“I’m hoping that a lot of the ground work that we can do over the next year will set us up for some really big successes,” says Paducah Renaissance Alliance (PRA) Executive Director Lisa Thompson.  PRA Chairperson Maurie McGarvey adds, “I think we have opportunities that we don’t fully realize yet.”  In this episode of Quality of Life, Mayor Bill Paxton interviews McGarvey and Thompson about the structure and mission of PRA in addition to events and projects the organization plans to tackle this year.

 Quality of Life can be seen on Government 11, Paducah’s governmental access channel.  The episode also is online at www.paducahky.gov and the various social media outlets for the City of Paducah including Youtube and Facebook.  Check the website for Government 11 program information, videos, news releases, and broadcast schedules.

The episode begins with Thompson providing an overview of her background which she compares to a patchwork quilt.  Thompson is new to Paducah and started her position as Executive Director in December 2011.  One of the projects that she would like to breathe life into is the renovation of the Columbia Theatre which has been dark for more than two decades.  Thompson says, “If we can find a way to raise the money and restore the Columbia, it will be a big boost to creating a longer commercial district on Broadway.”  Thompson compares the Columbia to an anchor store in a shopping mall with the riverfront and Market Square in addition to the Texaco Station in LowerTown as other anchors to the district.

In revitalizing downtown, PRA wants to work with property owners to help them see the benefits in upgrading their buildings to attract new businesses.  McGarvey says, “This is a real opportunity this year to work with those property owners to begin the process of perhaps getting some of those buildings in a shape so that they can be in a condition to bring businesses in.” 

Since PRA recently changed its structure, McGarvey explains the current organization and mission.  The four PRA staff members are City of Paducah employees in the Main Street Department.  McGarvey says, “The great thing that we have at PRA is the added benefit of an advisory board.  We have a city department with volunteer advisors to help direct the mission of the department or organization.”  McGarvey says the mission of PRA is simple but not easy, revitalizing the historic district of downtown and LowerTown.

Also in this episode of Quality of Life, viewers will learn about the various events coordinated by PRA including the Farmer’s Market, Live on Broadway, and the Old Market Days Festival.

For more information about Quality of Life and other Government 11 programming, call Tom Butler, WKCTC Television Production Coordinator, at 534-3208 or Pam Spencer, City of Paducah Public Information Officer, at 444-8669.

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