Main Street Zephyrhills Inc. coordinator Paxton McCullough officially introduced herself, recently, to the board of the Zephyrhills Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) .
McCullough has held the post for about a month, and gave the CRA board members an update on what has been happening within the 501c3 nonprofit, which promotes storefronts and organizes large events in the historic district, and runs chiefly along Fifth Avenue.
Some early initiatives include:
- Elect Main Street board members and finalize event committees
- Look into the feasibility of hiring a brand consultant, to assist with social media and marketing efforts
- Assess the organization’s business membership and renewal efforts
- Continue to foster relationships with The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce
McCullough was asked to assess how downtown businesses have been coping recently through the COVID-19 pandemic.
She observed: “I mean, spirits are a little bit low, but I want to say things are loosening up a little bit. People are more open to going downtown and going out to lunch and getting out in stores more, so hopefully that’ll help, but I know they’re definitely struggling.”
Gail Hamilton, the director of the CRA, commended McCullough for her efforts thus far.
McCullough is recent graduate from the University of Georgia.
She replaced Anna Stutzriem, who resigned in March after more than two years on the post.
“I’ll say, she’s doing a wonderful job,” Hamilton told the CRA board. “She’s been here for a month and just really dug in, and I expect wonderful things. You’ll be surprised at some of the projects we’re going to undertake once the (Main Street) board gets seated.”
The Main Street coordinator is the organization’s lone city-funded employee position.
Published September 09, 2020
