HOPE – For the second time, the executive director of Main Street of Hope has announced he is leaving that position.
Perhaps best known as the lead singer of the Night Owl Country Band, Matt Lee began the part-time administrative position with Main Street of Hope on June 1, 2021. He took the reins from Susan Thayer Fye, who left after being executive director for four years.
Main Street of Hope is an accredited member of the Indiana Main Street organization, which encourages community-driven revitalization of downtown areas in Indiana cities and towns. Main Street’s projects can include storytelling, preserving historic structures, civic engagement and marketing.
Lee first announced his intentions to leave the job in April 2022. He told the council the combination of his main occupation as a computer numerical control programmer, performing and managing his music group and being the head of Main Street added up to a larger workload than he had expected.
But three months later, Lee informed the council he intended to remain executive director for several more months.
“I’m gonna stay until Jan. 1,” Lee told the Hope Town Council last summer. “And with events starting to take shape, I may stay longer than that. I’m pretty excited about all the things that could happen in 2023.”
During the council’s first meeting of this year, Lee announced he will complete the End of Year report and place it in proper channels before completing his last day on Jan. 23.
In his letter, Lee said town officials and Main Street has accomplished much that includes great new events that he claims will become more successful each year.
“Was everything a success? No.” Lee wrote. “I wish we would have done more projects, but I am the type of worker that when a project is started, it needs to be completed before a new one is started.
Lee also said the organization only had $8,727 when he began the job. But after successfully obtaining a grant, he said the organization will have around $21,000. He also praised Jessica Brown for her willingness to take over the Hope Historic Walk this spring.
While he may no longer be involved in Main Street. Lee said he plans to remain on the Hope Heritage Days board of directors to bring in top notch entertainment in late September.
