CityView Magazine

34 | September/October 2016 business BY JAMES JOHNSON The Heart of the City S ince his retirement, 61-year-old Tony Chavonne is rarely seen without a grin. He's happy. Growing up, Chavonne says, the goal for people of his gen- eration wasn't happiness, but a job. Now, the current president of Fayetteville's Downtown Alliance believes kids today want more than just to work and grow old. ey want happiness, and he thinks they just might be onto something. "I live down here, I have major invest- ments here and I was born and raised here. What I do now is a labor of love," Chavonne said. "And there is nothing I want to do more than see this downtown grow." While serving four consecutive terms as Fayetteville's mayor from 2005 to 2013, Chavonne saw his hometown quite liter - ally grow from a population of 150,000 to more than 200,000. Now retired, Chavonne focuses his efforts on a much smaller target, but one with far reaching economic benefits for the town he loves, the Downtown Alliance. e Downtown Alliance is a non-profit membership advocacy group that for the past 10 years has worked to support and bring businesses into Fayetteville's historic downtown area. e organization is responsible for an array of activities, including downtown's monthly Fourth Friday street festival, the annual Hallow - een zombie walk, seasonal carriage rides with Santa and works in partnership with the Arts Council for A Dickens Holiday. For the past two years, Chavonne served as the Downtown Alliance's new presi- dent, and just as when he served as mayor, it has been during a time of great change for both the community and the organiza- tion itself. The Downtown Alliance keeps high hopes for the transformation of Fayetteville's downtown district Tony Chavonne, DTA President Fayetteville Pie Company Ribbon Cutting Zombie Walk Candlelight Loft Tours Carriage Rides Downtown Historic Tours Photos contributed by Downtown Alliance

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