'Hi, my name is Jeff' could be a new trend around Big Four

City Pride, Jeffersonville’s beautification organization, is launching its ambassador program May 1, which will post volunteers at the foot of the ramp to welcome pedestrians and cyclists, answer questions and act as a liaison for city police and maintenance personnel.

“We want people who love Jeffersonville to share that with our visitors,” Peggy Duffy, City Pride co-chair, said.

Volunteers will take two- to three-hour shifts mostly on weekends, holding up a large sign resembling a nametag that says “Hi, my name is Jeff.” They must undergo training and then will be equipped with a binder of information, including restaurant hours and locations and ongoing events around the city.

“The only requirement is that you have to be happy,” Duffy said.

The plan is to coordinate with Jeffersonville city departments, communicating through mobile phones if police or fire officials are needed immediately and reporting any maintenance problem areas.

“We’re trying to be the ears and eyes for the city,” she said.

The ambassador program has evolved from City Pride’s experience helping greet people and keep the ramp clean last summer when the Big Four Bridge opened to pedestrians.

The second weekend that the bridge was open, City Pride volunteers cleaned up litter and emptied trash cans along the downtown corridor. That was before the city began weekend trash pickups.

“We just knew that we couldn’t let everyone’s first impression of Jeffersonville to be full trash cans,” Duffy said.

She said volunteers pulled 15 full trash bags out of city cans — discarding them in their home bins or finding restaurants that would let them use their Dumpsters. The next day, volunteers came back and emptied 10 more full bags.

“That brought to light a lot of the things that hadn’t been considered,” she said.

City Pride also purchased trash cans and cigarette butt receptacles that were placed near the ramp.

Jeffersonville City Engineer Andy Crouch said the opening of the Big Four Bridge brought in new visitors who had never explored or even seen downtown Jeffersonville before.

“[City Pride was] incredible in terms of being a presence in the downtown area once the bridge opened,” Crouch said.

Duffy said that the city didn’t really have a plan in place for maintenance because “nobody knew” the volume of trash.

“We didn’t know what the response would be, just from the general public that came across,” Crouch said.

The city is much better prepared this spring and summer.

The Jeffersonville Redevelopment Commission has contracted with Hamhed LLC — owned by Jeffersonville Fire Chief Eric Hedrick — for $130,000 annually to maintain the Big Four Bridge and park area. Services include mowing, trimming the landscaping, fertilizing, mulch replacement, janitorial work and supplies, street sweeping, emptying trash cans and cleaning up litter.

Duffy said City Pride will still patrol the ramp and park for trash on the weekends. Having City Pride volunteers and ambassadors splits up the responsibilities so each can focus more on individual tasks.

Last summer, many City Pride volunteers cleaning the area would get stopped and asked questions by guests.

“We wanted to give more information, more description, but then it was taking an extra hour to pick up trash,” she said.

The ambassador program is also less labor-intensive than maintenance roles, better suited for those who want to volunteer but can’t engage in physical activity.

“We want to welcome those people too,” Duffy said.