Downtown Bentonville Inc. broadcasts government director Andrew Heath’s departure

Downtown Bentonville Inc., (DBI), the nonprofit group that organizes varied neighborhood occasions, together with the Bentonville Farmers Market, First Fridays and the Bentonville Christmas Parade, introduced the departure Tuesday (Nov. 8) of government director Andrew Heath.

A DBI information launch gave no purpose for the management change. Dana Sargent Schlagenhaft, DBI’s communications director, will assume the job on an interim foundation, efficient instantly.

The DBI board of administrators employed Heath in April 2018. Earlier than that, he was the chief director of the Pennsylvania Rising Greener Coalition.

“Main Downtown Bentonville Inc. has been an unimaginable honor, however with all good issues, the time comes to maneuver on,” Heath mentioned in a information launch. “This nonprofit has supplied essential providers to our neighborhood, together with offering alternatives for us all to collect, rejoice, and make recollections. I’ve felt that profoundly since my first arrival in Bentonville virtually 5 years in the past.

“As I look towards the subsequent chapter in life, I’m assured that this neighborhood will proceed to develop and achieve being the most effective locations within the nation to stay.”

DBI touted varied accomplishments underneath Heath’s management, together with:

• Bentonville’s Saturday Farmers Market income has almost doubled since 2019, from $835,000 to over $1.5 million {dollars}.
• Commissions from Bentonville’s First Friday occasions tripled in three years.
• Established underneath Heath’s steerage in 2020, Bentonville’s Artwork Market has elevated income yearly from $68,000 to over $188,000.
• DBI handed out greater than $27,000 in Store the Block / Market {dollars} to assist downtown companies. The Store the Block program was created by Heath as a option to assist small companies throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
• DBI launched new occasions such because the Market @ Report low season market, Farm Dinners at Crimson Barn, and partnered with the Metropolis of Bentonville to host Bentonville Collectively: A Neighborhood Multicultural Celebration.
• Beneath Heath’s management, DBI launched an award-winning storytelling undertaking that produces a weekly tv present in regards to the metropolis’s downtown.

“Andrew led DBI by unprecedented instances. His dedication to the group and talent to repeatedly execute memorable occasions for our neighborhood speaks for itself,” DBI Govt Board President Kirk Gober mentioned in an announcement. “Our Board of Administrators has full confidence that Dana possesses the talent set and drive to maneuver the group ahead. She has performed an excellent job growing DWTN Media, our storytelling platform.

“Additional, Dana has a robust rapport with our workers, sponsors, and neighborhood companions. Whereas it is a new function for Dana, she’s no stranger to DBI, having served the group in varied roles and capacities during the last 5 years. We’re excited in regards to the future!”