Board Profile: Jody McLeod continued from page 19 the biopharmaceutical industry, valued locally at around $5 billion, according to McLeod. There is also now in-town healthcare. Whereas in decades past, Clayton residents needed to travel to Raleigh or Smithfield for hospital care, UNC Health Johnston in Clayton—opened in 2009 and undergoing expansions presently—now offers quality healthcare at home. McLeod was closely involved in the relationship building, site selection, planning process that landed the facility. Supporting it all is the routine and critical work of city leadership. Infrastructure investment, water and wastewater system projects, public works, utilities, and more. “These aren’t the flashy projects,” said McLeod. “But they are so important for setting Clayton up for the future… In order for the community to thrive and for economic development to continue, you have to have these things.” Through the town’s evolution, his florist business has boomed, as has McLeod’s standing as a leader in the industry. McLeod has presented for the American Institute of Floral Design (AIFD) and is one of 13 nationwide education experts for Teleflora, a national florist network. Those achievements—both civic and floral—happening concurrently aren’t surprising to McLeod. If anything, they’re complementary, paralleled in the same way as the geography of both the Triangle and his in-town florist competition. He approaches each the same. In 2018, McLeod detailed this symmetry in a presentation for AIFD on a topic titled “Discovering the Art of Leadership.” “I blew them all away,” said McLeod. “A leader should be balanced. So should a floral design. A leader should yield to unity. So should a floral design. Harmony, all parts working together, a strong focal point, rhythm, balance, movement. Civic leadership and floral design, same thing.” The parallel didn’t occur to McLeod at first in his public service career, he admits. But at some point, a little over a decade ago, it clicked. “It just happened in a moment one night,” McLeod said. “And it was amazing.” “You can take the principles and elements of design anywhere. You can do it in your house. You can do it in your backyard. I sit around tables with engineers and accountants and attorneys and all these brainiacs, and I’m not them and can’t do what they do. But I can bring the creative side and the visual side.” In his own work, through the role of Mayor, McLeod is taking the old parts of Clayton and incorporating new parts of Clayton. He’s seeing through new developments, coming into town at a rapid pace. He’s balancing the residential and industrial. And he’s doing this all while keeping center that strong focal point—that essence of Clayton. There’s no wonder the community-focused town has come as far as it has. “I don’t mean to brag, but keeping it real, you gotta own it,” he said. “Sometimes leaders don’t want to own the good stuff, you know?” Through the role of Mayor, McLeod is taking the old parts of Clayton and incorporating new parts of Clayton. And he’s doing this all while keeping center that strong focal point—that essence of Clayton. SOUTHERN CITY Quarter 2 2023 20
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