Lenny Avery

ALPENA — Newly appointed executive director of Target Alpena Development Corporation (Target), Lenny Avery, says his goals for the organization are to focus on economic development.

Avery will succeed Michael “Mike” Mahler who is retiring at the end of the year.

Avery told The News that his first reaction to the appointment was excitement. He said that for the last three years he’s worked at Target, he’s just tried “to support our community” and make improvements.

“I had an opportunity to play a part in working with a lot of projects that have been successful,” Avery said.

He noted projects such as the updates to Culligan Plaza and the docks at the Alpena Marina.

“Several of the projects that we’ve done over the last three years have been really successful and we believe that, as Target, we want to continue that success,” Avery added.

Avery said that his first initial thought when he got the job was “Good, let’s hit the ground running and keep going. Let’s maintain that momentum.”

Avery said that his focus moving into his new role will be economic development with the help of Target’s board of directors.

“The board and I will sit down and have a strategic plan to determine what that looks like, but we know that our community needs a targeted, focused, driven approach to revitalizing our community,” Avery added. “We want to eliminate closed businesses in our downtown. We want to increase businesses and foot traffic in our downtown.”

Avery said that Target also has goals to grow the tax bases by “encouraging new people to move to the region.”

“We want to see growth and tourism,” Avery explained. “We just want to be anything that the city and the county want us to be, as a partner going forward.”

Avery added that projects that Target takes on often takes many years from conception to completion. He explained that they also have to navigate administration changes at the federal level to leverage grant money for which they are eligible.

“Every administration makes changes,” Avery said. “You kind of have to roll with the punches. Some of these grants have kind of changed trajectory into how they’re allocated.”

“What we are trying to do is to project out over the next three years to determine how to get into this new river or this new stream of funding that’s coming from different priorities,” Avery added. “We’re going to try to adapt our models to ensure that our community is put in the best light to receive funding and resources to help us.”

Avery said that Mahler has been a big supporter of him and has been a mentor through Avery’s time at Target.

“He’s been integral in leading our agency for the last six years,” Avery said. “And the trust that the board has now placed in me to continue that, we want to make sure that we’re all headed in the right direction”

“I told him today, he’s like my work dad,” Avery added. “Mike is a good guy. He gave me an opportunity when I needed one and I’ll always be appreciative of him seeing something in me that I had forgotten about myself.”

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.