On Thursday November 4^th, I had the privilege of meeting up with Rachel (Ray) Friedlander, the Director of Economic Development in Ayer and the Economic Development, Patricia Costa in Acton.

We met in the Ayer Town Hall and were briefly joined by the Town Manager. For about an hour we shared some best practices, challenges and successes. I particularly wanted to hear from Patricia Costa how she was able to coordinate a very successful Restaurant Week, which she had to extend by 5 days, due to its popularity.  

I met Ray at the Nashoba Valley Chamber of Commerce after-hours networking event, a few months ago at the Sanctuary. After a brief conversation, she invited me to meet her in Ayer. In turn I decided to introduce her to Patricia Costa and Meredith Harris, the Executive Director of the Economic Development Corporation in Marlborough. Ray had the chance to meet with Meredith on her own in Marlborough and decided to invite Patricia to join me and her for a discussion and a Downtown walking tour of Ayer. Both Patricia and I were able to share some ideas on how to improve on the open space they have by the Rail Station to help make it more attractive to locals and visitors alike.      

We all agreed to continue our future conversation, and in fact, Patricia suggested inviting other Economic Development Directors from other towns that surround Route 2.  Maybe creating a Route 2 Economic Development Consortium. Ray is now interested in spending some time with me and taking a walking tour of Downtown Maynard and driving through the Maynard Crossing. More to come.