Watters’ progress praised by most

More than a year after stepping in as executive director of the agency charged with pumping life into Waynesboro’s downtown, Kimberly Watters scores mostly favorable reviews.
“I think she has been very proactive,” Councilwoman Lorie Smith said Thursday. “I think she has been a wonderful facilitator to bring the right people around the table to help promote our downtown ... she’s been very willing to spend significant amounts of time with our merchants.”
Since Watters’ hiring in spring 2007 as executive director of Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc., 17 new businesses have been added downtown. In addition, Waynesboro has regained its National Main Street certification and was recognized in June with a feature in National Mainstreet News for the Wild Weekend in Waynesboro.
Under Watters’ guidance, the Chili, Brews ‘N Blues Cook-off, which takes place from noon to 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Constitution Park Pavilion, quickly has emerged as a signature city event. WDDI launched the cook-off last year.
A year before her hiring in Waynesboro, Waters quit her job as director the Staunton Downtown Development Association in a shake-up that included the departure of her assistant and several board members. After seven-and-a-half years in Staunton, Watters said, she “resigned, then unresigned, then resigned again,” citing “just a major combination of things” as the reason for her move to the River City.
“It was time for change for that organization and for me,” Watters said.
Merchants here praise Watters for a fervor tempered by a willingness to “see the big picture.”
“That particular position, in the city of Waynesboro, is no easy position to have and you expect somebody in that position to – I think people expect miracles,” said Kevin Blackburn, owner of Kevin Blackburn Photography. “What I’ve seen of her … she’s really organized the effort … she sees the big picture and what it offers the community at large; what [effect] a rejuvenated downtown … will have on the community.”
Shenandoah Pizza, on East Beverly Street in Staunton, was a fledgling downtown business toward the close of Watters’ tenure. Owners John and Cheryl Huggins said they appreciated her attentiveness.
“We were a brand new business when she was just getting ready to leave,” Cheryl Huggins said. “But the first initial contact with her – just walking into that office – she was so enthusiastic … that brief [meeting] was just wonderful and I thought she was great. I was just so shocked when she left. I didn’t get the opportunity to work with her very much and I kind of regret that.”
Smith values Watters’ zeal and adherence to processes.
“I think that Kimberly has been a definite asset to the WDDI organization,” Smith said. “She cares very much about getting the right balance reached between meeting our merchants’ needs and having our events be successful. [She has a] process-oriented leadership style, which I have very much appreciated.”
Mayor Tim Williams agreed, though he said he hopes for better communication and for WDDI to become more self-sufficient.
“I think she’s doing a good job,” Williams said. “I know that we’ve had, it seems, like our events downtown have been more organized. I would like a little more input from the merchants downtown than we’ve received this past year. I hope she and WDDI will be able to earn more money through these events than they did last year. But, I think it’s good to have a director and I think she’s been an asset to WDDI.”
The role of downtown development groups is three-fold, Main Street experts said.
“The priorities for downtown work plans is to give a voice to downtown disparate property owners and shareholders, set priorities for downtown and its work plan and to advocate for downtown future sustainability,” said Paul Felt, editor for Alexander Communications Group, based in Boonton, N.J. The organization provides information and analysis for businesses and professionals. One category of focus is downtown development.
“It varies from town to town, city to city, but the point is to have some sort of management for downtown,” Felt said. “These are not places that manage themselves; they can tend to be chaotic … so many different land uses … all sorts of interests. Downtown is supposed to be open and useful for everyone in the town. I think it’s critical for towns that downtowns succeed.”
Watters said she recognizes the vitality of her mission.
“The core of any healthy economy is a vibrant downtown,” she said. “It is sort of an indicator of the health of the entire city; downtown is the cultural center of the city. If a downtown is abandoned, it doesn’t reflect well on the city and development elsewhere… people look at downtown to see if it’s happening.
Mark Miller, owner of Mark Miller Photography, said that patience is key.
“I think a lot of people think [downtown development is] an instant thing,” he said. “I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation; I think it’s a much more subtle thing. I know that she faces a lot of opponents… but I think she’s done a fantastic job.”
Blackburn agreed.
“She has been able to organize the efforts,” he said. “She understands, and has helped everyone else understand, that it is a process. It’s the small goals reached get us closer everyday – little goals.”
That approach, Watters hopes, will translate to a steadily rejuvenated downtown.
“This is what I love to do and have a lot of experience at,” she said, “and I am fortunate to live in a community that has the foresight to have this type of downtown development.”