Safety and security, as well as future growth and viability, will be among the things that the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association's new Board of Directors will be focused on.
The DWBIA announced the new board on Monday, for the term covering from April 25, 2023 until November 14, 2026, or until their successors are appointed.
Members represent professional services, commercial property owners, retail, bars and nightclubs, hotels/tourism/retail, both licensed and unlicensed restaurants and members at large.
Chris MacLeod from Distinctive Homes & Real Estate Ltd. has been named the new Chair, while Andrew Corbett from the Bull & Barrel will serve as Vice Chair, and Jennie Atkins from the University of Windsor is the Treasurer.
The full board is below:
- Misty Adams, The Gifting Tree
- Renaldo Agostino, City of Windsor Ward 3 Councillor
- Jennie Atkins, University of Windsor Continuing Education
- Ron Balla, The Coffee Exchange
- Sunny Bhatti, World Space & One S.U.N. Legal Services
- Ray Blanchard, The Bitcoin Building
- Andrew Corbett, The Bull & Barrel
- Olivia Holt, Maiden Lane Wine & Spirits
- Chris MacLeod, Distinctive Homes & Real Estate Ltd.
New DWBIA board chair Chris MacLeod (Photo Credit: Courtesy of the DWBIA)
MacLeod says the new board members bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the DWBIA, with a diversity of skill and experience in their own industries.
The group has only had one meeting together so far, with budget deliberations set for later this week, but MacLeod says they'll be looking to continue the good work of previous boards with a focus on safety.
"There's a lot of great initiatives that we want to carry on. I would say that safety and security, and supporting the City of Windsor in their initiatives around safety and security is at or near the top of the list of things that are important for this board," he said.
He adds that in order to be able to bring more people downtown they have to feel safe, so they'll do whatever it takes to help City initiatives to drive improvements in that area.
The discussion around safety and security in the downtown core have been ongoing for quite some time, and officials believe progress is being made even though there's still much to be done.
MacLeod says they believe that the best is yet to come for the area, and that announcements about new businesses, restaurants and residential developments over the last few months show it.
"I believe that when you look back in five years you won't recognize downtown compared to where we are today," he continued. "Because even if you look back five years ago so much has happened, and we really feel that we're just picking up steam downtown in terms of where we're going to be."
MacLeod is confident that this board, which is largely made up of first time members, will bring a new vision to everything they do moving forward.
"I know that there's history between the DWBIA and the City of Windsor, and I really want to put a fresh eyes approach on how we look at things. And really strive to move forward with a fresh approach."
MacLeod says the expertise and experience of each incoming board member will be invaluable in guiding their strategic direction and helping them achieve their long-term goals during this current term.