Front & Center: Amie Regester

RIVER VALLEY and OZARK AREA — Amie Regester of Greenbrier doesn’t like to call herself a visionary.

“It sounds braggy,” she said, her nose crinkling.

But “visionary” is the exact word Shellie O’Quinn, Greenbrier city event center coordinator, uses to describe the 28-year-old Chamber of Commerce director.

“She’s a visionary because she really sees what Greenbrier can become,” O’Quinn said. “She knows how to get us there.”

Regester has been on board with the Greenbrier Chamber of Commerce since October. Her biggest complaint about the job so far is the clothes she wears while meeting with area businessmen and women.

“I find business suits and button-up clothing uncomfortable,” she said. “I have no idea if other people are feeling that way, but if they are, we should band together.”

Regester is focusing on creating a strategic plan for the Greenbrier Chamber and completing manageable local projects to bring the community together.

One of her favorites so far was Project Cleanbrier, an initiative aimed at cleaning up the community and promoting recycling.

“I got a lot of positive feedback,” Regester said. “People don’t realize how much having clean streets and getting the school kids involved can do. It really has an impact on our development.”

Regester hopes the smaller and more visible projects she’s been working on have helped to draw in new and existing Chamber members and gotten them excited about the future of the city.

While Regester knows no city was built in a day, so far, the results speak for themselves. For the first time, eight Chamber members will run for four open board positions. Regester said interest is coming from outside the city just as much as from inside.

“We have people interested in [Greenbrier who are from]Conway and Little Rock,” she said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how people view our town.”

And that leads to Greenbrier’s label of “bedroom community.”

Regester said she’s OK with that.

“If you don’t have a bedroom, then you’re not a whole home,” she said. “We need buy-in from all of our surrounding towns, too. If you’re going home at night, what are you going home to? What kind of secure place can we provide?”

These questions and others will be answered when outgoing and incoming board members attend training in early September.

“We’re about to be infiltrated with exciting ideas,” Regester said. “Our job is to listen to them and figure out which of these amazing ideas fits in with Greenbrier. I’m looking forward to training day on Sept. 9 even more than my birthday on Sept. 5.”

New ideas will likely include even more ways to mobilize the community and encourage a spirit of volunteerism. Regester said she would personally like to continue to focus on recycling and improving the environment of the community.

“I’ve always been into conservation and recycling,” she said.

When she’s not working at the Chamber, Regester enjoys crafting.

Her side-business project, Curbside Crush, uses recycled materials to create crafts, which Regester sells on the online handmade-exchange website Etsy.com.

“Anything I can get scrapped or recycled, I do,” she said.

Regester also designed her own business cards for the Chamber of Commerce. The first thing one notices upon taking one of her cards is that it’s smaller than an average card.

The reasoning?

“I like to stand out, and I like to save the Earth,” she said.

Regester said some larger corporations have used smaller business cards for several years and claim the practice has saved money and resources.

Regester’s trailer near Wooster is filled with finished art and crafting supplies, but not much else.

“If I had all the money in the world, I would live in my trailer, write articles and make crafts, and live on a little lot of land somewhere in Greenbrier,” Regester said. “I would love to see the world and help other young women start their own crafty businesses.”

Regester is also active in the Seventh-day Adventist Church of Conway, where her brother, A.J., serves as a youth leader.

“I get to spend even more time with him now, planning retreats and figuring out things that will positively impact ourchurch,” she said.

The Regester siblings have always been close.

“She’s really inspirational to me,” said A.J. Regester, who is six years Amie’s junior. “I think she says that about me too, but I admire that she’s such a people person. I’ve always been the more shy one.”

A.J. said it is easier for him to meet and talk to new people if he tags along with Amie.

“She just makes my life better,” he said.

Many are now trusting her to do the same for Greenbrier residents and businesses.

“I guess I am a visionary,” she finally admitted. “I’ve got some itching to do great things. Who doesn’t want to be associated with a great success?” - czilk@ arkansasonline.com

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getting to know

Amie Regester

My family is: My parents and my brother, A.J. We are

tight. There is a lot of love there.

My favorite book is: The Four-Hour Work Week (and the

Bible)

My favorite movie is: Big Fish. Rushmore is a close

second.

My role model is: Mother Teresa

My worst habit is: Biting my nails. I also anticipate what

other people say instead of just listening.

Someday I will: Live in a 10-by-10 space with a Murphy

bed.

Something not many people know about me is: I was

arrested once because of a clerical error with a speeding

ticket. I also love to rock climb.

River Valley Ozark, Pages 132 on 08/22/2010

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