Metro Atlanta comprises 60-plus cities; each month we introduce one municipality and its mayor.
Allison Wilkerson is the first female mayor in the 114-year history of Grayson, a southeastern Gwinnett city of 2,700. She’s also the first second-generation mayor, following in the footsteps of her father, Doug. A real estate agent, she assumed the unpaid mayor’s office last year.
Slogan swap
We were “Gwinnett’s Best Kept Secret,” but we’re redoing our branding. The secret got out.
Local flavor
Go by the coffee house and get the “mayor drink.” I’m not a coffee drinker, so they created a drink for me that is hot chocolate and caramel.
One-light town
The first red light came to Grayson in the early 1990s. When I was a teenager, Grayson didn’t have a grocery store. You hoped you had enough gas to get to Snellville, Lawrenceville, or Loganville.
What downtime?
Hypothetically, if I had an afternoon off, I’d be outdoors or shopping—just trying to relax.
Best part of the hometown job
Watching it evolve, seeing new people come to town, and seeing it through their eyes.
This article originally appeared in our July 2015 issue.
