100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL
Kathy Walters, director of the Henderson-Vance Downtown Development Commission (DDC), has submitted her resignation to the City of Henderson effective September 30, 2020.
In a statement to WIZS News, Walters said she has “decided to retire and simplify my life.”
With approximately 10 years of prior experience working for the City of Henderson, including a turn as DDC director in the ‘90s, Walters returned to the role at full-time status in September 2019.
Henderson City Manager E. Terrell Blackmon said, “Kathy Walters chose to resign from her position, as she has several years of prior government service with the State of North Carolina. In the short while that I have been here, she has been a valuable member of my team and was instrumental in the City of Henderson regaining its status as a Main Street Community.”
A part of the Main Street Program from the mid-1980s until approximately 2010, a time that included Walters’ first tenure as director, a lapse in the completion of requirements cost the downtown area the coveted distinction.
The DDC announced last month that after a lengthy recertification process, the N.C. Main Street and Rural Planning Center has officially renamed Henderson a designated N.C. Main Street Community. Benefits of Main Street status include technical assistance with building restoration and access to grant money – perks that can help attract new businesses and breathe new life into downtown.
Dr. Stephen Pearson, chair of the DDC, said Walters was instrumental in the reestablishment of Henderson to Main Street status and was personally helpful with his new role.
“She did a fantastic job as executive director, and it’s been an absolute pleasure working with her,” Pearson said. “She was a great help to me transitioning into my position.”
Blackmon said the City will begin the recruitment process to name a new DDC director in the coming weeks. In the interim, Blackmon and Development Service Director Corey Williams will perform the day-to-day activities of Walters’ position.