ROGERS — The Main Street Rogers Board of Directors has narrowed the search for a new executive director to two finalists from a field of 19 candidates.

The executive director's position has been filled on an interim bases by Dana Mather, one of the finalists, since Kerry Jensen retired in early November.

Mather, an Iowa native, has lived in Rogers for many years and has been involved in the community for about 15 years, as the editor of the defunct Rogers Hometown News; vice president of community development for Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce; and as event coordinator for Main Street Rogers, according to her resume.

Cindy Acree, of Aurora, Colo., is the other finalist. Acree served six years as a Colorado state representative. She is a business development consultant and intellectual property specialist, with a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in law and business, according to her resume.

The field of 19 applicants was narrowed to seven, who were interviewed for the position, Main Street Rogers officials said. Following the interviews the list was trimmed to Mather and Acree.

"We had some really impressive individuals apply for the position," said Lorrie Madden, past president of the Main Street board, and a member of the search committee.

"We decided last year after Kerry retired we wanted to take our time to find the person who was the right fit for our organization," Madden said.

It takes a special set of skills to be the executive director of a nonprofit group, Madden said.

"With our mission to create economic development, preserve the historic nature of the buildings, the executive directors must have a solid background in working with the public and be an excellent communicator and planner. The next step is re-interviewing Cindy and Dana. We have to work around a lot of schedules because this is a volunteer organization and everyone is busy," Madden said.

There is no specific time line in mind for naming the next director, Madden said. "I hope it will be sooner rather than later."

Downtown merchants said a people person is needed in the position.

"I think the executive director should be a good motivator," said Julie Winn, owner of Aelous Property Management at the intersection of Second and Elm streets.

"They should be able to work with city officials, especially city planners. They should be good at promoting and staging events that bring people downtown, and know what the economic trends are or will be. Another important thing is they should have extensive knowledge about the area," Winn said.

Mary Schopp, co-owner of The Rabbit's Lair and Poor Richards Art Gallery, said she thinks the most important skill the executive director should have is the ability to deal and communicate with all types of personalities.

"The other thing they must have is a passion for historic downtown Rogers. This is not the highest paying job in the world so the person filling the position should have a passion for what they are doing as well as the historic nature of downtown," Schopp said.

Jensen was making $55,000 when he retired. That same amount is in the current Main Street Rogers budget, said Paul Hively, chairman of the board of directors.

"Board members set the salary range from $55,000 to $65,000. What the actual salary will be depends on the experience, background and other factors of the person we hire," Hively said.

"I'm pleased and honored to be one of the two finalists," Mather said. "I have had the opportunity to watch others manage nonprofits over the past few years. As interim executive director, I've learned a few things about management."

"I learned to be more open and communicate better with the board members and the stakeholders. As event coordinator, I dealt with my projects while Kerry handled the rest of the Main Street Rogers business," Mather said.

Being involved in the community is important, Mather said.

"It's who I am. I want to have an impact on the community and the quality of life. I've tried to do that as a newspaper editor, Chamber of Commerce vice president and event coordinator," Mather said.

Acree has lived in Colorado for several years, but she grew up in Bentonville, graduated from Bentonville High School and is active in developing a new alumni association.

"This is an opportunity for me to come back home," Acree said. "I come back to Northwest Arkansas regularly to visit family members in Bentonville."

She said she is aware of what's been happening in Northwest Arkansas.

"The area is growing so fast. I don't want Rogers to lose the flavor of a small town, that's one of the reasons I'm interested in the Main Street Rogers position," Acree said.

Rogers still has the right culture and is a wonderful place to live, she said.

"This is still a rural and urban area and that culture remains. I want to be part of the growth, but I also want to protect the history of area," Acree added.

Final interviews for the two candidates are scheduled for next month, Acree on April 7 and Mather on April 8.

Main Street Arkansas officials are involved and interested in who the next executive director will be.

"We have Main Street programs in 29 communities around the state. Northwest Arkansas is one of the fastest growing communities in the state so we are following the selection process," said Cary Tyson, deputy director of the Arkansas Preservation Office in Little Rock where the Main Street program is administered.

"A Main Street executive director has to be an excellent communicator. They must also realize and work toward keeping the downtown area an authentic place. When talking with others who may not know about the historic downtown area, the directors should be able to paint a word picture that makes people want to come to downtown," Tyson said.

The executive director should also be good at small business development and have a vision for downtown, he said.

"We have people on staff that can train executive directors in building preservation and other skills, but it is the ability to communicate and get things done that makes a great executive director," Tyson said.

NW News on 03/31/2014