Every Monday, The Times takes a look at someone who keeps local government running smoothly.
OAKWOOD — Oakwood was a far different place when Patti Doss-Luna arrived in the small town, a young mom entering the work force because “I needed the job.”
“When I first came here, the city just awarded its first sewer project,” putting lines along what is now a booming Mundy Mill Road, she said in an interview last week at Oakwood City Hall.
The city had 30 to 40 businesses and less than 1,000 people, compared to about 400 businesses and 4,500 residents today, she added.
“I’ve really grown up here. I’ve gotten to be a part of all the growth that’s gone on in the city,” said the former clerk, now Patti Doss-Luna and assistant city manager.
A Hall County native and North Hall High School graduate, Doss-Luna worked as city clerk until 1992, when she moved to South Carolina.
But it was like she never left.
“I came back, did the city’s taxes and (worked on the) business licenses,” Doss-Luna said. “I did some things for the city three or four times during the year.”
She returned for good in 1993 and became assistant city manager.
Doss-Luna, who is 50 and has a 25-year-old daughter and three stepchildren, has served as acting city manager three times, all because of overseas military deployments by City Manager Stan Brown.
Brown is an Air Force reservist with the 628th Civil Engineer squadron at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta.
Those stints in the big chair are career high points.
“Stan is a very good city manager. He has allowed me to grow under his leadership,” Doss-Luna said.
And even though the two administrators divide up duties, Brown regularly “involves me in meetings he’s participating in,” she added. “Wherever he’s at, usually I’m there.”
As far as becoming a city manager elsewhere, Doss-Luna hasn’t given it much thought.
“I love the city. I’ve just grown up here,” she said. “I’ve had people approach me (about a move) ... but this is really where I belong. I’m happy here.
“It’s not all about the money. I like what I do. I like the people I work for. I respect them and they’re good to the staff.”