Wednesday brought five new Main Street managers to our office in Columbus for new manager training. Greg Tisher in Oberlin, Karen Rotkis in Lancaster, Kristie Wert in Norwalk, Vince Chase in Springfield and Janet Hitchcock in Defiance have all joined the Ohio Main Street family in the past 12 months. We had a very productive day discussing what the job entails, how a good board operates, how to stay satisfied in the position and many other items ranging the gamut of revitalization. Frank and I were very impressed with the new group of managers and look forward to working with them. Each person comes to the position with very diverse background, which is typically the case in the Main Street world. It is always interesting to hear the stories of Main Street managers and how they came to be passionate about downtown revitalization. Some managers have planning backgrounds while others studied preservation, some operated a business downtown and some are changing careers all together. Main Street managers come from anywhere, but they all share a passion for a sense of place. They have all decided that downtown is too important to let whither away.
Being a Main Street manager is not an easy job, but it might be one of the best jobs. The knowledge that a person is empowered to bring about real change is a powerful thing. Managers work long hours and must be able to handle politics, personalities, events, and considerable stress. Managers don’t tend to be at the top of the pay scale either, but that is not why they took the job in the first place. These people are caring and considerate individuals who are accustom to getting beaten up in an effort to make their downtown a great place. Main Street managers are some of the best people I have ever met and it is a pleasure getting to work with them on a daily basis. Best of luck to Janet, Karen, Kristie, Vince and Greg in their new positions.
