Jere Wood's Biography
Jere Wood was elected Mayor of Roswell in 1997 and is serving in his third term as Mayor. Mayor Wood's goal has been to make Roswell a great place to live. Since his election, Roswell has been named as one of the top three cities in the nation to raise your family (Frommer's 2006), The Sixth Best Place in America to Retire (Black Enterprise Magazine, September 2008), the 18th Safest City in the United States (FBI Crime Statistics 2007), Top 20 Cities in the United States with a Population Under 100,000 (Money Magazine), and Best Place to Live in Metro Atlanta (Atlanta Magazine).
During Jere Wood's term as Mayor, Roswell has received the following awards and accreditations: Internationally Accredited Police Department (CALEA), Nationally Accredited Recreation and Parks Department (CAPR), Bicycle-Friendly Community (League of American Bicyclists), Tree City USA Award, Preserve America Community Designation, City of Excellence (GMA), Georgia Trendsetter (GMA), Create Community Award (ARC), and AAA Bond Rating (Moody's, Standard & Poor's).
Under Mayor Wood's leadership, Roswell has grown. The City increased from 32 to 41 square miles in area, and from 57,000 to 85,000 people. The appraised value of real estate in the City has grown from $3.0 billion to over $10 billion. Seven new parks have been added, increasing the acreage of park land from 314.7 acres to 912.8 acres. This growth has enabled the City to reduce its property tax millage rate from 6.59 mils to 5.455 mils, since Mayor Wood's election.
Mayor Wood is a lifelong resident of Roswell. He grew up roaming the fields surrounding Roswell, whose population at the time was only 2,000. Jere learned to appreciate green space and parks from his father, Roy Wood, a wildlife conservationist, and his mother, Tillie, a biology teacher.
Mayor Wood graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Economics cum laude in 1971, and a law degree in 1974. From that time to the present, Mayor Wood has practiced law, first in Atlanta, and then on Canton Street in Roswell with Richard Perry.
In 1976 Jere Wood met and married Judie Raiford from Atlanta. Judie is a goldsmith and owns and operates the Raiford Gallery at 1169 Canton Street. The Raiford Gallery has been recognized as one of the top 100 galleries in the United States.
Mayor Wood has always enjoyed building and working with his hands. With the help of his friends, Jere moved and raised the circa 1810 log cabin where he and his wife live today, and the 1830s dogtrot cabin, which houses the offices of Wood and Perry on Canton Street. His last construction project was the 9,000 square-foot timber-frame barn which houses Raiford Gallery, timbers of which were sawn by Jere. Mayor Wood's building days are far from over. Since being elected Mayor of Roswell in1997, Mayor Wood has worked to build a better city.
Prior to his election as Mayor, the Mayor served the community in a number of ways. He first began public service as president of the Greenway Community Club and editor for the Roswell Neighborhood Network. He served as president of the North Fulton Bar Association in 1994, chairman of the board of High Meadows School in 1995, and president of the Roswell Historical Society in 1996. In those positions, he was instrumental in the creation of the Parkway Village Zoning District, which established the pattern for development of the Highway 92 Corridor along Crossville and Woodstock Roads.
As Mayor, Jere Wood has served on the Atlanta Regional Commission, the board of the North Fulton Teaching Museum, first chairman of the Metropolitan Atlanta Mayors Association, the board of directors of the Georgia Municipal Association, and president of GMA District Three - North Region. Currently, Mayor Wood is serving as chairman of the North Fulton Municipal Association.
Mayor Wood enjoys serving Roswell as its Mayor and working to maintain Roswell's quality of life so that it remains the best place to live in the state of Georgia.