Downtown Difference Maker: Rachael Snedecor

Rachael Snedecor speaking at a community event in Downtown Livermore, November 2019.

CAMS Quarterly | Winter 2022
By: Alicia Gallo, Marketing & Communications Consultant

In late 2021, Rachael Snedecor announced that she would be transitioning out of her role as executive director of Livermore Downtown, Inc. During her 21 year tenure, Rachael has made an immeasurable impact in Livermore–including earning GAMSA status in 2009–and with CAMS, where she served on the board of directors for many years. For her decades of dedicated service, expert-level knowledge of the Main Street Approach, boundless energy and tenacity, and genuine warm spirit, we are honored to recognize Rachael as a Downtown Difference Maker. I recently sat down with Rachael to reflect on her time as a Main Street professional, her greatest hits and biggest facepalm moments, her leadership style and sense of humor, and to get a preview of what’s next. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. All photos courtesy of Livermore Downtown, Inc.

I would love to start with a little bit about your professional journey. What brought you to the Livermore Downtown, Inc.?

I moved to Livermore in 1986, which is coincidentally the year that the Main Street program started in Livermore. I was commuting and raising kids. I never even knew exactly what the Livermore Main Street program meant, I just knew that there was a lot of focus on the downtown area, which as a new resident, was an area of our community that we didn't really go to. We all went to the neighboring town of Pleasanton, to get that feel of a historic downtown. 

My career path at that point was working in banking at a lending center for World Savings. So I  understood business banking and things like that. From there, I left and ended up in sales with a coffee company. I did a lot of outside sales, negotiating contracts, that kind of thing. And then I left that and ended up in our local wine industry. That was my first step into learning about destination marketing and getting a deeper understanding of the community as someone who lived and worked in Livermore. My kids were in school, so that had connections, too. Also through the wine industry and working for one of our largest wineries, Wente and Yvonne Tomas winery is where I gained a lot of marketing experience from putting on events. And also working with the business development of the local wineries and really looking at how to start making people understand that the Livermore Valley exists and is a great destination, with lots to offer. Because of that role, I was getting to know restaurants in Downtown Livermore.

When the Downtown Livermore Main Street director position opened up in 2000, I was actually approached by two of the downtown businesses that I had been working with through the wine industry. Because they had worked with me at events through their business they asked if this role would be something I’d be interested in. And I thought, "Wow, I'm not even sure what that Main Street thing is, but it sounds cool. And I would love to see our downtown actually grow and thrive and become the place that we support." At the same time, the world was changing because of the new millennium; we had all survived New Year’s Day and it just felt like it was the right time to change and to start something new. So, that was what got me here 21 years ago and started my journey into Main Street.

Oh, wow! I always love hearing people's origin stories, so to speak. It's always so interesting. And there's such a wide variety of how people ended up in their roles. And the one thing that I found to be pretty consistent is it's completely unplanned.

Oh absolutely! Even looking at hiring my replacement and sitting with the board and going through the list of the skills that a Main Street director should have … no one has the whole list! You have to come in with the passion for [downtown revitalization] and then grow into the rest of it. I agree with you. Sometimes it's somebody with a historic preservation background, sometimes it's marketing, sometimes it's sales, sometimes it's business administration. Regardless, you come in and you have to learn fast.

Exactly. I'm curious to know: What was the moment, if you can think of one, where you realized that you made the right decision to become a Main Streeter? 

If I think back to the very beginning of when it really felt like this is what I should be doing and want to be doing, it's when we started the downtown streetscape improvements, where we were switching over from being a highway to an actual pedestrian street. We were in Sacramento attending the CalTrans board meeting when the “pink slip” for the road was handed over to us, and it was actually Christmas season. So, you know, here I was with the [Livermore] city manager and others as we were finally given the ownership of our street from CalTrans. And you're sitting there and you realize just what a big movement this is, and how important for our community that moment was. I mean, it sounded weird telling people about what I did today, and saying "I saw CalTrans hand us the pink slip to the street!” And then we went and took a picture in front of the Sacramento Capitol Christmas Tree! It's like … all we wanted for Christmas was our First Street back, you know, and we got that. So that, I think, was the first time I saw that first step of success. To know we are going to do this and this is an exciting thing to be a part of.

