Greeneville Mayor Darrell Bryan, whose term will expire on Monday, June 30, said he has operated Greeneville's government like a business for the past six years, and as a result, much progress has been made.

Still, Bryan said, much work is left to be done after he relinquishes his duties on July 1 to the newly-elected mayor, Alderman Laraine King.

"I think the past six years have been very positive," the outgoing mayor said in an interview last week. "A lot of good things have happened, and I think a lot more good things are going to happen."

In addition to the "good things" that have happened in Greeneville during the past six years, Bryan has become a proud grandfather during that period.

He said he plans to spend more time with his family now that he has just one "full-time" job, which is that of being executive director of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center (NPAC).

Bryan, 57, owns Bryan Management Inc. and has headed the NPAC for the past four years.

He is a former radio executive and graduate of the Career Academy of Broadcasting in Atlanta.

During his three terms in office, Bryan recalled, several improvements have been made to numerous town departments:

* Creation of an employee handbook that directs all work-related policies and procedures of the town;

* Upgrades to all four fire stations;

* Reorganization of the Police Department;

* Several improvements to the Public Works Department, including the addition of automated garbage trucks;

* Reorganization of the Public Works Department to add the new town engineer, Brad Peters, and the town environmentalist, Debbie Smith, making operations more efficient;

* Completion of the first phase of the downtown historic walkway, the tennis complex and the skate park;

* Adoption of new ordinances making it easier to clean up property and tear down old, unsafe buildings;

* Major repairs to the Roby Fitzgerald Adult Center building to make it safer and more accessible to the town's senior citizens; and

* Work with Greene County officials to keep Plus Mark, Inc. (now American Calendar Co.) in Greene County, next to Greeneville;

Bryan noted that the heads of three city departments -- Public Works, Police and Fire -- have retired in the past six years, and new department heads have been appointed.

He commended all of Greeneville's department heads for their efficiency during a hiring freeze that has left them short-handed on employees.

B ryan also listed several projects that are under way and need to be continued:

* development of the Comprehensive Plan to guide how Greeneville will grow in the next 20 years;

* completion of the Fairgrounds Connector Road project;

* continued industrial recruitment and economic development through work with the Greene County Partnership;

* completion of the town's new state-of-the-art board room and courtroom at the Greeneville Light & Power System headquarters; and

* continued city and county support of the runway realignment project at the Greeneville-Greene County Municipal Airport.

Bryan also stressed the importance of bringing to fruition the "Rediscover Greeneville" vision for downtown redevelopment.

"We've got to find a way to grow our economy here, no matter what we do," he said.

Bryan expressed thanks to his administrative assistant, Kathy White, for helping him keep in contact with the public.

He also commended environmentalist Smith for working with the public on property cleanup, and Glenda Blazer, Roby Fitzgerald Adult Center's director, for making adjustments during repairs to the Roby building.

He thanked the aldermen, who he said have "worked extremely well together" in doing what's best for Greeneville.

He also wished good luck to the new Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

Bryan said his family has been very supportive while he has worked the long hours of two full-time jobs, which he said was often six or seven days a week, from 7:30 a.m. to midnight.

Bryan and his wife, Naomi, have three grown sons: Micky, Matthew and Mark.

His first grandchild, Greta Renee Moore Bryan, will be three years old on July 12, and his second grandchild, Sophia Rose Moore Bryan, was born June 5.

The proud grandfather was showing off photos of the new addition just before the Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting on June 17.

Bryan said he's not sure if he will run for public office again.

"It was a good experience," he said of being mayor. "I think everybody should do it because it's not anything like you think it should be."

He said he did not enjoy the campaigning part of the job, and he preferred to focus on the actual work that needed to be done to serve the people of Greeneville.

Bryan expressed thanks to the citizens for allowing him the opportunity to serve as mayor.

"It's an outstanding community," he said. "I think it will just get better."