Photo by Amber M. McCloskey
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By Ashley Fuller
afuller@cherokeetribune.com
The community room of the Waleska Community Center was filled Thursday night as the community said goodbye to the head of the city for a decade and a half.
Marguerite Cline did not seek re-election this year for another term as Waleska's mayor, a role she has filled for the past 14 years.
"After 14 years, it is just time for the city to have another mayor," Ms. Cline, 70, said. "I decided about a year ago that my time had come."
The event was attended by fellow leaders, friends and neighbors, who thanked Ms. Cline and talked about their relationship with her and what she has meant to the city.
"As long as I have known her, she has tended to Waleska much like you would attend a favorite garden," Cherokee County Probate Court Judge Kip McVay of Waleska said. "She may be stepping down as mayor, but I don't think she is stepping down from promoting the interests of this city."
Leaders from neighboring cities praised her willingness to work with them to make Cherokee a better place. Her service has included a long career as an educator, which culminated in her role as county superintendent of schools, as well as terms on boards to support Reinhardt College in Waleska and many community organizations.
"We are going to miss her leadership," Canton City Councilwoman JoEllen Wilson said. "A lot of us looked to her for leadership. She has been a leader all over the county, not just the city."
Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques said Ms. Cline is a model for how to act as a mayor.
"When you think of grace and dignity, you look at her," he said.
Ms. Cline listed the August 2004 opening of Cline Park on Bartow Street in the city as one of the high points of her time as mayor.
"It is well-used. It is rare to go by there and not see it being used," she said.
Other accomplishments she is proud of are the construction of sidewalks in the city and the expansion of its water system. She also was happy to see the expansion of Reinhardt College's Waleska campus and the recent commercial growth that has come to the city.
Doris Jones, who won the election earlier this month to succeed Ms. Cline as mayor, said she sees the monument sign at City Hall and adoption of a city logo as other achievements during Ms. Cline's tenure.
"Your wisdom and guidance will be missed," Ms. Jones said to the mayor.
Mary Helen Lamb, who has served on the city council during the length of Ms. Cline's term as mayor, said she made everybody feel important, no matter what the problem was.
"She was a good listener and has great leadership," she said. "Waleska has been very fortunate to have her."
While Ms. Cline is relinquishing her leadership role with the city, she does not intend to disappear from the community.
"I plan to do lots of stuff," said Ms. Cline, who is a longtime weekly columnist with the Cherokee Tribune and active in organizations including the Rotary Club of Canton.
Ms. Cline said she would be available to Ms. Jones to help in any way she could and will stay busy finishing up her third book of columns and spending more time with her grandchildren.
"This is my favorite place of all the places on Earth," she said about Waleska.
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