Oskaloosa Main Street Director Settling Into Role
Oskaloosa Main Street Director Emily Brown talks about Oskaloosa history with guests at an open house in her honor this past week.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Oskaloosa Main Street Director had changed over the past few months. When former longtime Director Karen Hafner retired, the search was on for someone to fill that role.
Across the square in the United Way office sat Emily Brown, who had been an integral part of helping that organization as events coordinator.
Brown accepted the job as Main Street Director and quickly got her feet wet with Christmas in July, which happened less than two weeks after arriving on the job.
Brown commented at the time, “One of my favorite things about working on community events is seeing so many people come out and have fun, which was definitely the case with this event.”
Brown was in the middle of Sweet Corn Serenade, and even though her feet hurt and she was walking around barefoot to avoid the pain of the blisters, she was becoming more familiar with her role. She was relying on the volunteers, that are the backbone of the main street project, to help guide her.
“The committee and the people on our staff that have done 90% of the planning for this are a godsend. There’s absolutely no way I would have survived this without them being there,” says Brown.
With a moment to catch her breath, the Oskaloosa Area Chamber and Development Group invited the community this past week to visit with Brown and to officially welcome her.
“It was very good,” said Brown of the reception. “I did get to see some new faces, and everybody was very kind, welcoming, and encouraging.”
“It’s good to know that the community is behind Main Street and the things that we love to do,” added Brown.
Brown had some big shoes to fill as director, but she feels confident that she’s getting the hang of it. “It’s definitely a big job, and I think I was looking for a challenge when I applied for this position. It’s been a good experience so far.”
The Christmas season is another big time for the Oskaloosa Main Street, but Brown hopes to have a couple of ‘Movies in the Park,’ and the ‘Trick or Treat Parade’ is also a popular event every year.
There has been some reorganization taking place with the Oskaloosa Area Chamber & Development Group, and removing some barriers to help everyone involved be better coordinated with each other.
Main Street is part of that to some extent, but the group is required to be its own separate entity according to its charter with Main Street Iowa.
Oskaloosa is one of the original programs in the State of Iowa.
The chamber is searching for a new director, and MCDG just recently hired Tom Flaherty to fill their position that has been vacant since Andrew Jensen departed to join the City of Oskaloosa.
Brown sees the recent hire of Flaherty as a positive for her to be able to draw from his experiences to grow the downtown district. Brown is also looking forward to working with a new chamber director once that position is filled.
“I like to do things well,” says Brown of the expectations she has of herself. She would like to continue the standard of excellence that is part of Oskaloosa Main Street, “Karen did an excellent job, and I am planning to maintain that.”
