BENNINGTON — The Better Bennington Corporation plans to get better.
The BBC, whose mission “is to lead and support public and private efforts that enhance downtown as the vital commercial and cultural heart of the community,” announced plans to hire a director of operations to co-direct the organization with the current executive director.
"I'm really excited that the Board embraced and voted to accept this proposal for restructure," said Executive Director Jenny Dewar. She presented the proposed change to the organization’s board after rethinking the structure of the organization for the past seven months.
"Adding all the new events, it became clear to me that we would benefit from a colleague and a peer who focuses on the daily activities of the organization,” Dewar said. “We need someone who works independently from me yet in a collaborative way. I look forward to this partnership and can't wait to see who will fill those shoes."
Michael Keane, vice president of the BBC board of directors, added, “This approach is innovative, timely, and eminently workable. The job of running the BBC is multi-faceted and extremely demanding. The BBC and the Bennington community will benefit from having two peer directors, each in charge of specific areas.”
According to Dewar, she will continue to focus on the events that the BBC has brought or expanded to the downtown since her hire, including May Fest, Harvest Fest, Thursday Night Live, downtown pop-up shops, and a town-wide tag sale. She also works closely with Hemmings to help bring their cruise-ins to Main Street, as well as many other smaller events that draw people to downtown.
That part of the director’s job matches her background – she has 30 years of event management, including as stage manager on Broadway – and also aligns with a priority for the BBC.
The new operations director will take over administrative duties, member recruitment and outreach, grant research and applications, running the Visitor Center at 215 South Street, and coordinating with the Town of Bennington.
“I saw the pieces that were missing. We didn’t have the personnel to do those pieces,” Dewar said. “We need to add those pieces in.”
The new position will report to the BBC Board. The BBC is accepting resumes with cover letters through Feb. 15. They should be sent to Susan Plaisance, the Board President, at splaisance@benningtonbanner.com.
The Better Bennington Corporation is a 501(c)(3), making all corporate sponsorship and donation contributions tax-deductible to the extent of the law. It is an official Designated Downtown Organization for the Town of Bennington, providing access to grants, technical assistance, and networking opportunities, with programming is funded by grants, donations and a special assessment tax on downtown properties in the Downtown Improvement District.
For more information, visit https://www.betterbennington.com/.
