Downtown's 'Ambassadors' Have Changed
Their Look and Their Mission
By Lloyd Jojola Journal Staff Writer The Downtown Action Team's
"ambassadors" have a new look, new equipment and "a new
direction." "We're really recalibrating how we
deploy our resources," said Glenn Wertheim, DAT board chairman and
president of Charter Bank and Mortgage. The
hospitality and maintenance ambassadors, once regularly dressed in red,
can be spotted now wearing "Albuquerque blue," or turquoise, and a bit
of purple— the new color scheme being a nod to local
flair. DAT has also furnished its team with new
equipment— a utility vehicle, a truck and new bicycles— to assist in its
Downtown patrols. Luisa Casso, DAT president and
CEO, said based on comments from visitors and members of the business
improvement district, the ambassador and clean team programs have been
taken in a new direction. The 11-member team was
established five years ago as Downtown revitalization was gaining steam,
and it came to focus more on security measures.
But with more soles hitting the streets, adding to the sense of
security, the program has been reevaluated. For
instance, team personnel whose only job may have been cleanup work have
now been trained to welcome people, give them directions to points of
interest and approach those who seem to need help, said DAT spokesman
Brian Morris. "It's a whole new hospitality-
oriented team that we have out on the streets," Casso
said. "Really, what we've seen is that we're here
to manage an experience," she said. "We're here to make sure that when
people come to Downtown they have a positive
experience."
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DOWNTOWN'S
'AMBASSADORS' HAVE CHANGED THEIR LOOK AND THEIR MISSION