The Durango Business Improvement District offers many services to support businesses in Downtown and in the North Main District. One of those services is beautification. Every year, BID partners with the Durango Chamber of Commerce on the Downtown Clean Day event.

This year marks the 21st year of our partnership with the Chamber. Volunteers are needed to help clean up Downtown on May 24, just before the busy summer season begins. Come as a team with your co-workers or with friends from your clubs and organizations. You can also come as a family, or even as an individual. We will assign everyone to a group that will be responsible for cleaning one block in Downtown.

Arrive at the Keller Williams Realty Southwest Associates parking lot on by 8:30 a.m. May 24. Grab a coffee from Durango Joe’s, or a tea from Create Art and Tea. Doughnuts will also be served. You will be provided with work gloves and all the cleaning equipment you will need – brooms, dustbins, scrapers, grabbers, trash bags and more. Thanks to the city of Durango for loaning us some of these items.

Before 9 a.m., everyone will be on their way to a block to pick up trash, peel stickers off poles and sweep the sidewalks. While cleaning your block, be on the lookout for prizes that have been hidden throughout Downtown. Bring everything back to Keller Williams when your crew has finished your block.

BID and the Durango Chamber of Commerce ask that you register in advance so that we know how many people are participating. Visit the Chamber’s website at DurangoBusiness.org, click on the calendar tab, then on Downtown Clean Day on May 24 to sign up. Several prizes are offered to those who register in advance.

Speaking of the Chamber, did you hear the news that its long-serving Executive Director Jack Llewellyn is moving on to another local opportunity? After 17 years, Jack is stepping down from his role as a supporter of and leader for the business community.

I have personally enjoyed working with Jack over the past 10 years that I have been leading BID. I think of Jack as a mentor, and a friend. He has taught me a lot about what businesses need and how to support them in truly meaningful ways. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jack was the first one to rally the business community and local government leaders to form a task force with the goal of helping businesses and our community during those scary times.

I will never forget something Jack did in the early days of the pandemic. My kid’s birthday is in mid-April, so of course in 2020 he did not get to have a party. Guess who came by my house and dropped off a birthday card for him with a $20 bill in it? That kind gesture encapsulates Jack. He is a giving and generous person, and we will miss his leadership at the Durango Chamber of Commerce.

The good news is that Jack is not going very far. He is the new general manager for Hutton Broadcasting, so I know I will see him around town often.

Thank you, Jack, and best of luck in your new job!

Tim Walsworth is executive director of Durango Business Improvement District. Reach him at timw@downtowndurango.org or 375-5068.