by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
“They are Downtown’s walking concierges,” was how Downtown Vision, Inc. (DVI) Executive Director Terry Lorince described the Ambassadors, the security and assistance corps that celebrated its seventh anniversary Wednesday at a ceremony in Hemming Plaza.
Lorince went on to say the people who wear the orange shirts and pith helmets devote 25,000 hours of services each month ranging from giving directions to visitors to deterring and reporting nuisance crimes.
“I grew up in Jacksonville and used to catch the bus at Hemming Plaza,” said DVI Board member and vice chair Mike Jennings. “Downtown has changed so much since then and I think the Ambassadors deserve a lot of the credit.”
Each Ambassador received a certificate to commemorate their service, including Lydia Cobbert, who with six years of service is the senior Downtown Ambassador. She and Ambassador Manager Carol Bianco demonstrated DVI’s two new Segways, which will, “allow us to cover a lot more ground,” said Bianco.
“The Ambassadors program has proven over the past seven years to be a great concept. It’s exciting to be able to utilize each person’s individual talents and see everyone grasp the vision,” she added.
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