Vice Chancellor Brian Burnett to serve on Colorado Springs Downtown Partnership board

Looking to bring more appeal to the downtown area of Colorado Springs, Vice Chancellor Brian Burnett was recently selected to be the vice president of the Colorado Springs Downtown Partnership.

The organization, which is volunteer-based, is the leader for promoting the downtown area to the citizens of the city as well as making it more of an attraction for tourists when they visit Colorado Springs.

Burnett, who has served on the board for a few years, was asked by Ron Butlin, executive director of the Downtown Partnership, to become the vice president of the organization. Sam Eppley, owner of Sparrow Hawk Gourmet Cookware will serve as the new president while retired pastor Gay Hatler will serve as the secretary and treasurer.

As the vice president of the Colorado Springs Downtown Partnership, Burnett will have a couple of main responsibilities.

"As vice president, if Sam isn't there, I chair the board," Burnett said. "Besides that, I work with the city, the mayor and the merchants of all the downtown stores to see what we can do to make the downtown area a more vibrant part of the city," he furthered.

Burnett wants to also make the downtown area more attractive to the students of UCCS. "The University has a small presence downtown there with some of our art, but I also want the students to have a downtown experience like many other college students get around the country," said Burnett.

The downtown area is not far from UCCS and Burnett thinks having a good downtown area is critical.

"For students coming to UCCS, I think that it is important we have a great downtown area since our campus isn't too far away," Burnett stated. "You have to think, as a person overlooking this organization, what attracts people to come to a city? I think a vibrant downtown is a big part of that."

Besides making the downtown area more college student friendly, Burnett wants to make the area more attractive to all walks of life. "A downtown area is a cultural and social center to a city. A town needs a great urban downtown to be a great city," stated Burnett. "The main goal is to make the area more inviting to everyone: families, tourists, college students and all ages," he furtherd.

As vice president, Burnett hopes to bring more popularity to the area and advance interest in what the downtown area has to offer. By going to the website www.downtown80903.com, anyone can see what the downtown of Colorado Springs has to offer.