Six downtown business representatives have been selected for the four-month Community Reinvention Program with financial support from Planters Bank.
“Planters Bank is excited to expand our commitment to downtown by bringing this opportunity to local businesses,” Planters Bank CEO Elizabeth McCoy said in a news release. “We look forward to seeing great results within the downtown community.”
The participants are: Kiley Killebrew, owner of J. Schrecker Jewelry; Griffin Moore, owner of Griffin’s Studio; Drew Howes, Bella Marie Boutique store manager; DeeAnna Sova, Hopkinsville Art Guild member; Heather Dawson, co-owner of The Mixer; and Joey Medeiros, co-owner of Hopkinsville Brewing Co. This spring, they will attend a Destination Bootcamp conducted by Jon Schallert with The Schallert Group in Longmont, Colorado. Holly Boggess, who is Hopkinsville’s Downtown Renaissance director, will accompany the group as the coordinator.
Planters Bank, which is headquartered downtown, will provide $1,700 in program tuition to each participant. They will be responsible for their own travel expenses.
“We are excited that these business owners have made the commitment to learn not only about making their own shops and restaurants successful, but also about cross-marketing efforts that will make downtown Hopkinsville a destination for shopping and eating throughout our region,” said Planters Bank Community Reinvestment Act Officer Jennifer Maddux.
The boot camp is March 30-April 2. Schallert teaches business owners strategies for pulling more customers from outside the immediate marketplace.
“Business owners will then return prepared to implement what they have learned and share their knowledge with other business owners,” Maddux said. “For four months following the Destination Bootcamp, business owners receive ongoing consulting assistance through conference calls, an on-site visit, and a 90-minute workshop open to the community.”
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
