FLOWERY BRANCH — Dinah Wayne is stepping down Dec. 31 after nearly 10 years as head of Flowery Branch’s Better Hometown program.

Wayne took the job in 1999 on the heels of the town working to restore its century-old downtown depot. She remained at the helm for all but two years, when she was away from the city.

"I’m just tired," she said, laughing, in an interview Wednesday at city offices. "They need somebody young; they need somebody who’s passionate and energetic. I was when I started. ... It’s time to move on."

Wayne, a Tampa, Fla., native, became familiar with the depot while researching it as part of a thesis toward a degree in interior design at Brenau University.

"I really bonded with the building when I went in there about three different times and spent hours in there," she said.

At that time, in the mid-1990s, the depot that sat deteriorating at the end of Main Street off Railroad Avenue was used by the city for storage.

"Boy, when that train went by, it just rumbled the whole (building)," Wayne said. "It was like stepping back in time."

In 1996, she became a volunteer historic preservation coordinator for Flowery Branch.

"Through my schooling, I knew about this Better Hometown program," which is sponsored by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Wayne said. "So, I started going to sessions about that, because I knew they could help — not financially but give technical assistance."

The state designated Flowery Branch a Better Hometown in January 1999. Six months later, Wayne became the program’s first paid Better Hometown manager.

"We started sponsoring events ... to get things rolling," she said. "(The events are) done by individual organizations now."

Renovation work was completed on the depot in 2001, with funding coming from Flowery Branch and the Georgia Department of Transportation. As part of that effort, the depot was moved to a vacant lot across the street, at the corner of Main Street and Railroad Avenue.

Another highlight of Wayne’s career was receiving state money for a downtown survey, which included a photographic inventory of historic structures.

Better Hometown held its 10th anniversary celebration on May 10, with baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro as the keynote speaker.

In a final act on Wayne’s watch, the organization announced plans Wednesday to donate to the city two or three street lights, similar in design to ones as part of a streetscaping project on Main Street, to be placed in Depot Park, a grassy area next to the depot.

"I am proud of Better Hometown. Historic preservation is a major fiber of it," she said. "Volunteers were our great asset — they were just wonderful.

"It took of team of people who wanted to see Flowery Branch prosper and yet save historic assets."