Mayor Ray JenkinsMayor Ray Jenkins is a true native of Doraville. He was born in Doraville, grew up in the Doraville and Chamblee area and graduated from Chamblee High School. He has lived in the Northwoods area of the City of Doraville for more than fifty years.
Mayor Jenkins joined the Navy and served for four years during the Korean War. He served as gunner on the battleship U.S.S. Wisconsin. "Life aboard a battleship at war was a challenge. On one occasion as I manned the ship’s 5 inch guns, we were bombed by North Korean shore missiles. One bomb exploded just inches from my gun turret." Mayor Jenkins found the oceans surrounding the Korean Peninsula cold, stormy, and a long way from his boyhood home. Yet he returned to America battle-tested and with a renewed sense of duty to his country and community.
Mayor Jenkins served as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, retiring in 1986. In addition, he has had a busy second career as a home improvement builder. He is married to Lou Jenkins, an attorney. He and Lou raised their two daughters and one son in Doraville, where they attended Northwoods Elementary School and Sequoyah High School.
Even before serving the City of Doraville as an elected official, Mayor Jenkins was active in community concerns. Through the years he has been a Boy Scout Leader, a member of the North DeKalb Lions Club, he has been active in North DeKalb sports programs for youth, and he has served on the Building Committee of Northwoods Baptist Church. Mayor Jenkins also served on Doraville’s Planning Board for several years in the 1970s.
When he is not busy serving the City as Mayor, Ray tends to a small farm that he and Lou own in Franklin County. He loves to hunt and fish, and most of all, to spend time with his family. He attends church at the United Methodist Church in Nothwoods. He is a member of the 714 Eagles Club.
Mayor Jenkins was elected to the Doraville City Council from 1974 to 2003. He is active in the Georgia Municipal Association and the DeKalb Municipal Association. He has served as 4th District President of the Georgia Municipal Association. He has served as Mayor of the City of Doraville since 2003.
Mayor Jenkins has seen Doraville grow from a sleepy town positioned between Buford Highway and Chamblee-Tucker Road to the vibrant city that it is today. As the City enters 2008, Mayor Jenkins is determined to preserve the family-friendly neighborhoods for which Doraville is known, yet to foster the businesses and retail facilities which make Doraville a unique and convenient business and shopping hub.