Where Are They Now? David Leatherwood

David Leatherwood, the mayor of Dublin and a long-time employee of the Dublin First National Bank, has lived in the Dublin area his entire life. He feels lucky to be in a place where his family is so rooted in the community. “There are a lot of nice places out there, but they are nice places to visit,” Leatherwood said. “Dublin has always been home.”

In 1984, the summer of Leatherwood’s junior year at Dublin High School, he got a job at the First National Bank in Gustine as a teller. “It was a very small bank [at the time],” he said. “They still shut down at lunch, and didn’t even have a drive through.”

When he graduated from high school in 1984, Leatherwood knew he wanted to go into banking in the future, so he enrolled at Tarleton to study business.

He kept his job at the bank in Gustine until his brother Jimmy Leatherwood opened the Dublin First National Bank in 1985. Leatherwood started there as a part-time teller, and after he graduated from Tarleton in 1988, he went to work at the bank full time.

He continued to work as a teller for a few more years, and then transitioned to the role of loan officer. He’s now held the position for over 20 years. “It’s nice to help people with this job,” he said. “When you can help someone with a loan it makes you feel good.”

The bank employees do service work in the community on a regular basis. “We do Meals on Wheels every Friday,” Leatherwood said. “We’ve been doing it for years, and it’s always enjoyable.”

Leatherwood also gives back to the community in other ways. He’s a member of the CenTex Rural Rail Transportation District, and has served the past eight years as the mayor of Dublin. He’s following in the footsteps of several of his family members, including his father, grandfather and brother, all of whom served as mayor in the past. “I guess you could say we’ve been involved in local government,” he said.

Throughout his three terms, he’s been proud of what the city government has accomplished. “The city’s got some good people running it, good department heads, and things are looking up,” he said. “We’ve been getting grants and it’s been nice to see something growing and getting better.”

One ongoing project he’s been working on is restoring the MK&T depot, a passenger freight train depot built by the Katy railroad in 1928. “There’s always projects going on, and stuff you put in motion,” he said. “It takes a while but it’s great to see it pan out.”

Besides his job at the bank and his roles in the community, Leatherwood runs a construction business on the side. When Leatherwood has free time, he’s usually spending time with his wife or visiting his family. The Leatherwoods have four grown children: Mekyla, Aubrey, Blaize and Bryce.

Leatherwood’s wife Kim (Orr) Leatherwood has worked as a teacher at Dublin Elementary School since 1994. “My wife is an amazing inspiration,” Leatherwood said. “She works really hard at what she does. She gets up at nearly 6 am and is on her feet teaching all day, she doesn’t sit down until about 9 at night.”

He’s also found role models in his community. “Over the years I’ve met a lot of amazing people that inspire me, that are good at what they do,” Leatherwood said. “Being mayor I meet people and think, ‘They make me want to do so much better.’”

Leatherwood’s advice to Dublin graduates is to live in the moment and appreciate the life they have. “Enjoy every minute of your life because it goes by so fast,” Leatherwood said. “I remember being so excited to get out of school, but then you get out and think, ‘Wow, I wish I was back in high school, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.’ Just enjoy every minute and don’t take anything for granted.”

Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.