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AMPERSAND is published monthly to inform employees, clients, and friends of events and issues which affect the company.

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July 2004, Volume 16, Number VII

John Hawley: Settled in for the Long Run in Pulaski

by Su Clauson-Wicker

John Hawley is a steady kind of guy: he lives As a young engineer, John Hawley designed this gazebo that is located in downtown Pulaski.
in the town where he was born,married the
girl-almost-next-door, and has worked for the Town of Pulaski, Va. for more than 30 years.

So when a local sock manufacturer, Renfro, closed in January laying off almost 500 workers in this town of 9,500 and cutting town revenues by $315,000, Hawley, the Pulaski Town Manager, did not entertain the idea of heading south himself, even though it could mean year-round golf, a sport Hawley loves nearly as much as his job. Instead he dug in, working with local, state, and federal agencies to get benefits for the workers and bring in new employment opportunities.

"Economic development is my biggest challenge," Hawley said. "We’re competing not just with other U.S. locations, but globally. It’s pretty exciting working with officials from all over and educating them about Southwest Virginia." Some of the efforts of Hawley and his colleagues have already paid off. In late January, Global Contract Services opened a call center in a downtown building with plans to create 300 jobs over the year.

   Another major project to boost employment is the 132-acre Pulaski Business Park, for which Anderson & Associates did the preliminary engineering report. In a creative financial venture, the park’s first two businesses are installing the utilities and roadway in exchange for 15 acres of site.

   Pulaski is also waiting for a reply to its revitalization grant application aimed at sprucing up its Victorian downtown. A&A has been involved in the utility planning. Although all roads don’t lead to downtown Pulaski, the 57-mile New River Rail Trail soon will. The Town has completed the first segment of the 57-mile New River Trail that will bring hikers and cyclists downtown.

   Another Pulaski tourist attraction is the town-owned pro baseball park, home of the Toronto Blue Jays farm team. Calfee Park, the ninth oldest active professional baseball park in the country, has hosted some of the best talent now in the major leagues. On a free evening between June 21 and Labor Day, Hawley says rooting for the Blue Jays ranks right up there with golf.

   A native of nearby Draper, Hawley began his career with the Town as an engineering aide while a civil-engineering student at Virginia Tech. Upon graduation, he became Assistant Engineer. He moved up to engineer five years later and became Town Manager in May 2002. "I still like to dabble in engineering when I can," he says.

   Hawley and his wife, Sarah, live in Draper with their four cats and a comprehensive collection of golf clubs.&

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