By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Tony Vetter hit the ground running as executive director of Downtown Bowling Green. He had no choice.
This, he said, is the busiest time of the year. He has to find volunteers to help spruce up the downtown for the holidays. Then there’s the holiday tree lighting, collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce on the holiday parade, and after that the kickoff to Small Business Saturday on Nov. 24.
Vetter started in his new position, taking over from Mary Hinkelman, on Oct. 29. Hinkelman switched offices in the Four Corners Center to become director of the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce. “I’m just getting up to speed.”
Though Vetter has recently started, he’s familiar with the various entities that call the Four Corners Center home.
As director of Destination Toledo he worked closely with Wendy Chambers who heads up the Bowling Green Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Though Vetter has been working in Toledo, he’s lived in Bowling Green for the past 24 years with his wife, Cheryl, co-owner of Hagemeyer Fine Photography.
Vetter said he’s always done his shopping in Bowling Green and has taken part in the various events, including the Black Swamp Arts Festival, that fill up the city’s calendar.
The 26-year-old festival like the newly hatched Firefly Nights are staged by independent groups. They add to the luster of downtown, along with the lineup of events that Downtown Bowling Green presents, including Art Walk and Winterfest Chillabration.
“It’s a collaborative effort,” Vetter said.
“It’s a very vibrant community. Some other cities that would give their eye teeth for what Bowling Green has.”
A healthy downtown isn’t just important for the merchants and downtown businesses, but for the health of the community as a whole.
A company trying to recruit new employees does not want have them see a downtown full of empty or boarded up store fronts.
Downtown Bowling Green works to keep that from happening. The Special Improvement District is funded by a tax imposed on property owners.
Vetter was attracted to the job in part because of the passion of the members of the Downtown BG Board. “They want what’s best for this city. That’s here their hearts are. Same with the mayor. They’re all on the same page.They want to make Bowling Green a better place.”
Greg Halamay, who chairs the Downtown Bowing Green board, said that Vetter stood out from the other applicants because he offered fresh ideas. “That made the critical difference in our decision making. … That’s what our board was looking for.”
Halamay said that the job posting drew a strong field of applicants, including about half from outside Bowling Green. Vetter’s ties to the community were also a plus.
The historic district is small. “He displayed the desire to reach out beyond those six or eight blocks to the rest of the community,” Halamay said. “He wants to create a stronger outreach.”
Asked about any plans he has for downtown, Vetter demurred. He’s still setting in. Ask in six months, he suggested.
Vetter grew up as one of 10 children on a farm in Hicksville, in Defiance County near the Indiana border. He first came to Bowling Green in the 1980s to spend a year at the St. Aloysius Parish as part of an exploratory program for young men considering a vocation in the priesthood.
He decided the priesthood was not for him. He entered Bowling Green State University where he studied journalism and marketing, graduating in 1989. He took a job with a Toledo marketing and advertising firm. One of his clients was a hotel chain. The company ended up hiring him, and he spent two decades working in the hotel business. Most recently he’s been director of sales and interim president for the Toledo Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Now Vetter’s committed to putting those skills to work in Bowling Green. “We can do more for the downtown community, not just the businesses, but the community because they go hand in hand.”
