Natchez Downtown Development Association has new officers, a new president and a new lease on life.

That’s what Bill Furlow, interim president and co-owner of the Natchez Coffee Company, sees.

New officers were approved this week, including Furlow as interim president, Vice President Melanie Downer, Treasurer Spencer Holder and Secretary Kevin Miers.

NDDA Board of Directors includes Charles Bartley, Brett Brinegar, Jason Dauphin, Lyn Fortenbery, brooks Harrington, Mimi Miller and Amelia Salmon.

The first thing on the agenda is to find and hire a new executive director, Furlow said.

Agnes Holloway will take the helm as president in the fall.

About the time director Carrie Kimbrell left in February, the president stepped down because of her husband’s death.

That prompted the NDDA to re-evaluate its organization and goals, he said.

“We went into a period of soul-searching,” Furlow said. “We had to make a decision — is there a need for this organization?”

The answer was a resounding yes, he said.

The board saw the need to improve communications between businesses, encourage businesses to beautify their appearance and help organize downtown events.

“(NDDA) is not just for the benefit of people who own businesses and property downtown,” Furlow said.

“It’s for all of Natchez. Natchez can’t be healthy unless downtown is healthy.”

One of the first projects the new board will take on will be Art and Soul, the fall downtown arts festival. They will also organize a tour of artists’ work, set for November.

The board will be actively involved in such projects, and Furlow said he saw a lot of potential.

“I’m excited about it,” Furlow said. “I’ve been on a lot of boards, but I’ve never been on one where everybody was so much on the same page and dedicating themselves to something.”

President-elect Holloway said she was waiting until fall to take office so she could help her husband, Donnie Holloway, with his campaign for county office.

Holloway, a vice president at United Mississippi Bank, served on the NDDA board previously, she said.

“I’m a firm believer that Natchez is coming around,” she said.

“I think downtown is just great. It’s just so nice to be able to walk around town and visit and know the people.”

With hotels going up and more tourists coming in, Holloway said she looks for downtown only to get busier and better.

“I can just envision downtown being where it’s at,” she said.