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Ackerman recently was hired as the City of Greenwood's Uptown manager. A Greenwood High School and Lander University graduate, Ackerman started her new role with the city last week. She takes the slot formerly occupied by Angie Jones, who resigned in May.
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Greenwood High School and Lander University graduate Laura Ackerman recently was hired by the city to be the Uptown Greenwood manager. (Matt Walsh | Index-Journal)
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As Uptown manager, Ackerman will take the lead in coordinating events in Uptown, such as the Boo Bash, the annual Christmas parade, the S.C. Festival of Discovery and much more.
"I will help in facilitating any event that comes Uptown," Ackerman said.
Before landing the Uptown manager post, Ackerman previously had a position with the Medical University of South Carolina Children's Hospital Fund, where she was an events coordinator and dealt in major gifts donor relations.
City of Greenwood assistant to the city manager Julie Wilkie said Ackerman will bring energy to the Uptown manager post.
“Laura certainly has the skill set to bring a fresh outlook to Uptown Greenwood,” Wilkie said. “She has extensive event planning experience through her positions at MUSC Children’s Hospital and Palmetto Health Foundation.
“She is a Greenwood native, but has lived in both Columbia and Charleston, so she is able to bring a little bit of that larger city knowledge back to Greenwood.
“She has some fresh ideas for Uptown, and I think she is going to be a tremendous asset to Greenwood.”
Ackerman’s office is in the Federal Building, adjacent to the offices of the Greenwood Regional Tourism and Visitors Bureau. She said she looks forward to a good relationship with the staff at GRTVB, as they will likely consult with each other on events and tourism- related ideas.
“It’s a team effort,” Ackerman said. “You’ve got to work as a team. ... I’m really working with a great team, I can already tell. Our thing is bringing people Uptown and bringing people to Greenwood, getting more visitors and tourists and making an economic impact.”
Ackerman said she is pleased with the revitalization efforts in Uptown and is excited she will be a part of the continued progress there.
“It’s a total change,” she said. “I was telling (city manager) Charlie (Barrineau), Uptown Greenwood used to be, to me, (office professional) businesses, attorneys and so on. It wasn’t somewhere to come and socialize on the weekend or on a weeknight.
“Now, it has changed. It is growing. There are restaurants, there are festivals going on and things to bring your family to. Plus, the shopping’s always a perk, too.”