Feb. 21. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, town officials will resume their annual budget retreat at the Graylyn International Conference Center in Winston-Salem. The retreat, officially listed as a special town board meeting March 30-31, is a strenuous, two-day work session where the mayor, members of the Board of Commissioners and key staff members take a deep dive into the details of municipal budgeting and goal-setting.

This year, the workshop runs from 9 am to 5 pm on the 30th and from 9 am to noon on the 31st. It is open to the public.

Background

The budget retreat has long been held at Graylyn, the former home of Bowman Gray, a son of the founder of Wachovia Bank and Trust Co. He started work as a salesman for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and by the time the home was built, he had risen to chairman of the board. In 1972, the property was donated to Wake Forest University and restored to its original splendor. It’s now an executive conference center.