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With the recent hiring of Kathy Walters as the full-time director of the Henderson-Vance Downtown Development Commission (DDC), the City of Henderson is one step closer to reestablishing its North Carolina Main Street Program status.

After eleven years of employment with the State of NC, Walters officially returns to the City of Henderson and the DDC on Monday, September 9.

For the past several years, the DDC director’s position has been funded on a part-time, contract-only basis, an arrangement that prevented Downtown Henderson, in part, from being reinstated in the Main Street Program.

“We are extremely delighted and fortunate to have Kathy on full-time with the DDC again,” said Board Chair Benny Finch. “She’s had about 10 years of experience working with the City and she’s very familiar with Downtown Henderson and the Main Street Program.”

A part of the Main Street Program from the mid-1980s until approximately 2010, a time that included Walters first tenure as director in the 90s, a lapse in the completion of requirements cost the downtown area the coveted distinction.

According to Finch, the benefits provided to a Main Street community are well worth the time and effort that the commission is investing in the three-year re-certification process.

“It is a three-year [overall] process and we are more than halfway there,” Finch said. “We expect to successfully complete all requirements by 2020. This will get us back into the Main Street Program which provides design expertise, as well as grant and networking opportunities.”

Citing her experience with maintaining Main Street status in the past, Finch said Walters was also instrumental in developing the Embassy Square area that now includes Perry Memorial Library, McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center and the Henderson Police Station.

In September 2017, Henderson was one of three NC towns selected by the NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center to receive up to three years of technical assistance for the recertification process.

Walters has already made it clear she is the right person for the job, according to Finch, as she has taken the initiative to meet with NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center director Liz Parham in Raleigh before her official day as DDC director even begins.

“We’re happy that Kathy has already taken the step to meet with Liz and to get the ball rolling on that part of the process,” Finch said.

In an email to WIZS, Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington echoed Finch’s sentiments:

“We are pleased to welcome Kathy Walters back to the City of Henderson as our new Downtown Development Director,” Ellington wrote. “In our current fiscal year city budget, we allotted funding to provide for a full-time downtown director. It is necessary to ensure a vibrant downtown and re-entry into the North Carolina Main Street Program now that we have this person in place. Kathy, with her experience, knowledge and passion for Henderson, was the ideal candidate and we are looking forward to a bright future while preserving our past.”

To hear further discussion on the hiring of Walters and the future of downtown, please click the play button below. Listen live to WIZS’ Town Talk Monday-Friday at 11 a.m. on 1450AM, 100.1 FM or online at www.wizs.com.