And then conversely, was there ever a time where you were like, "What was I thinking? I'm way over my head, I’m in the deep" and how did you work through that?

Well, that probably happens at least once a year! One was with the First Street project, which was a “be careful what you wish for” situation where we had the street back, but now we had to put all of these businesses through a construction project that was gonna hurt. We were committed to do everything we could not make it hurt too bad. But you know that nine months of your door front and your street front being a big pile of rubble and dust and noise and all of that…I think the over-my-head-feeling-moment occurred when I realized how angry people can get when they're afraid. And having to be strong enough to allow yourself to be the front person as the face of the organization, and to be able to accept that and not take it personally. 

And you know, you can't help but take it personally when they're mad and they're going after you. I think that was probably the first time, but once you go through it once you realize you're survivable and you kind of learn to gauge where that is coming from. 

Thankfully, I had already gone through that scenario before COVID, so when the pandemic hit, I just had to pull on what I learned at that time, from certain personalities that react to fear with anger and blame, instead of by pivoting and with excellence. We are always going to have both, but I would say that was the first time I was like, "Oh, my god, how am I supposed to do this? These people can get mean!"

So how did you develop that skill of rolling with the punches? Was that something that you had previous experience with? Did you just kind of learn on the job? 

I think the most important part is to make sure you have surrounded yourself with support – other people that you know, that you respect, that believe in what is going on, and not ever feel like you have to handle this alone. It's okay to call up your board president or a board member that you trust and cry and say, "I can't take this!" 

I do believe that in this position, it's blood and sweat, and there are tears at times. But when you really believe passionately about something you have to stand up and fight for that. Also a part of it is I was already kind of stubborn. I don't know if anyone else has noticed that that knows me…. 

No comment.

"No comment," gee…thanks Alicia! 

But also I was raised in a way, and thankfully, I can hear my father’s voice resonating in my head sometimes saying: “If you're making everybody happy, you stand for nothing. You're not achieving anything.” There's going to be times when people are not in agreement with you. And as long as you're constantly checking in to make sure you are on the right path, that skin does thicken. But I think more than anything, make sure you have your support group around – whether that's board members, city staff members, people that are going through it as well – to keep you propped up and feeling confident that you're on the right path.

“When you go into communities that really have that love of their downtown … it’s what humanity was meant to be, which is building that sense of togetherness and community and place ... We just need to keep it going.”

That is so true! We touched on this a little bit earlier, but I want to explore it a little bit more: You've been in this executive director role for 21 years. What are some of the things that motivated you to stay engaged and with so much energy?

Well, that's the beauty of what's gone on in Livermore. You know … we always would hear about cycles in Main Street worlds – there's the startup cycle and then there's the maintenance cycle where you're just maintaining a program. I don't think we ever hit full maintenance mode.

And I think I would have gotten bored if we were done. (Side note: I don't think a Main Street program is ever done.) Things are constantly changing and evolving. 

With Livermore, it was always the next project or a new development. We had a lot of infill redevelopment that needed to be done. Whenever we’d start getting the itch to do something else, that next cool thing was coming. And it was exciting to be a part of that. And even now, I’m excited. I mean, I'm leaving and it's the next person that has some of those cool things that are still coming! 

Ahh…the constant innovation and being really drawn to "what else can I do?" I can totally see that! OK, so I really want to talk a little bit about your leadership style. Can you talk about that a little bit? Especially about any mentors or peers that have influenced you in that way?

YES! When I think back to the beginning of my journey in Downtown Livermore, I think of Keith Chelstrum, who was at the State level for California Main Street when we still had an office up in Sacramento. And Craig Sharton who was the Pleasanton Downtown Association director at the time. What I really found in the beginning was the non-competitive Main Street attitude. I had a neighboring downtown Main Street director that invited me to come and have lunch and literally handed me a copy of their budget, bylaws, and other material, and said "anything you need, you call me; I'm here to help." I was able to go up to the state program and get a couple of days of training. So there was this open book mentality. Seeing that in action helped me understand that doing the same for others was going to be my role and responsibility moving forward. It was inspiring to know that as we get the help to grow in our own communities, we have to always give back.

