NCDC CREATES NEW COMMUNITY MANAGER POSITION
Norwich — The owner of a downtown antiques and gift shop will become the community manager at the Norwich Community Development Corp., a new position created to support members of the agency’s growing Foundry 66 shared workspace facility at 66 Franklin St.
Jill Fritzsche, owner of Encore Justified at 102 Main St., will start Monday at NCDC. She succeeds Miria Toth, NCDC marketing director for the past six years. Toth will leave NCDC to take a position as community education officer at Chelsea Groton Bank in Groton starting Monday.
Fritzsche, a Canterbury resident, said Wednesday she will continue to operate Encore Justified, with an intern running the shop Wednesday through Friday, and Fritzsche working there Saturdays. Fritzsche also serves as chairwoman of the Economic Development Commission in Canterbury and is a long-standing member of the Eastern Regional Tourism District.
“That was an important piece for me, too, to make sure that stays,” Fritzsche said of keeping her store open, “because retail is viable on Main Street.”
She also sits on the First Friday Committee in Norwich and the Norwich Creates Beautification Committee.
“It is an exciting time, because I feel that Norwich is on the upswing, and there’s a lot of activity going on,” Fritzsche said.
NCDC President Robert Mills said with the new position, Fritzsche will focus on small, start-up businesses in the region and at Foundry 66 and on attracting new businesses to the city. Mills said he and Fritzsche will do some marketing, but will use contracted services, including Miranda Creative in Norwich, for some services to promote downtown business opportunities and support the Foundry 66 members and the Stanley Israelite Norwich Business Park.
“We look forward to the opportunity to support them and help them improve business skills to grow and expand,” Mills said. “Jill will be the front line of that effort.”
During her tenure at NCDC, Toth marketed NCDC, including the new Foundry 66 space, and also worked on numerous local events to make Norwich more vibrant, Mills said.
Although she will work in Groton for Chelsea Groton Bank, Toth said she plans to remain active in Norwich. Two of the largest events she helped organize, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival and the July 4 fireworks festival, now come under the umbrella of the new group, Norwich Events Organization Inc. Toth will serve on the board of directors of the new nonprofit group, and will help run the two main fundraisers, a golf tournament and the annual Ronald Aliano Service Award ceremony.
Toth also oversaw the Wednesday downtown farmers’ market at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park. This year, the farmers’ market has been turned over to Vinnie Coffone, who runs a salad bar booth at the event, and volunteer Karen Beasley.