![\"Benjamin](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/IMG_0191_2.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cThe strength of the HBA comes from the board, and so my goal is to get a good board and a great executive team,\u201d Nicholls said of his last month. \u201cI don\u2019t want to leave the group without a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nicholls made the announcement at the Aug. 13 HBA board meeting, immediately following the previous weekend\u2019s CityFest. Nicholls said this year\u2019s annual event was the most successful he has seen in his tenure, and event planning will be a focal point of his new job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been working for 16 years running business improvement districts and I think that one of the most fun parts of this job is doing the events. So this is a natural fit for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Before the HBA, Nicholls managed the Pacific Beach Business Association and served as the Program Manager for the Pioneer Square Community Association, a neighborhood business group in Seattle.<\/p>\n
When Nicholls started at the HBA, the organization oversaw three main events: CityFest, Mardi Gras and Taste of Hillcrest. In his five years, that number has grown to seven, with more soon to be added. This year\u2019s Hillcrest Hoedown is scheduled for Oct. 12 \u2013 Nicholls said he would be working that event, too \u2013 and the group plans on starting a movie night in the near future. They are also looking at options for a Mardi Gras celebration in 2014 after declining to be a part of this year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n
Nicholls said the HBA was in a \u201cgreat spot\u201d to move forward with staff changes and new initiatives, including the proposed Hillcrest Community Development Corporation (CDC).<\/p>\n
In July, Nicholls announced the board\u2019s desire to form a CDC \u2013 a separate organization from the HBA \u2013 in order to both secure Main Street certification for the HBA and to address long-term sustainability for the neighborhood. While the proposed CDC would eventually be self-sustaining, the incoming HBA executive director would oversee some managerial duties for the CDC, as well as implement initial projects<\/p>\n
Nicholls called the CDC a group of activists that plan for the long term, and said they would be \u201cup and running\u201d by the time he leaves in October. This will include board members, a working budget and a beginning work plan, taking up several projects the HBA has traditionally focused on in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see the CDC having an executive director until the CDC can stand on its own two feet,\u201d Nicholls said. His goal is to not have the new HBA executive director be the staff of the CDC, saying he hoped instead to have the HBA director work to hire separate CDC staff to focus on their own priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a great team, and if we find a new person, they\u2019re going to be in a really good spot to realize the goals of the board,\u201d Nicholls said.<\/p>\n