Collegiate Times

Leslie Hager-Smith first moved to Blacksburg in 1982 because she already had family members living in the area, and she acquired a good first impression of the town.

“It looked like a good place, so my husband, Eric, and I decided to settle in,” she said.

Twenty five years later, a much more involved Hager-Smith is still settling into life in Blacksburg, this time by accepting a new position as director of Downtown Merchants, a local organization committed to unifying individual merchants, services and restaurants in the downtown corridor.

“Downtown is full of enlightened risk-takers,” Hager-Smith said. “We understand that what’s good for the individual is good for the town, and that’s something the Merchants want to be a part of.”

Her passion for the community has always been an integral aspect of her career. Before accepting the position, she served as the YMCA director of community programs in Blacksburg, as well as jobs with The Roanoke Times and the Community Foundation of the New River Valley.

 “With the YMCA job, I definitely learned that individual business owners are first and foremost independent,” she said.

Since taking over from former director Gwynn Hamilton a month ago, Hager-Smith has spearheaded a recycling initiative that fosters relations between member merchants and citizens: people are encouraged to drop-off household batteries and florescent bulbs in any of the member merchants’ locations for free recycling. She also added a spot on the Downtown Merchants website allowing local businesses, services and restaurants to advertise any available property they may want to sell or rent.

“Leslie has always been very involved, and her new job allows her to continue reaching out to the community in ways such as these,” said Gail Billingsley, YMCA executive director for Virginia Tech. “Leslie was a very instrumental part of our team, but I would say her whole life in

Blacksburg has been leading up to this new job with the Downtown Merchants.”

Even being a well-qualified and prepared successor for the position, Hager-Smith faces an immediate challenge as director — balancing the mixed responses to the proposed Ordinance 1450 within the community.

“I think Downtown Merchants will play a strong role in public dialogue about this debate,” she said. “We won’t be making an official statement supporting either side because we recognize the differing opinions within our own members, but it is safe to say we promote community-oriented conversations about reasonable business calculations to ensure the best decision is reached for the business sectors.”

Community response seems to have faith in the new director.

“We think she’ll be great; she has experience, enthusiasm and most importantly, she understands the downtown dynamic,” said Jenny Schwanke, director of the Blacksburg Farmers Market, a member of the Downtown Merchants.