THE CITY of Winchester recently welcomed Liz Ausdenmoore as the executive director for the Winchester Downtown Program (WDTP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ausdenmoore is no stranger to Winchester, having been a frequent visitor to the area for the past decade, visiting family. She and her husband fell in love with the area and finally made the permanent move to Franklin County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ausdenmoore, who has been in the position of director since February, said it has been great getting to know everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile the job has been a real learning process, it’s been nice getting to know everybody on the board, and everybody in the downtown area has been super nice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A native of Franklin, Ausdenmoore said she is enjoying the small-town feel of Winchester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFranklin is so built up, which is nice for their economy, but it’s a little too much for me right now. Being here is just like going back in time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As director, Ausdenmoore works to support growth in the downtown area through support of local business, attracting new business, and coordinating events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI work with the main street merchants, businesses, and building owners to try to get the most out of the downtown area,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe program covers a nine-block area which is essentially the blocks around the courthouse. But that isn\u2019t necessarily a hard stop, because I have a few businesses that reach out to me from outside our area. And I can help promote them on our Facebook page or include them in the downtown community. We benefit from the sales tax from the area. That’s our annual income and how we fund our programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Ausdenmoore gets rolling in her new position, she has a lot planned to encourage growth in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would love to see people drawn to the area for our restaurants, shopping, and for community,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe have these great benches all around the downtown area. I\u2019d love to see people take their pictures on the benches to share on social media. I also want to do more with our amphitheater stage on North College Street. I’d like to see more people in the downtown area, and see it as a place to come and relax.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She is also working to help make Winchester a food and beverage destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe WDTP and the Tennessee Main Street Program did research before I came on board, and they found that people in the area want more food and beverage options. We are currently working with Tennessee Main Street on a Placemakers grant that will help get us moving towards our goal of being a food and beverage destination,\u201d said Ausdenmoore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While growth is important, it\u2019s also important to Ausdenmoore to keep Winchester the small city that everyone loves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would like to see a good mix of anchor businesses and tourist business, so that through the winter we can still be profitable, [and] we can still make a living with our shops and stay in our shops long term.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more on all that\u2019s happening in Winchester, visit online at winchesterdowntown. com and their Facebook page at Downtown Winchester, Tennessee. GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE CITY of Winchester recently welcomed Liz Ausdenmoore as the executive director for the Winchester Downtown Program (WDTP). Ausdenmoore is no stranger to Winchester, having been a frequent visitor to the area for the past decade, visiting family. She and her husband fell in love with the area and finally made the permanent move to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":11108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n