The Evolving St. Thomas Downtown Development Board by Peri Hayes The St. Thomas Downtown Development Board (St. Thomas DDB) represents all property and business owners in St. Thomas along Talbot Street from First Avenue to Stanley Street, including one block north and south of Talbot Street. Earl Taylor, Past Chair of the St. Thomas DDB, reflects on his experience: “I joined the St. Thomas DDB in 2010 when a group of dedicated downtown business owners were looking to establish a new Board of Directors. We had just opened our new Coldwell Banker real estate office across from City Hall in 2005, and I thought that it would be a good time to get involved in working to improve our downtown. I began as the Beautification Chair and took on the additional duties of Secretary, then eventually, Vice Chair under the leadership of Chair, Dan Muscat. In March 2014, I moved into the Chair position.” Upon Earl’s involvement, flower boxes were placed in front of businesses. As well, the unique ‘Welcome to Historic Downtown St Thomas’ entrance signs and the replica historic clock at the London and Port Stanley Railway (L&PS) Station were installed; the Summer Student Ambassador Program for cleaning downtown sidewalks was established, and their $150,000.00 commitment repaid to what is formerly known as The Timken Centre. The Board proceeded to launch Easter Shop Hop, Downtown Pumpkin Prowl, Oktoberfest, the Tree Lighting Celebration and Light Up Talbot. Earl enthuses, “I’m looking forward to the 10th annual Nostalgia Nights Car Show on July 13th.” Earl continues, “To put Downtown St. Thomas on the map, we developed a new jingle that promotes our downtown on the local myFM radio station and enhanced our Downtown Dollars
Program, with sales exceeding $250,000.00 over the past three years alone. I understand the need to give back to my amazing community, and as a realtor, I was able to balance my busy real estate business with my numerous volunteering efforts.” Among other engagements, Earl was a member of the St. Thomas and District Chamber of Commerce and is currently an ongoing member of the St. Thomas Optimist Club. “Being such a busy
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Page 8 Hometown St. Thomas • July-August 2024
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