Ames Main Street Names New Executive Director

Ames Main Street’s newest executive director comes to Story County with a decade of experience under his belt.

Travis Toliver officially assumed the role of vice president and executive director of Ames Main Street on Aug. 5. The role also allows him to join the leadership team of the Ames Regional Economic Alliance.

Toliver previously spent 10 years as executive director of the Waverly & Main Street Chamber of Commerce.

The Denver native said the position “found him” when Alliance President and CEO Dan Culhane contacted him looking for an executive director with experience in a national Main Street program.

“After a few conversations and brainstorming about what this position could be and what it could do for Downtown Ames, it became clear to me that this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” Toliver said. “You try to grab those opportunities that come your way that you weren’t looking for, but you were looking for yourself, and this was one of them.”

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Plans for Downtown Ames

Toliver will serve as the chief public relations officer for Ames Main Street, overseeing day-to-day operations and programming. He has also been tasked with improving the downtown Ames business district.

“Downtown Ames is already full of diverse, unique and wonderful businesses that appeal to all walks of life,” Toliver said. “I think that’s important when you look at the catalog of businesses downtown, that there’s something for everyone.”

Toliver said Main Street has begun work on a new Downtown Ames master plan. While he thinks the neighborhood is already beautiful, Toliver hopes to enhance the organization’s various annual events, as well as push for continued renovations to build second-story apartments downtown. Main Street will also continue its efforts to beautify the downtown area through various landscaping projects, plants and decorative banners.

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Journey to the business industry

Toliver worked in the hotel industry, having previously lived in Fargo, North Dakota, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. After moving to Waverly with his wife and two sons, he realized he needed a different kind of job.

The position with the Waverly Chamber of Commerce Main Street Program was presented as an opportunity to transfer skills from leadership in the hospitality industry to the business community, a move he said immediately felt like a “natural fit.”

“I found working at Chamber/Main Street to be rewarding and I really enjoyed it,” Toliver said. “My dad always said, ‘If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life,’ and in this business I didn’t have to do that.”

Tolliver enjoyed engaging with the community, organizing events and connecting with people.

“No day was the same; that’s what I love about this industry,” Toliver said. “Another favorite part of the job was knowing that when I went home at night, I could feel good about the work I had done in a positive way for my community.”

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Tolliver left his mark on Waverly

Toliver is proud of how he has helped local Waverly businesses through major transformational events, such as the Highway 3 reconstruction project — which runs through the heart of the city — and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Toliver also supported economic projects throughout the community. In partnership with Wartburg College and the city of Waverly, the Waverly Chamber of Commerce Main Street Program hosted Grammy Award-winning band Mumford and Sons for one of their Gentlemen of the Road Stopover shows in 2015.

Toliver said more than 30,000 people attended the two-and-a-half-day festival.

“It’s definitely had a huge economic impact on the community,” Toliver said. “(They) only do it every once in a while, but their goal is to come to a small community like Waverly and make an economic impact.”

Toliver also helped manage the renovation and restoration of the historic Waverly Palace Theater, which closed in 2018. Although the project wasn’t complete when he was there, Toliver said it should be close to completion.

Toliver enjoys spending time with his family, music

When he’s not working, Toliver loves spending time with his family, who still live in Waverly. His wife is a music professor at Wartburg, directing two of the five choirs and teaching choral education. The couple also has twins who are in first grade.

Tolver enjoys volunteering, swimming, golf and reading. He also sings, having studied vocal performance at school. He loves singing opera and musicals.

Celia Brocker is a government, crime, politics and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at [email protected].