Colby Moore is a face and name familiar to many in Northeast Georgia. He grew up in Rabun County, married a woman from White County, and worked at Lee Arrendale State Prison and North Georgia Technical College in Habersham. Now, after nearly five years spent commuting to Atlanta for his job managing marketing for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Moore is back working where his roots run deep.
‘Poised for greatness’
Recently hired as Clarkesville’s new Main Street Director, Moore is leaning in to his knowledge and love for this area in his new role.
“I love Clarkesville. I’ve always loved Clarksville. When I worked at the college, I was very involved in the community,” he says. “I really feel the community is poised for greatness in the next few years, and I want to be a part of that.”
The Main Street program is part of a statewide initiative to build “strong, vibrant communities.” Clarkesville is among 105 Main Street cities across Georgia. It’s now Moore’s job to promote the town and build on the character and culture that make it unique. He succeeds Trudy Crunkleton, who resigned earlier this year to become Clayton’s city manager. Moore’s first day on the job was June 27. While he has a strong background in PR and marketing, he’s quick to point out he has much to learn. Part of that learning process involves meeting with city stakeholders.
“I have met with city officials. Next, I will meet with business leaders, then put together a plan of action,” he says. He sees his mission as two-fold: To support existing businesses by helping them increase traffic, customers, and sales and draw new customers and businesses into town. A highly-skilled professional photographer, Moore will put his talents to good use as he presents Clarkesville in its best light to achieve that mission.
“Clarkesville is close enough to the mountains without being like other mountain towns that are carbon copies of each other,” he says. “The square on Washington Street has that authentic down-home feel.”
Crossroads
Moore points to Clarkesville’s “booming restaurant scene” and “unique shops” when highlighting what the town offers. He calls the city’s recent designation of a downtown entertainment district “a great addition.” And Moore sees opportunity even as more downtown storefronts sit empty, including the former Soque Artworks gallery, which recently closed after 14 years.
“Geographically, Clarkesville is the crossroads between Cornelia and Helen and Clayton. It’s geographically well-suited for tourism,” he says. Moore hopes to build on that natural advantage by enhancing Clarkesville’s social media presence and launching a new tourism website.
“Locals have built this town. To share this beautiful town with the rest of the world, everybody benefits from that.”
Another way of ‘sharing’ Clarkesville is through special events. The city has its mainstays such as the Mountain Laurel Festival and Trick-or-Treat on the Square. There’s also Sip and Stroll and Red White and Tunes. Moore says those will continue, but “next year we’ll make some changes to Sip and Stroll to make it more family-friendly.”
He commends the Main Street Board for filling the leadership gap between Crunkelton’s departure and his arrival.
“My biggest challenge so far has been stepping into this role three weeks before one of the largest events of the year [Red, White, and Tunes]. It is challenging in its own way, but the Main Street Board has done a great job of pulling that together.”
Coming home
As he settles into his role as Clarkesville’s primary promoter and event planner, Moore acknowledges his distinction as the first man to hold the position.
“I don’t know of something specific as a man I can bring, but I follow in the footsteps of great leaders before me. My predecessor did a good job, and, of course, Mary Beth Horton did a great job putting this program together,” he says. “I want to build on what was done before and take it to a new level.”
This first week on the job has been something of a homecoming for Moore. He’s bumped into people from his NGTC days and says, “that’s been the best part – getting back into this community. I’m a Northeast Georgia native, and this feels very much like home to me.”
Now that he works mere minutes, not hours, from the Helen-area farm where he and his wife Carrie live, Moore has more time to enjoy home life. Their youngest son is a freshman at White County High School, and their oldest son attends college. Less time spent on the road means more time with them.
“The commute was hard on the family,” Moore says of his time working in Atlanta. When he arrived home before 6 p.m. after his first day working in Clarkesville, his wife commented, ‘Well, this is weird.’
Weird, perhaps, but welcome for a man ready to get off the road and chart a new path working to “spread the message of Clarkesville far and wide.”
