Change can be a good thing.

Last week, Zach Mannheimer, principal community planner with McClure Engineering came to Atmore to lie out the action plan for the city’s downtown revitalization effort.

The public forum was held at the Strand Theatre, the centerpiece of the effort. The meeting was well attended.

As a reporter, I took note of those who were in attendance, and I was happy to see the turnout.

The crowd was buzzing with excitement and contentment prior to the forum. That may have been due to the food, which was provided by South Alabama Vending.

Anyway, as I sat and listened while taking notes, I couldn’t help but get excited because this is something that Atmore is in need of.

Now, having been in newspapers and lived in three different towns, including Andalusia, Greenville and now Atmore, I’ve noticed that each has a unique downtown all its own.

Andalusia’s downtown is featured with a town square that acts as a round about with pretty buildings surrounding the circumference, and Greenville’s beauty is evident through the history of the buildings that stand at attention to residents and visitors that pass through.

Atmore is much like both. We have historic buildings that have character and oh the stories they could tell.

Listening to Mannheimer during the meeting, I tried to envision what downtown will look like in a number of years. That’s exciting to think about, isn’t it?

Another thing that stood out to me during the meeting was the need to raise the funds to get the project going.

The amount that Mannheimer spoke about is a nice chunk of change, but he said it’s doable.

When people realize that change is in the air, if they haven’t already, they’ll know that their donations are going to a cause that will help transform downtown Atmore.