wanted me to have this experience, and I’ve had a good one,” Gwaltney said.

Staff writers Sarah Arkin and Bernard Baker

contributed to this report.

Contact John R. Crane at jcrane@

registerbee.com or (434) 791-7987.