"When we met with Stacy to try to convince her that this was a good idea, both [board president Michael Hall] and I came away very impressed. We left the meeting saying, ’She is perfect!’ We both felt that she understood exactly what it was we wanted to do... plus, she’s a lot more organized and smarter than a lot of us," Herbert joked.
"That’s a lot to live up to," Koeppel quipped, but she seemed up for the challenge as she explained to board members how she planned to leverage the relationships she built during her nearly decade-long stint at SEBA to help entice businesses to join ESENA.
"I already have relationships with a lot of businesses in the [Ellis] neighborhood, so I’ll just put on a different hat and walk in there," she told board members.
"One of the things that I thought I would be very helpful with right off the bat is increasing [business memberships]," Koeppel added. She plans to launch marketing initiatives, including social media campaigns and sponsorship packages, to spur local businesses to become members of the organization.
Koeppel’s position as the board’s executive assistant will involve not only establishing relationships with businesses, but growing and maintaining them as well. She also intends to encourage retailers to offer special discounts and benefits to ESENA members who frequent their establishments as a way to strengthen relationships between residents and businesses.
"I think why a lot of the businesses are successful in this neighborhood is because you all frequent them," Koeppel said. "I think a nice return would be for them to offer something to residents who are [repeat customers]."
Koeppel will also assist the committee with an initiative to coax businesses into cleaning the sidewalks near their storefronts on a daily basis, a campaign Neighborhood Services committee chair Regina Pyle said her committee aims to get under way in time for ESENA’s annual fall cleanup, to be held November 19th.
Along with the cleanup, the Neighborhood Services committee also plans to carry out a campaign to increase awareness about proper disposal of residential refuse, including distribution of tip sheets on how to store and dispose garbage and recycling.
published at MySouthEndNews.com