Pasco: Dade City's Main Street gets new chief

Dade City's Main Street gets new chief

Ginny Solberg brings a varied background to the non-profit group. She replaces Gail Hamilton, who resigned last month.

By CHASE SQUIRES

DADE CITY -- Downtown Dade City Main Street announced Wednesday that local resident Ginny Solberg will be the agency's new executive director, replacing longtime director Gail Hamilton, who resigned last month.

Solberg, 58, brings a wealth of corporate experience to the non-profit group as former CEO of the North Miami Foundation for Senior Citizens, a board member of the North Miami Chamber of Commerce and a member of the North Miami Mayor's Economic Task Force.

She also has worked as regional administrator for Adult Care Management Corp. in Clearwater, overseeing eight senior communities in Texas and Florida.

Solberg most recently has worked as a management consultant for Sunrise of Pasco, First Presbyterian Church, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church and several assisted living facilities in the Tampa Bay area.

She has become well known around Dade City in the past two years as one of the leaders in the Community Aging and Retirement Service's bid to overhaul the old Crescent Theater and turn it into a senior enrichment center. She worked with state lawmakers to help generate $400,000 in state funding, as well as rounding up donations from corporations and citizens.

Downtown Dade City Main Street President Robin Edwards said the board of directors is firmly behind Solberg and looks forward to putting her expertise to work.

Edwards said the board is eager to get back to some of the basics of the Main Street program, such as membership coordination, special event development and fundraising for projects that will specifically benefit downtown merchants.

"They say if you want something done, ask a busy person," Edwards said. "Ginny is so active in the community, she's busy with so many things, we think she will be a great addition. We're going to learn a lot from her."

Edwards said the board is expecting Solberg to re-energize local merchants and spend a lot of time walking the downtown district, getting their input.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Solberg and her husband, Ron, moved to Dade City in 1994 from North Miami, where they had lived for 22 years.

"This is going to be a wonderful challenge," Solberg said. "We all hope for that one job that we will love. For me, this is it."

Solberg starts work Monday.