You don’t typically picture a clean-water superintendent writing grants for items like a street sweeper, flower plantings for the downtown, or vests and radios for the police department.
Just over two years into her tenure in Sparta, Georgia, Amanda Martin Akins has made such things a part of her job description. “She’s not someone who says, ‘How much are you going to pay me and when do I get off?’” says R. Allen Haywood, elected mayor in 2019. “She’s like ‘OK, let’s get this done. I’ll stay here until we get it finished.’ It’s amazing how dedicated she is. She’s young,
