Chelsea Blumrick has deep roots in Huntsville.

Though she was raised in Katy, her family’s residence in Walker County dates back to her great-grandparents. It was only natural that the home of Sam Houston would be a major part of her life.

On Oct. 26 Blumrick began work as the coordinator of Huntsville’s Main Street Program, a position she considers a perfect fit after several years of experience in various marketing and public relations ventures.

After graduating from Katy High School, Blumrick attended Sam Houston State University, graduating in the summer of 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration that included four majors: marketing, management, international business and economics.

“Mostly marketing was what I enjoyed,” Blumrick said of her degree choice. “It’s a good blend of the creative and the analytical side of business, so it plays to both my strengths.”

Throughout her college life in Huntsville Blumrick maintained an active involvement in extracurricular activities, playing on the women’s lacrosse team and serving two terms as president of the Sigma Phi Lambda Christian sorority.

She also got her feet wet in the world of Huntsville business, managing several projects for Huntsville’s Small Business Development Center.

After graduating Blumrick continued to work in marketing, serving first as an intern for the Houston Pavilions, then as a web marketing strategist for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, where she still serves as a fundraising volunteer.

After more than a year away from Huntsville, Blumrick applied for the Main Street coordinator position.

“When I saw this job posted I just decided it was a really good blend of my training in the internships as well as my education at Sam Houston,” Blumrick said. “It seemed like a really good fit.”

Huntsville’s director of tourism Kimm Thomas selected Blumrick for the position, and she began work on Oct. 26. She had little time to adjust at a leisurely pace, as she immediately fell into organizing Huntsville’s annual “Scare on the Square” Halloween event.

“Events are always coming through our office,” she said, “so there was no time to really rest. I just had to get going.”

As the holiday season approaches Blumrick is working with the rest of the Main Street staff and the Downtown Business Alliance on various Christmas marketing events, as well as a new marketing campaign for the downtown area in general. Though her work has only just begun, she is optimistic about the future of the Main Street Program as an instrument of community development.

“I think Harold Hutcheson helped lay out a really great framework for this program, so my goal is to just build off of that,” Blumrick said. “And from there I plan to work with business owners and see what kind of events they would be interested in having downtown, as well as what will benefit the community as a whole.”

With a long family history in the community and a strong background in Huntsville’s business world, Blumrick is now preparing to leave her own mark on the city.

“Huntsville has a good heart,” she said. ‘It’s the people. It’s an active community, it’s one of Texas’ oldest cities, and I think it has a lot of growth potential. It’s very dynamic, but it still has that small town charm.”