With Russellville as the pilot city for the new Main Street Aspiring tier, the Downtown Russellville Committee is ready to level up with an official Board of Directors and part-time director. Applications are now open for both.

According to the Board of Directors application, the board “assumes legal and philosophical responsibility and establishes policy for all activities of the Downtown Russellville Program” as well as “provides leadership for the program, participates in strategic planning, raises operating and capital funds, participates in committee planning and tasks and serves as advocates of downtown revitalization efforts.”

Julie McKinney, who along with her husband Mitch has been spearheading recent efforts in downtown Russellville, said now is the time to capitalize on positive energy and build on to the growth that has taken place in the past few years.

“It feels like people are kind of waiting in the wings,” McKinney said.  “They are ready and want to be a part of it when it happens … It’s going to take everybody from every angle to pull it off. The collective effort brings so much to the table.”

McKinney said the part-time director job and board positions are open to applications from anyone who is interested. “People think, ‘Oh, it’s just going to be so-and-so’s friend, but we don’t want it to be that way,” she explained.

The board will comprise 11 members, including one city liaison and one chamber liaison. Board members should be willing to invest approximately 5-10 hours per month in the future of downtown, which will include board meetings, special called meetings, an annual planning retreat, committee efforts, fundraising efforts and more.

To view the application and learn more, enter the following link into a browser URL: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScSeSeVpPA0NEr6B5U2Sp2Zt5Twu1S6W9jynShcUpdDyEJt8Q/viewform.

The board will also be a discussion topic at the Sept. 6 information session with Main Street Alabama, which is set for 6 p.m. at the Historic Roxy Theatre.

The job description for the part-time director can be found at www.mainstreetalabama.org/uploads/RussellvilleALdirectorjobposition.pdf.

For more information, contact McKinney at downtownrussellville@gmail.com.