Growing up in Russellville, Alabama, the son of a Baptist minister, Sam Gaston knew he wanted to do something in service to people. “I didn’t hear the scripture call,” Gaston says, “but I knew I wanted to serve in some way.”
Now almost 32 years after coming to Mountain Brook as the city’s longest serving City Manager, Gaston has done just that. At the beginning of the year, Gaston announced his retirement effective end of November 2025. “I never imagined I’d be here for 32 years,” Gaston says. “But the job kept being fun! We’ve done and are doing exciting things.”
While Gaston always knew he wanted to lead a life of service, he didn’t know exactly what that looked like. When he decided to head to Auburn as a college freshmen, “I just was flipping through the catalog looking for courses that interested me,” he says. That’s when fate stepped in. “A man named Gary Roberts was hired as the city manager of Tuscumbia, near my hometown,” Gaston remembers. Gaston’s mother introduced him to Roberts, and he learned what a city manager did. “He was such an inspiration for me,” Gaston continues. “I thought how interesting it was that you could do this type of a job. From the age of 19, I had the desire to do this.”
Gaston went on to get both his bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Auburn and his master’s degree in Public Administration from Auburn University Montgomery. During college, Gaston interned with the Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments under a man named Jim Price, who deepened his love for municipal government. “He [Price] was a real role model and mentor to me,” Gaston says. “That cemented my decision to pursue this as my career.”
Gaston started his career as a planner in Decatur, Alabama, before serving in other municipal positions in Gulf Shores and Anniston. “I started in planning but wanted to do more big picture work,” Gaston says. That led him to Powder Springs, Georgia, where he was serving as City Manager when the Mountain Brook job became available.
On a 3-2 vote of the City Council, Gaston was hired, and his first day on the job in Mountain Brook was Flag Day, June 14, 1993 (this June marks Gaston’s 32nd year as Mountain Brook’s Manager). “To have been here this long, honestly it feels a lot shorter,” Gaston says. “Because we’ve had such a good time. The mayors and councilors I’ve worked with have been wonderful, the citizens appreciate us, and the staff here is the best. Mountain Brook is such a forward-thinking city.”
As the administrative head of the city, Gaston oversees staffing decisions and handles issues and complaints from citizens, while also supervising the city’s departments and department heads, preparing Council agendas and meetings, and shepherding the budget process. “It’s a lot of interaction with people—both citizens and staff—and helping the council to establish effective policies and implement those policies successfully,” Gaston says. “In this job, not a whole lot of days are the same, which makes it exciting and interesting. It stays fresh.”
Gaston also works with the city’s department heads and finance director to create a budget that is proposed to the City Council and Mayor. “We have an exhaustive budget process to ensure that the budget is what we need and what the city can afford,” Gaston says. A Finance Committee made up of community members and one council member also reviews the budget and provides input. “It’s good to look at things from another perspective,” Gaston says.
When asked the things that he is most proud of, Gaston is more focused on what’s still left to do rather than what’s already done. But at the top of his accomplishments list are the Cahaba Village and Lane Parke commercial developments. “They have added much-needed tax revenues to the city and expanded the shopping opportunities in our community for residents and visitors,” Gaston says. Also “building the outstanding staff we have here and our fantastic department heads.”
Under Gaston’s watch, the city has completed 48 miles of sidewalks (over 50 by this time next year) making Mountain Brook one of the most walkable cities in the state. Gaston was one of the initial proponents of founding the city’s Chamber of Commerce and has served on the Chamber board from the beginning. “Since my wife is a former chamber director, this was a big one for me,” Gaston says. There’s also the upgrade in city buildings and recreational facilities. And finally, “I’m very proud of the relationship we have with the school system,” Gaston says. “We are in this together, and it’s been a great partnership.” The city’s school system in consistently ranked highly both statewide and nationally.
In the still-to-be-checked-off category, Gaston is looking forward to completing redevelopment plans for Alabama Veteran’s Memorial Park and Overton Park; finishing the new roundabouts on Cahaba Road near the Zoo; completing the Locksley Drive and Pine Ridge Road sidewalk projects; wrapping up two bridge projects; and adding a historical marker in front of Charles Zukowski’s house on Old Leeds Road. “Mr. Zukowski was the first mayor of Mountain Brook and advocated for a city manager, which no one down here had heard of,” Gaston says. Mountain Brook was the first Alabama city to have a city manager with the system implemented in 1942.
For all the success, Gaston is quick to credit others who have been there with him in service. “I give great credit to the mayors (Gaston has worked with three mayors: William Matthews IV, Terry Odum, and Stewart Welch) and councilors who have been so supportive of me and the vision we have for the city.”
In addition to his work at City Manager, Gaston has been highly involved in both civic organizations and professional associations. “That’s sort of been my hobby,” he says. Gaston has served as President of the Alabama City/County Management Association and the Alabama Chapter of the American Planning Association. He served on the Executive Board of the International City-County Management Association (ICMA) from 2005-2008 and served as ICMA President from 2011 to 2012. He has served as the president of three Kiwanis Clubs—the Anniston Sunrisers Kiwanis Club and the Homewood/Mountain Brook Kiwanis Club and is currently President of the Indian Springs Village Kiwanis Club.
As he edges toward retirement, Gaston has no plans to slow down. Maybe shift focus is a better description. “My goals in retirement are to play Pickleball and take up hiking,” Gaston says. “I play golf four or five times a year, and I’m a terrible golfer. But I’ve been taking lessons and want to golf more. I have a longbow I’ve shot maybe twice, so I look forward to doing that more.” He has also recently joined the board of the North Shelby County Library and is open to the possibility of teaching a class or two, sharing his vast knowledge and experience with future city managers. “I do like to stay busy,” he says with a laugh.
Gaston also looks forward to reading and traveling more, particularly with his wife Debby, with whom he’ll celebrate his 44th anniversary in May. “Debby has been instrumental in the success I’ve been able to have in my career,” Gaston says. “We moved around a lot in my early career, and she chose to stay home to care for our family.”
Gaston is also excited to spend more time with his children—daughter Bethany Sheffield (Brad) and his son Hayden Gaston (Whitney)—and his grandchildren: Bethany’s 12-year-old daughter Avery and 9-year-old son Landon and Hayden’s 20-month-old daughter Eva. “I’m looking forward to lots more time with my grandkids,” Gaston says enthusiastically.
But he’ll always treasure his days in Mountain Brook. “It’s been an amazing experience,” he says. “I could never express how grateful I am to have served this city.”
