Discover PB welcomed Andy Hanshaw as its new executive director in March after the former director of five years, Benjamin Nicholls, stepped down in December to head the business association in Hillcrest. Hanshaw, 43, is not new to the game of promoting business, raising funds or organizing events. He previously worked with business associations in Phoenix and Portland, Ore., and most recently helped raise $11 million for the new alumni center at San Diego State University, where he was the development officer for five years. With no great plan to turn Pacific Beach on its head, Hanshaw has spent the past couple of months getting to know the community through community meetings, sundowners and special functions. He aims to begin attending real estate association meetings and envisions organizing breakfasts for local brokers. Hanshaw can also be found at the spacious Discover PB headquarters at 1503 Garnet Ave. “I want to be a strong partner with the community – with the residential, business and tourist industries,” Hanshaw said. “It’s important for us to be a strong partner to make Pacific Beach a clean, safe and vibrant business community.” Hanshaw’s first push was to launch a new website, going virtual on April 14, that provides a directory of area businesses under the slogan “Eat, drink, shop, think PB!” Still under construction, the website will also help guests plan their visit and view a calendar of events. Hanshaw has broadened the street banner concept from quaint welcome signs of beaches and sea-gulls to eight-foot-long personalized banners that announce Pacific Beach and advertise a business below (for a price). The banners will hang in a variety of designs like the royal purple banner that features a shining sun and the words “sunfest” and “free admission.” The banners will hang along Garnet Avenue, Grand Avenue and Mission Boulevard and will be taken down only for beachfest and holiday decorations. Businesses can purchase an advertising spot for $200 for five months or $350 for 10 months. Hanshaw is also toying with the idea of setting out recycling bins on the streets and has met with Shoreline Media, a business interested in setting up a pilot program in Pacific Beach and downtown’s Gaslamp Quarter. The business would manage the recycling and earn revenue from advertisement on the cans. “We live by the beautiful ocean and I think we should think about these things,” Hanshaw said. “It was not high on the list before I got here but it makes a lot of sense.” The new executive said he is also interested in revisiting the conversation about establishing a Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) that many residents had previously opposed, in part, because they didn’t favor cleaning up after businesses. “[MAD] may be something that we look at but it needs community involvement and it needs to be inclusive,” Hanshaw said. Discover PB’s board of directors reviewed 160 resumes and interviewed 20 people for the position. Board President Mike McNeill said the board was impressed that Hanshaw had launched the Bike the Bay bicycle ride that swings around Mission Bay and over the Coronado bridge and that attracts 2,000 people. McNeill said it proves Hanshaw is adept at organizing large events, which is crucial since his main responsibility will be to organize Pacific BeachFest. The festival draws 50,000 people. “We narrowed it down to the final three [people],” McNeill said. “He’s had other BID experiences, is very familiar with the beach area, is driven, has good management skills and interviewed very well.” Hanshaw is an avid cyclist who imagines creating an event to celebrate the bicycling community in Pacific Beach. He also wants to make the area safer for bicycling. “People are forced to ride on the sidewalk on Grand, Garnet and Mission Boulevard,” Hanshaw said. “I would love to see a bike transportation committee.” The business community pays for Hanshaw and Program Director Sara Berns to carry out the daily task of promoting PB as part of the city’s Business Improvement District program (BID). Each business pays the city a fee for the area BID as part of its business license, and the city reimburses Discover PB for its work. A volunteer board of directors oversees Discover PB, which is registered as a nonprofit. Four volunteer committees tackle specific issues: design and improvement, hospitality task force, promotions and PB Special Events Committee. Raised in Arizona, Hanshaw spent many summers sailing on Mission Bay with his father. He moved to San Diego after graduating from Arizona State University in 1987 and later earned earned his master’s degree in public administration at Portland State University in 1995. He now lives in Point Loma with his wife, Sandy. “I worked for two BIDs and I really enjoyed that work,” Hanshaw said. ” Pacific Beach really appealed to me because of my long history with this area. I thought it would be a good fit.”