My leadership style for CAMSA or at the National level has always been, "If I've learned something, I want to share it." And because everybody's constantly sharing and we’ve always had that ability to reach out to each other because we are such a unique industry with unique organizations, I think I try to bring that same concept into my local leadership. Main Street has taught us loud and clear that everyone's a stakeholder. There's not really one person, organization, or entity in our community that shouldn't be feeling like they aren’t invited to the conversation. So I think that’s where my leadership style of partnering and making sure that we are somehow connected to anybody and everybody that can see a need for a healthy downtown comes from.

Absolutely. That’s so powerful! Now, the real fun thing I want you to share: What are some of your proudest moments from your tenure with Livermore Downtown?

My proudest moments have always been related to when the harshest stuff is happening and we're able to survive. And by that I’m not just talking about LDI surviving as a Main Street program, but our businesses. I’m very proud of the streetscape construction I mentioned earlier because we didn't lose a single business. Everyone in the beginning of that process thought there was going to be some collateral damage and that some businesses weren’t going to make it. But we were innovative and creative and brought some fun into keeping the community understanding that this was their project and they needed to support the businesses through it. So when it was done, it was a proud moment to say, "Yep, everybody's still here, the dust is cleared and no one's missing." And then it ended up attracting so many new businesses into what had been blighted and vacant for way before! 

There's always those little moments too, like an event that people think you're crazy to do and that ends up being a big success. Our Earlier than the Bird event is one of those. When I went around to all my businesses in 2010 and told them that we were going to have them open at seven o’clock in the morning and “please wear your pajamas,” some (especially some of the male-owned businesses) kind of rolled their eyes. And that first year, they didn't all jump on board. But then the second year, you're seeing these same guys in their smoking jacket pajama outfits and participating. Earlier than the Bird was an idea that sounded a little crazy to some folks, but has become very lucrative to the businesses is now a big Livermore community holiday tradition that happens no matter what.  

And surviving COVID is a big thing to be proud of. We're in the Bay Area and the reports for restaurants in the Bay Area are not good with a 30% - 50% closure rate. We haven't had any closed due to COVID in Livermore; we've actually had nine open. For me, that's not just something I’m proud of for my sake, I mean, our city should be very proud; they stepped up with a lot of innovative support, as we were waiting for other federal, county, and statewide support for our restaurant. That's huge! I wish they would scream it louder. Because I think we need to be really proud of that together.

That’s incredible! How about facepalm moments? Tell me about one of your "What was I thinking? This did not turn out right" situations. 

Well, there are so many, Alicia! One of the learning curves, especially for new executive directors, that we encounter is entering a political world that we have perhaps not had experience in. All of a sudden we're doing things like speaking at the City Council and representing our organization. On top of that I am not only stubborn, but I also sometimes think I'm hilarious … and what I have to remember is that not everybody thinks I’m hilarious. 

Way early on – I think maybe in the early 2000s – I was on a tour of MainStreet Oceanside and I saw their art banner project. We decided to do that as well in Livermore. So I went to a City Council meeting to encourage artists to reach out to us, so they think you could get a banner with a pre-printed welcome message on one side and space on the back where they could paint whatever they wanted, then we would hang them Downtown.

So in my head, my pitch to the artist community sounded funny. I said, "You know, we’re really encouraging all artists to reach out. We'd love to have a real diversity of expression." And I said, "So if you paint realism or you paint abstract, we want to be celebrating all of that. And if you're not really good at your realism, we can just assume it's abstract." 

Well … that offended some of our artist community. Some people thought that I was insulting abstract artists. And of course, that wasn’t my intention. One of the artists decided to kind of show me and teach me by asking for two banners. She painted one with this very realistic, beautiful picture of downtown. And then her other piece was abstract. And so that was how she educated me about the talent abilities of our local artists. But we were all going to make those mistakes and I still think it's important to be funny and to use humor, but sometimes it sounds better in my head.I'm getting a little smarter before I speak ... the filter has gotten thicker!

