Danielt Hintz, executive director of Downtown Bentonville, is stepping down, according to a news release.
July 16th, 2013 – Bentonville, AR Daniel Hintz, Executive Director of Downtown Bentonville, Inc. informed the Board of Directors during their July 11th meeting that he will step down as head of the organization by the end of 2013.
“I am honored to have been able to be part of such an amazing community and to play a role in its growth.” said Hintz. Hintz noted he will stay in the area and will work on local, regional and national projects with continued focus on community, business, culinary and economic development.
Downtown Bentonville, Inc. is the nonprofit organization formed in 2003 to facilitate the downtown master planning process initiated and led by the City of Bentonville. Over the past several years, the organization’s mission and scope has expanded significantly, mirroring with the amazing expansion of the 1,765 acre downtown.
Leading downtown economic development efforts, producing multiple events and festivals, strengthening the arts and culinary scene, advocating for a dynamic small business environment and supporting the City of Bentonville in their continued downtown initiatives and investments has brought significant growth to the nonprofit.
The organization began managing the Bentonville Farmers Market in 2008, growing annual sales by nearly 500%. It launched the First Friday event series in late 2008, which has now become a monthly Bentonville tradition. In addition, DBI produces the month-long Art and Culinary Festival, Backstage Downtown and Sunday Support series, the new Around the Bloc program and many other smaller events, culminating into over 100 special events per year that attract an estimated 120,000 people annually to the downtown district.
In addition, DBI created and initiated a culinary development strategy that has resulted in multiple new award-winning restaurants and food trucks in the downtown area that has garnered national attention, including an invitation for several downtown chefs to prepare a meal at the storied James Beard Foundation in New York in 2013.
DBI has also played a key role in the development in the Southeast Downtown Master plan process recently initiated by the City of Bentonville, including the creation of the Arts District and Market District.
Tim Robinson, President of DBI, noted “Daniel’s leadership has been instrumental to the development of DBI and the downtown community as we know it today. While we will miss Daniel’s involvement in our organization, we wish him the best in his future endeavors and are thrilled that his future plans allow him to continue contributing to the development of downtown Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas. Daniel leaves some big shoes to fill and our Board is very focused on finding the right individual to lead our organization into this next chapter.”
Given the amount of energy and momentum in the downtown district, the Board has immediately begun the process of hiring a new executive director. Hintz has committed to remain in the executive director position until a suitable candidate is hired.
The Executive Director description can be found on the DBI website under the About DBI/Jobs tab. For additional information, please contact Tim Robinson, President of the Board, or Daniel Hintz at 479-254-0254. For individuals interested in applying for the position, please send a cover letter and resume to [email protected]