Ambassador Highlight

Sandy Johnson

What is your history in Hartselle and with the ambassador program?

My husband and I moved to Hartselle from Anaheim, California in February, 2005.  About a month later, someone came by my home and welcomed me to Hartselle.  She invited me to come and meet some of my neighbors, and I accepted.  These people were members of a club known as The Newcomers Club.  I really enjoyed it, and after a while, I was invited to join their Bunco group, and then we started a group playing Canasta.  I eventually became an officer of the Newcomers Club for three years. Next, I was invited to join a Red Hat Group, and I love wearing purple and red.  Some of the Newcomer members were Ambassadors of the Hartselle Area Chamber.  They made it sound like so much fun to volunteer, so I did.  I’ve been an Ambassador since 2007.  I was Ambassador of the Year 2008-2009, 2012-2013 and the first to receive the English Walker Ambassador of the Year award 2017-2018.  I was Secretary for the Ambassador’s from 2012-2018.

I’m on the board of the Hartselle Historical Society, and I’ve also been involved with Depot Days since 2011.  I started out just helping where needed to being in charge of getting volunteers for the festival.  The first two years I did it on my own, the I got some help from Jenny Stephenson of Jenny’s Boarding and Kennel.  We got volunteers from Hartselle High School students, Ambassadors, friends, family, and The Hartselle Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association (HCPAAA).  Its been very rewarding to see how everything turns out at the end of the festival.

What are some good changes you’ve seen/experienced in Hartselle?

In 2010, I was involved with a small group of people trying to get alcohol sales on the ballot. It didn’t pass, so we tried again in 2012 and 2014.  Each year our group got larger and larger, and in 2014, it finally passed.  We needed more revenue coming into Hartselle, and I think alcohol sales has helped.  Since it passed, I have seen new restaurants open, more businesses coming into town, more roads being repaired, and now we even have a Charging Station for electric cars. 

Our downtown area is looking pretty good right now.  If we can fill up the few empty stores we have downtown and add more stores and a Hotel/Motel by the Interstate, I think it could attract more tourists and bring in more revenue to Hartselle.