What are some of your  big takeaways you're going to carry with you into the future from your time at LDI.

We talk about family-owned businesses, but one of the things that is the biggest gift that comes from staying [with LDI] as long as I have is that this community has been as a family. I've watched my business owners pregnant at work, give birth to these babies, have them in the back room at times doing homework when they're kids. And then I've written letters of recommendation for them for college scholarships. So, you really get a sense of being part of their family and they're part of yours. 

When I faced my own personal tragedies in my life, this was a community that rallied around my family. That's the treasure of being a part of this. To me that is the example of why these downtowns and main streets are so important. You know we talk about downtown being a shared space regardless of your socioeconomic level, your race, or your religion.  None of that matters. We're all family down here. And we get to express that and exemplify that. One of the things about Livermore that I've noticed is that if you look at our census information and you look at what's the makeup of Livermore, it's completely different as a whole than what you see in the downtown. I always wish we could just do our own census because it has so many levels of diversity of people from different countries, different races, different religions, and they are all neighbors working together and sharing with each other and not warring like the rest of the world. I think, if we can do this in downtowns, why can't we do this across the globe? Because it is a very shared, awesome neighborhood. And I think that's not just Livermore, I think that's across our country.

What is next for you and how can people stay in touch?

First I'm going to take a few months to just disengage and to regroup. Right now, I can’t wait to have more time to spend with my two amazing granddaughters and a grandson who is on the way (that's the beauty of grandparenting as opposed to parenting: we get to come be one of them.) Then we're going to do some traveling; I have a grandson on the way in March, so I'm going to live in Texas for a little bit to welcome him. And then we'll be heading for England and Scotland for a while to visit my son who lives in London. 

Then the plan is to get back in July and start hitting the ground with my next venture, a consulting group called Roots Up Collective. The concept is based on the fact that I don't know everything, I'm not the best at everything, but I have this drive to help and I've met a lot of experts on a lot of things. We’ll be working with nonprofits and small businesses, having some deep conversations with them and their stakeholders, then bringing in experts to help them identify the root of a problem and solve it. I have a real place in my heart for women-owned businesses and mom-preneurs, and the unique challenges that they face that are maybe unique and not always thought of in traditional business support providers. The services will be based on what the needs are, and they will be affordable and approachable. That’s really important to me.

“Helping others does help you grow. I would stop growing if I stopped helping. I don’t see that happening in my DNA anytime soon.”

That sounds awesome. I'm so excited for you! When you look back on this chapter in your life, what do you think you will remember the most? And what might be some of the biggest takeaways that you think you'll have?

I think it's the people and the relationships. I’ve met so many amazing characters through Main Street. I've always been the type of person who collects people … I love unique people, I don't like to just be surrounded by people who are just like me. One of the big takeaways will be to not let go of people and to keep them as part of my life. But I think the biggest takeaway is truly understanding and learning the importance of community, partnerships, and working together to protect your community, no matter where you live. I don’t want to work in the community I live in (I need a break from that for a little bit), but I want to volunteer my time into those things that are important. Staying involved matters.

Final question: What does Main Street mean to you?

What does Main Street mean to me? Community, I think that's the first thing. Identity. Life. 

You don't really understand how important Main Street is until you go into communities that don't have it. And then you just feel a sense of death and it's heartbreaking to see. I love to go into a Main Street community that has embraced their story and is trying to get more out there and has that uniqueness of space because then you've met them. 

When you go into communities that really have that love of their downtown … it’s what humanity was meant to be, which is building that sense of togetherness and community and place. Nothing's weirder than being a Main Street director and going to Pompeii on a tour because you're looking at this preserved volcano destroyed town and you find yourself walking around going "They did the same thing that we're doing now! It was door-window-door-window, restaurant stalls, and pop-ups.” We’d love to think that we're the innovators that created this concept, but Pompeii did it. And so did Rome. We just need to keep it going.