An advocate for downtown Greenwood, coordinator of the Main Street Summer Series, and a driving force behind numerous city restoration grants, Lise Foy has been the face of Main Street Greenwood for more than four years and says she has really enjoyed being a part of this community. But at the end of August, she will be moving to Canton with her husband, Jamie.
Foy, who announced her resignation as executive director in June, expected to make the move in October, but an exciting turn of events will have her leaving sooner than expected. Foy recently accepted the position of executive director of the Canton Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Association and is scheduled to begin Aug. 30.
Foy’s last day at Main Street Greenwood will be Aug. 27.
“I think Main Street work is my calling in life,” said Foy. “You are never doing the same thing.”
When Foy initially decided to leave, she says she didn’t have a plan for what was next. But she and her husband had decided they were ready to build a house on their land in Canton.
“After I announced my plans to leave Greenwood, the job in Canton became available,” she said. “The word I have been using is serendipity. Everything just fell into place from there.”
As executive director in Canton, Foy’s job will be similar to her position at Main Street Greenwood but will also include the chamber of commerce responsibilities and components such as business after hours and Christmas events.
The Canton Chamber and Main Street is also a larger organization because it serves the entire community of Canton, not just the downtown. Unlike in Leflore County, where Greenwood is the main hub, she will also be moving to a market where there are other similar organizations such in Madison, Ridgeland and Madison County.
“It will be a little bit more competitive, but I read the quote, ‘Our job is not to compete, our job is to succeed,’” Foy said. “That will be my focus.”
She is looking forward to meeting more of the Canton community.
“They have been very welcoming,” she said. “The people in Canton are eager for some new opportunities and activities.”
Foy sees tremendous opportunities to grow the program within the community as she did in Greenwood.
From her instrumental role in the creation of the Downtown Greenwood Farmer’s Market to securing funds to restore the old Greenwood Greyhound Bus Station for a Main Street office, Foy has made a large impact in the community.
The two projects she is most proud of are the facade grant program and Art Alfresco.
The façade program started with a donation from a local business owner. Foy was then able to secure a $240,500 grant from the Foundation for the MidSouth to supplement that existing incentive program to renovate and restore historic structure located on Johnson Street and Carroll Avenue. Money totaled about $300,000 for the project.
“We have completed four projects and have about 12 more applications that have been approved,” she said. “We are beginning to see a big impact in the area from this project and that is something to be proud of.”
Art Alfresco was already in place when Foy started in 2006 but she took a liking to the event early on and wanted to make it bigger.
She succeeded and this year had 50 artists and more than 20 businesses participate. She was glad to have more community involvement through the Communities in Schools community mural and the scarecrow art fundraiser for the Greenwood Farmer’s Market.
“From the beginning, it has been one of my favorite events,” she said. “I like the atmosphere it creates within the community and it brings in good local and regional artists.”
Between grant writing and event planning, Foy has been an active part of the community. Over the years, she has served as president of the Greenwood Lions Club and Leflore-Carroll Chapter of the Mississippi State Alumni Association, vice president of the Greenwood Garden Club and an active member of the Chamber of Commerce.
“When I was at the Mississippi State alumni meeting last month, I was looking out at all the people there and remembering how four years ago I didn’t know a single one,” she said. “Now I know 99 percent of them. I have loved being a part of the Greenwood community.”
•Contact Andrea Hall at ahall@gwcommonwealth.com.
