×

Passion for planning drives new main street manager

Shalen Perehinec, Hollidaysburg’s new Main Street Manager, sits behind her desk in the borough’s municipal building along Blair Street. Perehinec was hired last month to fill a vacancy left when former Main Street Manager Michael Balchin resigned in February.

With a passion for organizing events and experience working with business leaders, Shalen Perehinec said she is confident she’ll be able to fulfill her duties as Hollidaysburg’s new Main Street Manager.

“I’m just excited to see where this position can take me,” she said, speaking a few weeks ago from behind her desk inside the borough’s municipal building.

Perehinec was hired last month to fill a vacancy left when former Main Street Manager Michael Balchin resigned in February.

Perehinec, an Altoona resident and Patton native, graduated last May from Huntingdon’s Juniata College, where she studied health communications and psychology with a minor in Spanish, she said.

While enrolled at Juniata, Perehinec traveled on a service trip to a rural community in the Dominican Republic, and when she returned, she started a club to raise awareness and funds for that community through events and fundraisers.

“This was when I realized how much I loved event planning,” she said.

In the months to follow, Perehinec worked as a community outreach coordinator for United Way of Blair County through AmeriCorps.

“I worked mostly on planning events,” she said.

The biggest event, she said, was the Glass Slipper Project — a program that makes used prom gowns and accessories available to those who cannot afford to buy them new.

She also served as board secretary for the Downtown Altoona Business Community, a cooperative organization made up of downtown business leaders.

“So I had a little bit of experience with working with businesses,” she said.

That experience, coupled with her prior events planning, made her a prime candidate for the Hollidaysburg position, and Perehinec said DABC President Judy Coutts encouraged her to apply.

“She sent me a Valentines Day card with the job description for this position, and she said you should apply for it,” Perehinec said. “It was similar to what I was doing at United Way, and I was ready to take the next step in my career with this position.”

Hollidaysburg’s Main Street Manager serves as an intermediary between borough officials and area businesses that comprise the Hollidaysburg Community Partnership.

That is in addition to organizing several annual events in downtown Hollidaysburg and heading a facade program, which provides grant funds for business owners to improve their streetscapes.

Shortly after her hiring, Perehinec was given the opportunity to introduce herself to community members at Borough Council’s April meeting.

There, Borough Manager James Gehret said Perehinec seemed a good choice for Main Street Manager, in part, because of her ideas to expand the position. A few days later, Perehinec elaborated.

“I’ve heard that business owners want to have more of a voice,” she said.

To provide that opportunity, Perehinec plans to create a biweekly electronic newsletter that will be sent to Hollidaysburg Community Partnership members, she said. Business leaders will have the opportunity to submit information to be included in the letter, she said.

Recently, Perehinec has been working to become acquainted with local business leaders, she said.

“There are so many, so it has been hard to get around, especially on these rainy days,” she said, referencing the early spring weather. “But I’m looking forward to meeting many, many new people.”

And she has had some guidance through meetings with Balchin.

“He came last week to talk to me a little bit about where he left off,” Perehinec said. “He has been very helpful.”

Balchin was hired in March 2015 and served nearly two years before his departure. His predecessor, Andrea Carnicella, held the position for less than a year from spring 2014 to January 2015.

Perehinec suspects her stay as Main Street Manager will be long-term.

“You never know what comes up down the road, but I do plan on staying here as long as possible,” she said.

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today