Some still call him “Mr. Georgetown,” and it is fitting. Since 1969, Leo and Vivian Wood have been living, working, and helping build this city into some of the most desirable zip codes in the nation. While they’ve had many chances, and more than a few lucrative offers, they plan to stick around a long while too.
These youngsters will celebrate their 59th wedding anniversary in August. They met at a movie theater in Llano, Texas in the summer of 1960 and, as you might expect, Leo says it was love at first sight. Vivian says her first thought was, “I wonder what daddy is going to think.” She smiles as she quizzes him (unsuccessfully) on their various commemorative dates; “But just ask him something like how much water the city used in March of 1973…”
“Mr. and Mrs. Georgetown” have been working hard, across Texas, since their youth. Leo started in high school, working for the Snead family and Texas Crushed Stone, headquartered in Georgetown. He even has a compelling story of how he pulled Mr. Snead from the wreckage of an airplane crash in 1956.
After high school, Leo worked for the city of San Saba, 1962-64, then the couple moved to Rosebud. In 1969 he was hired to be the City Manager of Georgetown.
Vivian recalls, “When we were in Rosebud, Leo would meet with council for 30 minutes then go shoot pool and have a drink. When he went to his first meeting in Georgetown, he came home about 11pm and I asked where he had been. He said, ‘We’re broke; the school system is broke.’ I told him he had 90 days or I’m going back to mother and daddy because this job may not pan out.”
Lucky for us, and as Leo says, thanks to a dedicated city council and Mayor Jay Sloane, Georgetown’s 6,000 people were soon on the right track to future growth. Vivian says, “When we moved here, you could shoot a cannon in the middle of Georgetown and not hit anything. There were no businesses, no I-35, and Williams Drive was a two-lane market road.” The Woods’ plan was for Leo to get to work putting Georgetown on the map. The family, now with three growing boys, would grow here, and travel when they could. “We didn’t have a plan beyond that, but as opportunities came around, we took advantage of them.”
In those days, Leo’s job often included physically throwing the switch at the power plant to turn on street lights on and off. He did the same for the water pump that fed the city, and a single fire hydrant near City Hall.
Meanwhile, Vivian had become the Executive Director at the Chamber of Commerce because, she says, “The need was there.” She managed the construction of the building, and many periods of growth, downturns, and more growth, for 17 years. She credits all of the members of the budding organization; “I can’t say enough about the people of Georgetown who were always committed to our growth. They were all dedicated and invested; you can’t go out and ask organizations or businesses for thousands of dollars without that buy-in, and those people made sure this city didn’t just become a gasoline stop on I-35.”
In 1992, Leo was elected Mayor and served until 1999. He was responsible for a great deal of the urban renewal during those years, including many modern additions of the Square, the emergence of Sun City, and the purchase of land that provided for a little stretch of asphalt known as SH130 to go through Georgetown. He can also take credit for a lot of construction and growth of our parks and trails. When the city was short of funds for the swimming pool on Williams Drive, Leo made a call to his old boss, Mr. Snead, and reminded him about that time in 1956… and received a check for $45,000. “It was never about the plane,” Leo laughs. “Mr. Snead has always been willing to give back to this city in any way he can and we are forever grateful for his generosity and help.”
Meanwhile, in 1994, having said she would never run for office, Vivian became the Williamson County Treasurer; a job she would be re-elected to for the next 22 years. “There needed to be someone looking out for the money. At that time, they were still counting out deposits coming from everywhere, often with coins, and transporting them to the bank in personal cars.” As the County grew and money management advanced, she created and polished the processes and procedures, but she smiles about her “political” career; “Leo was a politician; I was a public servant.”
She adds that has always been known for his ability to build. “He would talk to the Devil for another check for a road,” Vivian says. “He always believed whenever you can get a grant, you don’t have to ask taxpayers for it.”
After 50 years, there are not enough pages in this magazine to share all the Woods’ stories. Suffice to say, we are glad they picked Georgetown. Vivian says it best, “There have been many opportunities to leave, but we have always had a buy in and a commitment, so we stick with it. This is a vibrant community and, no doubt, will continue to be, a great place to live.”