Two retiring from roles in buoying downtown

As Pine Bluff has changed over the years, two of its natives continued to make their mark on the city’s Downtown Development organization.

“I’ll miss the people for one thing, and I’ll miss the collaboration of the people we’ve done things with,” said Joy Blankenship, Pine Bluff Downtown Development director since 1989. “It’s fun to see all the things I helped do – I have never done them by myself, like the Saracen Landing, the Reynolds Building, Streetscape — I’ll still see it.”

Blankenship and her administrative assistant of 12 years, Barbara Ann Hollis, are retiring. A celebration in their honor was held Monday afternoon at the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber & Alliance, where Downtown Development is currently located. Hollis will work through the end of the month, and Blankenship will stay on until her successor is hired.

John Wall, outgoing president of the Downtown Development board of directors, said Blankenship and Hollis genuinely put Pine Bluff first.

“Everything they do, it’s what can we do to better Downtown Development?” Wall said. “How can we serve members that are part of Downtown Development? They really do put the members of the community above themselves and how they run Downtown Development and the strategies we work to implement, how we look to grow downtown and support the downtown business.”

Blankenship, who grew up just blocks away from her current workplace on Pine Street, was asked to lead Downtown Development after working on a festival with eventual UAPB Chancellor Lawrence A. Davis Jr. in 1989. Since then, the organization was based in three other locations until moving to 510 S. Main St. 10 years ago.

“I worked here at the Alliance first and that was kind of my training in learning the business community,” Blankenship said. “I felt like my parents were good community volunteers and community leaders, so I wanted to make my mark because they taught me to give back to my community, so that’s kind of what I’ve done.”

City treasurer Greg Gustek worked with Blankenship when he was director of the Pine Bluff Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“She was amazing at what she did, and I mean she worked it,” Gustek said. “That’s a problem we have today, is that we don’t have the people working things the way it needs to be done. But she really knows what she’s doing, and that’s the good thing.”

Blankenship will work part-time at The ARTSpace on Main working on a tourism promotion of the Arkansas Land of Legends, a collection of tourist attractions in Pine Bluff and surrounding areas organized by Downtown Development.

She knew Hollis from her days as a student in Leadership Pine Bluff and her work with Girl Scouts.

“She understood nonprofit, how you scrimp, save, borrow, beg, plead and you get the job done,” Blankenship said. “We like to start things and hand them off to others to take care of. That’s a good thing.”

Working with Blankenship is the thing Hollis said she will miss most.

“When you work with somebody that long, we finish each other’s sentences,” Hollis said, adding she’ll continue to help with Downtown Development on a volunteer basis.

“I enjoyed meeting all the different groups with what was going on downtown and working with them and seeing some of the younger people coming up who were enthusiastic about Pine Bluff and what they wanted to do,” Hollis said.

Monday’s reception was a happy occasion for the soon-to-be retirees, who received a James Hayes-designed glass bowl from Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington. Wall presented the gifts to Blankenship and Hollis.

But seeing a leader who has as much knowledge about Pine Bluff and its landmark downtown as Blankenship leave is very difficult, Chamber and Alliance President and CEO Allison Thompson said.

“We wish her well and are very thankful for the service she’s given,” Thompson said. “She’s not actually going anywhere, so we know if we need any help or need to ask questions, they’ll both be available for us to ask questions as we move forward.”

Finding the right person to succeed Blankenship is a challenge, Downtown Development Wall said.

“It’s challenging because it’s a unique position,” he said. “You’ve got someone who’s been in this position for a long time, very well-known, very well-respected and knows the ins and outs of how our organization is run individually as well as how we align with Main Street Arkansas and Main Street America. So, it’s a very well-oiled machine. They know how all these different groups work together for the benefit of Pine Bluff in aligning with those accreditation standards.

“That’s the challenging part, to find someone with that mentality or that similar drive they have to really grow downtown and make it better.”