The Downtown Business Association kicked off the new year by electing officers at its Jan. 5 meeting.

Former DBA President Brandt Scholz set the January meeting last month to which all DBA members were invited. The members of the organization nominated three new people to the board of directors, including Freddie Quesinberry, B.J. Easter and Phil Marsh.

The board of directors then voted on officers for 2010. Freddie Quesinberry was voted in as the new president, while Peter Cook was re-elected as vice president. Julie Teague served as the secretary-treasurer for 2009 and may return to the post in 2010, however, the appointment has not been made official.

The new officers have already been at work keeping up with events planned during the past year which will take place in the next few months.

The DBA is planning a special promotional for Valentine’s Day this year under the leadership of Amy Slate. The plan is to put out balloons on Main Street and perhaps have stickers for shopping bags or window art showing red lips for the holiday.

The DBA is also hosting a bridal fair once again this year. The event will take place March 20. Last year’s event included a fashion show and drew a number of people to the area. In partnership with the Mount Airy Rotary Club, the DBA will also be a part of the Budbreak Wine Festival scheduled for the first weekend in May.

In addition to these upcoming events, the DBA board of directors plans to focus on how to increase membership in the organization. Even with the downturn in the economy, the organization gained six or seven business members in 2009, according to Cook, and hopes to add even more this year.

“I want to go around and see if I can get better participation with DBA members. That’s one of my goals,” said Quesinberry. “I want to get more members to join and bring everybody together as a unit. I hope to have everyone work together for the benefit of downtown.”

“I think we made progress last year. When the economy is down, anytime you grow it’s a good thing,” said Cook.

In order to help increase membership in the DBA, the organization has planned a downtown social for Feb. 1. All downtown business owners are invited to gather at the 308 Bistro, which is located in the Old North State Winery building, for a social event with fellow business people and refreshments.

Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.