CARBONDALE - Leadership over Carbondale Main Street changes hands next week.

Meghan Cole, a customer service representative in The Southern Illinoisan's Marion bureau, will take over for Roxanne Conley, who is stepping down after five years to pursue other interests, said Randy Johnson, Carbondale Main Street board president.

Cole was recently an intern with the Illinois Main Street program in Decatur before joining The Southern's staff in September.

The board selected Cole based on her knowledge of Main Street programs locally and nationally, Johnson said.

"Mostly she's just very poised, has a lot of excitement about the job and knows an awful lot about Carbondale for someone who has only been here a short time," he said.

Cole said she is looking forward to stepping in to lead the organization.

"As always, my plans are to make sure the businesses work well together and raise as much money for downtown and Carbondale Main Street as possible," Cole said.

Conley deferred comment on the transition to the board president until an official announcement is made late next week.

Johnson said Conley has served the program well during her tenure and the board wishes her well.

"We were tickled to death with everything she did," Johnson said. "She's done a great job for us and brought the Main Street role in Carbondale to a landmark role. A lot of other communities in the state look at us on how it's supposed to work."

Conley excelled in developing collaborations between the program and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Johnson said.

Carbondale Main Street is involved in new student programs at the university.

Johnson said he wants to continue to develop new activities and promotional initiatives for downtown businesses in Carbondale and expects Cole to work toward such goals.

caleb.hale@thesouthern.com / 351-5090