By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
Brenda Welcher, former executive director of Main Street Zephyrhills Inc., took a position in the marketing department at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills April 26.
Jan Baskin, assistant vice president of marketing at the hospital, confirmed Welcher is now working with Florida Hospital Zephyrhills April 26, but her exact title and responsibilities were not available by press time.
Welcher’s last day with Main Street was April 16, where she worked for a little more than three years. Among her duties was organizing Founders’ Day each year.
“I will miss Main Street,” Welcher said. “My heart and soul is in Main Street and I loved working there.”
For the last three years Brenda Welcher has been executive director of Main Street Zephyrhills Inc., but her time with the nonprofit organization ended April 16.
She has lived in Zephyrhills for more than six years after moving from Indiana. Welcher is married to Dan Welcher and the couple has four children and nine grandchildren.
Main Street, which celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2009, was formed with the goals of historic preservation and maintaining the economic vitality of downtown Zephyrhills. The Laker recently talked with Welcher about her time with Main Street and what she most enjoys about Zephyrhills.
Q: What did you like most about being Main Street’s executive director?
A: Getting to know the people in the community and truly seeing that hometown spirit and hometown pride that are so strong in Zephyrhills. The people here are so friendly. I really was impressed that the people were so willing to help whenever it was needed. That goes for the firefighters, police, city management and the everyday person.
Q: You were part of planning four Founders’ Days. What is it like to organize something as big as Founders’ Day?
A: We have constantly tried to learn what we can do to make all of our events better. We learned to do a better job with marketing by using things like e-mails to let everyone know what we are doing at Main Street. Founders’ Day is no different and we’ve added exciting new events each year.
Q: How different was planning the centennial Founders’ Day this year?
A: I’d say it took the most time by far of anything else I’ve done with Main Street. I started putting ideas in a folder about two years ago…About six months before the event we formed a centennial committee to help with the planning and honestly I could never had done it without all of them.
Q: What did the committee help you with?
A: Different people took on different projects from beginning to end. Once they took ownership of a project it was theirs to finish. A lot of other people helped with the centennial Founders’ Day too. (Sheriff) Bob White has been wonderful and the police did a lot to help with our projects. Then like I said the firefighters and city government never let us down.
Q: Do you plan to stay active in the area now that you are no longer with Main Street?
A: I do. I will stay connected with Main Street because my heart and my soul are in Main Street. I really believe in what it stands for. It’s still my passion. My desire is for people to truly understand what Main Street does and know the impact it has in the community.
Q: What do you think about the community and people of Zephyrhills?
A: The first thing I think of is friendliness. My husband and I have said we couldn’t have hand picked a better neighborhood to live in. We love the area and the people. We couldn’t possibly have asked for a better place to live or people to be around each day.
Q: What do you think will be the most lasting thing of your tenure with Main Street?
A: I’d like to say we’ve followed our mission statement to preserve the history of Zephyrhills while helping the business and economy of the city…The most visual thing might be logos hung up in the city. The logo on them was designed as a gift by Roberto Escobar with RS Media Solutions for the centennial celebration and they will stay up indefinitely.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add about your time with Main Street?
A: I’d just like to say people should support Main Street by becoming a member, volunteering or becoming a sponsor. It’s a nonprofit group that needs community support to put on the events. It’s a great organization that does so much for the area and I will cherish my time as the executive director.
-Main Street had not picked a new executive director by press time. For more information on the organization, visit www.mainstreetzephyrhills.org.
