Meet Laurie Miller, New Program Director for the Sumner Downtown Association

After Laurie Miller left her interview for the program manager position with the (SDA), she heard screaming when she closed the door.

“Right when she left the interview, it was unanimous,” said SDA president Barbara Ford. She joked that after Miller left the interview, the SDA members breathed a sign of relief. “Everybody loved her and we knew she was the right person for the job.”

As the ‘face of SDA,’ Miller will help the organization plan local events and steer community projects to restore and enhance the downtown business core of Sumner. She hopes to improve the program’s existing projects while bringing more volunteers into the fold.

“I’d like to build and grow on our individual volunteers to support the downtown community. I think there are a lot of people who would love to be involved, but have just been waiting to be asked. I’m not afraid to ask,” said Miller. “I’m excited to see what I can do to help our community grow tourism, build the downtown core and fill the empty storefront windows.”

Since taking office during the last week of February, Miller has already set some immediate goals – high on her list is to make sure local businesses are informed of local and that the association keeps applying for new grant opportunities under it's non-profit status. She’s focusing on , which will be a two-day event this July, with more planning and a wider array of vendors. Miller also wants to set up a sister-city program with a town in Oregon to help Sumner business owners network with mirrored small communities.

The SDA is still working on the , with the one by the close to completion. Miller also wants to redecorate the SDA office, maybe have a group of Sumner High School art students paint a wall mural that represents their town. She also has an idea for a new Sumner tradition: collectable Christmas ornaments, locally designed and sold.

Ford said Miller’s project checklist and driven attitude are exactly what the downtown organization needs, especially after last September.

“We were very specific in what we were looking for, this time around. Part of that came from a bad experience,” said Ford. “We had broken relationships with local business owners and city officials, but we’re mending those fences now... Our goal is to show the city and Mayor that they can have confidence in how SDA is run from this day forward. Her personality and experience can take us to places we’ve been dreaming about.”

Miller was raised in a small Washington town along the Columbia River and has lived in Sumner for five years – she grew up eating her grandmother’s rhubarb pie, cooked on a wood stove. She said Sumner’s “small-town feel and close-knit neighborhoods” are what drew her in.

“We have one of the best Main Street storefronts around. I see us as an antique destination – we combine the old with the new,” said Miller.

In her spare time, Miller likes to perform in musical theater and sing. She’s worked with ManeStage and Act 1 Theatre Productions and is hoping for a role in the upcoming ‘Nunsense’ this June. She’s worked as a photographer and reporter and enjoys taking photos of people and landscapes. Her last job was as community sales leader for a a retirement community, where she found she has a knack for fundraising. Her experiences at the retirement center taught her a lot about working with different kinds of people.

“You need great listening skills and patience [to work at a retirement community],” said Miller. “It taught me a lot about building relationships, and that translates well into business. You can try and sell anything you want to anybody, but if they don’t trust you or believe you, they won’t buy into what you’re trying to sell.”

Miller sees SDA as an opportunity to “sell” community to Sumner, and she plans to do it one person at a time.

“[At SDA] we are selling events but promoting community. If residents come to me and have ideas, they will be taken to heart,” said Miller. “We’re always trying to make the best decision for Sumner.”