Director of LakewoodAlive to Step Down

After four years at the helm of , Mary Anne Crampton says it’s time to move on.

Crampton told the organization’s board of directors this week that she’s leaving her post as the executive director.

The organization — which focuses on sustaining and improving the economic health and vitality of the community — has already begun its search for her replacement.

Crampton took the position in 2007, when she replaced Jennifer Hooper as the executive director. The organization was known then as Lakewood Community Progress Inc., before it merged with the grassroots community organization LakewoodAlive in 2008.

“I delved in and four years later, we have a relatively well-funded, well-structured and highly participatory organization,” Crampton said. “The job I set out to do is done.”

Among her achievements with LakewoodAlive, Crampton said she is proudest of her work with the Downtown Lakewood Business Alliance; facilitation of the Streetscape plan; and housing outreach programs.

Oh yeah, and then there are the community events. Crampton said she is also happy to have her name attached to a number of LakewoodAlive sponsored events, including the nationally known Spooky Pooch Parade, and Lakewood Streetwalk.

Crampton said she’s not leaving the organization, or the city.

She said she plans to continue her posts on the boards at the and the Foundation. 

“I am going back to being a volunteer,” she said, adding that she will still be with the organization during its search for a new leader. “This organization has been successful on the backs of its volunteers.”

“I’ll still be around.”

Jennifer Baker, president of LakewoodAlive’s Board of Directors, said in a statement that the organization has achieved “tremendous success” and growth under Crampton’s leadership.

“Mary Anne has guided our organization in its efforts to revitalize downtown through the MainStreet program and has worked tirelessly with retailers, volunteers and residents and city staff to improve the quality of life in Lakewood,” she said. “We are thrilled that she will continue her involvement with LakewoodAlive as a volunteer.”

A search committee made up of several members of the organization’s board of directors will lead the effort to recruit a new executive director.