After 18 years, Kim Kmetz passes Main Street Initiative on to a new generation

EASTON, Pa. — A treasured and beloved member of the Easton Main Street Initiative is stepping down after nearly two decades leading the organization.

Kim Kmetz was one of the very first employees of the Greater Easton Development Partnership following the launch of the Main Street program in 2005, a pivotal initiative which helped to revitalize the city’s Downtown District, with help from Lafayette College and local government.

Throughout Kmetz’s time in her role, she launched numerous efforts to assemble volunteers, support small businesses, and grow pride in the community.

Under her leadership, the Easton Main Street Initiative was routinely recognized as Pennsylvania’s best performing Main Street program and noted as a perennial winner of Pennsylvania Downtown Center’s Townie Awards.

“We can’t thank Kim enough for her dedication to GEDP and to Downtown Easton’s revitalization over the last 18 years," said Jared Mast, GEDP's executive director.

Her assistant with the Main Street Initiative, Julie VanOsdol, will be promoted to manager, Mast said.

"We also need to thank (Kmetz) for her conscientious mentorship of Julie over the last year to help assure our continued success," he said. "I look forward to our continued work in Easton together, and to future collaborations with her and the Nurture Nature Center.”

Kmetz said she is looking forward to exploring exciting new challenges at her new job with the Nurture Nature Center, a nonprofit neighbor to the GEDP.

“Nurture Nature Center is delighted to announce Kim Kmetz as our first Director of Development, adding another wonderfully talented person to Nurture Nature Center’s dedicated team," Executive Director of the Nurture Nature Center Rachel Hogan Carr said.

"Nurture Nature Center looks forward to having her join us and helping our organization to continue to grow our programs and reach and impact — locally, regionally, and beyond."

Community connector

Kmetz first joined the Main Street Initiative after the closing of the Bachmann Public House, where she worked for four years.

A previous manager at the Main Street Initiative failed to work out, leaving an opening for Kmetz to serve as an interim. With an attitude of “Yeah, sure, I can do anything for three months,” Kmetz hopped on board.

Officials weren’t able to find the right candidate, and with the understanding that they had the correct choice in the role already, Kmetz was offered the role.

“And I said, ‘I'm not really looking for full time work. My kids are really young.’ I was still looking for part time work, but I went home and told my husband that I was offered the job, and told him I turned it down, and he said, ‘You're crazy, you know? This job fits you like no other job you'll ever be offered in your life, and we'll work it out!’” Kmetz said.

“So I went back the next day, and I was like, ‘Can I still have the job that you offered to me yesterday?’ They said ‘sure,’ and I stayed 18 and a half years. It's just been such a good 18 years.”

Nearly two decades on the job, Kmetz has proven herself integral to the mission of the Main Street Initiative, including launching a gift card program, reducing vacant commercial properties from 26% to 11%, and so much more.

But at the heart of the matter is the people, she said.

“There's lots and lots of aspects of the job that I adore and I love, but to me, it's always been about the people," Kmetz said. "So what I particularly love is the relationships that the business owners have made with each other, that they support each other."

And that’s precisely why Kmetz likes to refer to herself as a “community connector,” a person who can create a strong network of small businesses that support one another — even if they happen to be in the same industry.

“There are other communities that try to do this with an artificial influx of money, or there's a group of civic leaders at the top that say ‘This is what we want to throw downtown,’” Kmetz said.

“We did it the opposite way, the Main Street way. And to me, the Main Street methodology is truly the only economic development tool that works, and it's because it's grassroots."

She described "some of the best ideas that we ever had" as coming from the community in passing, whether it be through business owners, residents or visitors.

"And my answer was always ‘Yes!’" Kmetz said.

Building that community and those connections over the years has been an amazing experience, Kmetz said, and while she’ll always value the times she had at the Main Street Initiative, she is ready to pass the torch to her protégé VanOsdol.

“She really enjoys the role, and she's passionate about it. She has a fire in the belly for it,” Kmetz said. “The merchants all love her, the business owners all love her.”

Passing the torch and pushing forward

And it’s a bittersweet moment to bid adieu to her home for the past 18 years, Kmetz is enthused about the opportunity to work with another community-oriented group, The Nurture Nature Center.

As it turns out, she’ll be joining some familiar faces over there, and the Nurture Nature crew is happy to have her on board.

“I was fortunate to begin my career serving as Kim's assistant at the Easton Main Street Initiative,” Buy Fresh Buy Local — Greater Lehigh Valley Director Megan McBride said.

“I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside and learn from such an outstanding leader, and to have played a part in Easton's revitalization. And now, to come full circle and share an office with Kim as we embark on an exciting new journey at Nurture Nature Center, it's just incredible!”

While she enjoys some much-deserved vacation time with her family this week, Kmetz said she is proud to look back on all she and her team at the Main Street Initiative accomplished, adding she trusts the future will be bright under new leadership.

For now, she looks forward to pushing off retirement just a bit more, and utilizing her incredible gift for connection to further improve the community of Easton.

“I'm a community connector. That's what I do. That's the part of my job that I love the most, is helping people start businesses, helping people connect to each other within the community,” Kmetz said.