Saturday, January 21, 2012
 
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Main Street Lincoln announces new board 

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[January 21, 2012]  Thursday evening the Main Street Lincoln organization had its first board meeting of the year, with many of those in attendance being there for the first time. 

The Main Street board this year consists of 12 board members, up four from last year, and two liaison representatives, one each from the city and the county. 

Officers for the year are Seth Goodman, president; Brian Huffman, vice-president; Jill Douglas, treasurer; Gladys Dutz, secretary; and Roger Matson, immediate past president. 

New board members for this year are Jamie Beard, Misty Bell, Sara Erlandson, Lisa Mason LaForge, Michael Simonson, Scott Werner and Paula Rutherford. 

The liaison representing the Logan County Board is board member Andy Anderson and from the city of Lincoln, Alderwoman Joni Tibbs. 

According to Wanda Lee Rohlfs, executive director of Main Street Lincoln, the organization is permitted to have between eight and 12 board members. At the end of this year three members resigned their positions: Judy Conzo, Ed Malkowski and Barb Reinwald. In addition Regina Board had resigned earlier in the year, bringing the total number of board members down to five. 

In December when the board met to establish officers, the need for board members came into discussion. Rohlfs said Goodman for the most part was responsible for bringing the new members into the board, as he contacted several of them immediately, recruiting them to become new members. 

Once all the recruits agreed they were interested in the organization, they submitted brief descriptions of who they are, what they do and what they would like to see accomplished in the historic downtown area. 

Jamie Beard is employed with Anytime Fitness. She lives in Lincoln, has been involved with the From the Ground Up organization and says she loves being a part of the Lincoln community. She said she hoped to bring to the board energy, creative ideas and a youthful perspective. 

Misty Bell is well known in the community as an employee of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County. She has acted as the coordinator for that agency in Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival events and has been involved with the Route 66 Heritage Foundation and the Railsplitter Festival.   

Bell is a Lincoln native, living in Mason City. She said her goals as a board member for Main Street Lincoln are to help keep the downtown area not only alive but thriving. She feels she can bring to the board her creativity, organizational skills and a forward-thinking "can-do" attitude. 

Sara Erlandson lives in Lincoln and is new to the community. She is a teacher at Illini Central in Mason City but has a keen interest in Lincoln. She said she wanted to become a part of the board so she could become more involved in her community. She is interested in helping with the historic preservation of the community and is excited about learning more about Lincoln. 

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Lisa Mason LaForge is currently a stay-at-home mom who owned a successful event-planning business in California. She says she has attended every event in the area since coming to Logan County and has been active with events in the New Holland area. She said she likes the quaintness of Lincoln and hopes to help raise public awareness of the Main Street Lincoln organization and what it does for the community. LaForge hopes that her fun-loving spirit and her experience as an event planner will help the organization reach its goals this year. 

Michael Simonson recently purchased ME Realty and is the former owner of Simonson Flooring in Lincoln. He is active in the Together for Lincoln organization, the Polar Plunge and has been involved with other activities in the various group homes in the area. He said he wants to see the Lincoln community continue to grow and hopes to help it do so through his involvement in Main Street. Simonson believes he can bring fresh new business ideas to the organization. He wants to see the town continue to grow, and he is interested in beautification projects for the city. 

Scott Werner is the owner of the Lincoln Dairy Queen and is a paralegal with Gehlbach Law Offices in Lincoln. As one who grew up in Lincoln, Werner says he has a commitment to making the downtown area strong with a thriving business climate and all the storefronts occupied. 

Werner is no stranger to the Main Street organization as he has been a sponsor of The Art of Wine and was a volunteer who assisted with the startup of Main Street Lincoln with Valecia Crisafulli. He was instrumental in bringing the balloon fest to the downtown area and served as an organizer for the first two of those events. 

Werner said he is bringing to the organization a lifelong commitment to improving the downtown area. 

Paula Rutherford lives in Lincoln and is employed by HealthSource Chiropractic, formerly 1st Choice Chiropractic with Dr. Frank Abudato. She has been involved with St. Jude's and the American Heart Association. Rutherford says she is looking forward to helping the people of the community as well as Main Street Lincoln and looks forward to meeting new people and building new relationships in the community. 

Rohlfs said she is excited about the new members and the potential they bring to Main Street Lincoln. 

She is hopeful that the 2012 year will be a good one with lots of new ideas that will ultimately increase public awareness of the organization and will benefit all the downtown area businesses. 

[By NILA SMITH]

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