Focus On: Anna Bentson

Why you should know her
The 29-year-old is the executive director of Lynch’s Landing, a nonprofit that focuses on downtown development and revitalization, and president of the James River Council for the Arts and Humanities’ board of directors.

Background
Bentson graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2004 and moved to D.C., where she worked on Capitol Hill and then, in media relations and government affairs for the American Association of Museums. She and her husband, Lynchburg College graduate Tom, moved to Lynchburg in 2007. She worked as Poplar Forest’s director of public relations and marketing until taking the Lynch’s Landing job in May.

Why Lynchburg?
"We were just ready to leave D.C. We’d been there about four years and were at the point where we wanted to buy a house and settle down. And we knew we didn’t want to do that (there)."

They eventually decided on Lynchburg, where Tom went to college, and moved downtown into City Market Lofts.

"Coming from such an urban area, we wanted somewhere we could walk, somewhere we could go to restaurants. I really fell in love with downtown Lynchburg," she says. "Tom spent a little time downtown in college, but it was almost like his introduction, too. We kind of discovered it together."

Why are you so passionate about downtown Lynchburg?
"Coming in with fresh eyes, it’s an amazing place," she says. "We have world-class art, and museums. … I’m certainly a new face, but this is not a new movement."

It also taps into her love of history: "I’ve always been interested in old buildings. I love architecture. I live in a 1920s house (now). I love the cultural and historical crossroads that downtown represents. Downtowns are the future. I want to see that (boom) happen here."

What would you like to see downtown?
Talk about a never-ending list.

Bentson rattled off one idea after another: an arts festival, a movie theater, more on-street dining options, the return of Amazement Square’s outdoor movie series, RiverFlicks.

She’d also like to expand Lynch’s Landing’s upcoming Get!Downtown street festival, aimed at college students, into a year-round campaign.

"It’s happening, but we really want to move it forward," she says. "We want the Lynchburg experience to be more a part of the college experience."

She also wants to learn more about downtown residents, in terms of who is living there and what they want.

"There’s hundreds more than there were four years ago, and there are so many developments on the horizon," she says. "This is their neighborhood."

What do you think about the Lynchburg music videos that have been making the rounds on YouTube (Tony Camm’s "Get Downtown" and Jeff Carl’s "Here I’m Home")?
"Love them," she says. "I think that just shows we’re not the only ones out there who are passionate about this."

Why are the arts so important to communities, especially downtown areas?
"More and more, the arts are seen as an economic development engine, creating jobs and reasons for people to come and shop and dine. … We want to have a really vibrant community that makes people want to stay here."