When Bob Lenox

took office as Peachtree City's mayor 10 years ago, he was a total political

rookie, with no experience in city government whatsoever.

Never mind

that he was filling the shoes of a legend, Fred Brown Jr. He couldn't

have predicted at the time that Peachtree City would have grown as quickly

as it did.

But the city

has managed that growth very well, Lenox says, with the exception of the

traffic mess currently on Ga. Highway 54 west which the city isn't responsible

for, he adds.

And in true

"tell-it-like-it-is" fashion, Lenox points the finger at the

group he claims is the actual party to blame.

"Talk

to the folks at the Sierra Club," Lenox said, referring to the environmental

group that tied up all highway construction activities in metro Atlanta

for years with a lawsuit over whether the region met clean air standards.

Lenox still

marvels at how much this town has changed since he first laid eyes on

it back in 1978 while delivering a Corvette to a friend who happened to

live here. He recalled getting lost on the way after turning left at the

stop sign that governed "traffic" at the intersection of highways

54 and 74.

"I remember

thinking, 'Man, there is nothing here!'" Lenox said.

Now, the town

is a big metropolitan city, complete with five major grocery stores and

a plethora of restaurants and retail establishments. Lenox says he is

still amazed at how much is available in Peachtree City, allowing him

to avoid trips into Atlanta altogether.

Lenox is also

pleased with the businesses that have moved into the industrial park during

his tenure, including Gardner-Denver, Cooper Lighting, Lawson-Mardon and

the Federal Aviation Administration's traffic control facility.

But Lenox is

most proud of the projects the city accomplished with a recreation bond

referendum that was approved by voters in 1993.

"Without

that, you wouldn't have a baseball and soccer complex on Highway 74, you

wouldn't have The Gathering Place or the Kedron Fieldhouse and the amphitheater

wouldn't be as nice as it is," Lenox said.

"People

who are here now think these things fell from the sky."

Lenox has steered

council meetings through contentious issues, sometimes taking personal

abuse from persons speaking at the podium. Though he almost always took

the abuse without firing back, he did defend himself on occasion.

"The only

time I have taken umbrage is if you're going to tell me I'm stup id

or crooked, because then we're not going to get along," Lenox said.

"... But I don't mind you saying you disagree with me on a particular

issue."

Aside from

this year's debacle over the approval of site plans for the Wal-Mart Supercenter

and Home Depot store, Lenox recalled one issue that riled citizens up

left and right: plans to build what is now the Village Store convenience

store at the south end of town at the intersection of Peachtree Parkway

and Robinson Road.

"You would

have thought the world was coming to an end," Lenox said, half-joking

and half-serious at the same time.

Lenox also

took a lot of heat, particularly from this newspaper, for the city's acquisition

of the sewer system from Peachtree City Development Corporation (now Pathway

Community Development Corp.). But he stands by council's decision and

maintains that the system is one of the best in Georgia offering local

citizens some of the lowest sewer rates around.

Through all

the controversy, however, Lenox said he was proud to have worked with

the city employees who keep doing their jobs day after day.

"It has

been a pure joy working with everybody who works for the city," Lenox

said.

As for how

he made it through 10 years in office and Peachtree City coming out as

nice as it has, Lenox referred