Shellie Phelps Whitfield to Speak at Downtown Visioning Session

What is this Event and Why do We Need It?

If you care about revitalizing the Blakely and Early County communities, this event is for you. Everyone is invited to join the Downtown Development Authority of Blakely (DDA) for a downtown visioning session with Shellie Phelps Whitfield at Funny Girl Deli on Monday, March 31, at 5:30 pm. The event is free and open to the public. Downtown merchants/property owners and prospective merchants/property owners, along with anyone who cares about the future of Downtown Blakely are encouraged to attend. Shellie has the answers on how to grow and improve a community.

Who is Shellie Phelps Whitfield?

In 2020, Shellie Phelps Whitfield had the opportunity to work with HGTV on the hit show Home Town Takeover, featuring her hometown, Wetumpka, Ala. Since then, she has become a voice for small-town revitalization across the US and speaks to small towns working to tell their communities’ stories. 

Shellie Phelps-Whitfield is the Executive Director of the Wetumpka Area Chamber of Commerce and has over two decades of experience in marketing, art education, and public speaking. Having built a career in large-practice management and art education across the country, she has been engaged in training and development, multi-level marketing, event coordinating, business networking, and elevating communities through the arts. Shellie is mindful of building positive reciprocal relationships and focusing on strategic growth. She has a heart for non-profit work and believes building selfless relationships is the key to creating a prosperous community.

Since relocating to Alabama, Shellie has implemented an elementary art education program in the Elmore County school district serving over 1,400 students, opened an award-winning art studio in historic downtown Wetumpka, and nearly doubled the number of members of the Chamber of Commerce. In 2020, she had the opportunity to work with HGTV on the hit show Home Town Takeover, featuring her hometown, Wetumpka, Alabama. Since then, she has become a voice for small-town revitalization across the US and speaks to small towns working to tell their communities’ stories.

She is a member of the Downtown Redevelopment Board and the Elmore County Economic Development Board. She also serves as the Director of Community Outreach for the Alabama Arts Alliance. She recently began speaking as a faculty member for the Advanced Economic Development Institute. Her hobbies include artistic expression, gourmet cooking, travel, and mentoring families through adoption. Shellie is proud to call Wetumpka home and continues to be passionate about her community. She resides in the landmark “Big Fish House” in downtown Wetumpka and looks forward to helping facilitate positive change in communities across the country. 

As part of the Main Street Georgia/America designation requirements for the City of Blakely, a community visioning session for Downtown/Main Street must be conducted every three years. 

Please join us as we welcome Shellie to our community and learn from her experience in community revitalization. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Susanne Reynolds, DDA Director, at 229.366.1952 or [email protected].