By Tom Ganser
Correspondent
Courtney Nelson, introduced as the new director for Downtown Whitewater, and an annual report presented by Dave Saalsaa, president of the executive board who will be stepping down from that position next month were the highlights at the organization’s annual meeting March 10.
Kristine Zaballos, the former director, said the process in selecting a new director was “exhaustive” and included presenting the candidates for the position with a scenario and 15 minutes to complete a one-page response to the situation. The scenario was “Imagine that downtown Main Street is going to be closed. What would you do?”
Zaballos said Nelson went beyond addressing the situation as a problem to be solved it by asking, “What can we make of this? The street’s closed…let’s have a music festival. Street’s closed…we can brand it and do something fun with it.” Nelson also cited her work with national and international non-profit organizations and her approach to “mixing large initiatives with personal connection to best serve” the many facets and faces involved.
“Courtney, I think when you look around here, these are the people who got us to where we are in the last few years. A lot of people are going to help you as you move forward in your position, and we want to make you successful and also continue to make the downtown successful,” Zaballos said in introducing Nelson.
“I grew up in this community and I’m so excited to be back. Thank you so much for your warm welcome. Today is going to be my first official day, so if you have anything you want to engrain in my mind, don’t hesitate,” Nelson said. “Ultimately, all I can say is I’m so excited to be home and I’m so excited to redefine what home is for me, and to work with all of you in pushing these ideas forward and finding ways to really see progress in the future.”
In the annual report given by Saalsaa, he described the Whitewater City Market as “probably the biggest thing that’s happened to the downtown with our organization,” adding “people are really excited about it again this year.” He also thanked Zaballos for being the driving force behind the market.
Saalsaa highlighted three events that Downtown Whitewater supported during the past year: Main Street Festival, Trick-or-Treat Triangle (though the event was rained out last year) and the Christmas Parade of Lights, along with the organization’s input into the design of “new tree surrounds” the city will be implementing as part of project to plant new trees along Main Street.
Downtown Whitewater’s efforts toward “tweaking the sign ordinance for downtown and making it a little more business friendly, and offering advice and assistance to property owners who need help with the facades of their properties” were also discussed by Saalsaa.
“We have a historic downtown and we like it to remain that way in its look,” he said.
Near the conclusion of the meeting, Zaballos acknowledged Saalsaa’s dedicated service as president of the executive board, including his ongoing work over many years on Downtown Whitewater’s design committee that has shaped many of the physical improvements to the downtown “streetscape.”
“I have really appreciated his leadership. He’s taken us through some tough times in a very steady, sound way,” Zaballos said.
Saalsaa ended the meeting by presenting Zaballos with a bag of thank you gifts – including a bottle of “The Lady in Black” wine for being “a driving force in this organization.”
“Thank you so much,” she said. “You guys are wonderful. It’s a fantastic community…and I’m so hopeful now with the energy moving forward.”
