Abercrombie tapped as new director, Main Street Laurens

MAIN MAN — Brad Abercrombie of Laurens will start his new job as Main Street Laurens director on July 28, but he’s already at work for the downtown business alliance. Photo by Judith Brown

Laurens, South Carolina – The Main Street Laurens Board of Directors announced this week the appointment of Brad Abercrombie as director of the non-profit, and while Abercrombie officially doesn’t start the new job until July 28, he’s already working to play catch up.

“Typically, we’d have started on Squealin’ (on the Square) in the winter, but we’re having our first meeting tonight,” Abercrombie said from the Main Street office Monday afternoon. “We’re definitely hitting the ground running, and it’s definitely all gas and no brakes.”

Abercrombie is no stranger to Main Street Laurens’ wide range of programs and activities, each designed to help the downtown and the entire Main Street business district.

And while he could have been dubbed “Mr. Squealin’” for his wide range of public volunteer work with the annual festival,

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Abercrombie knows running a nationally accredited Main Street organization is much more.

“It’s about way more than just festivals and events,” Abercrombie said. “They are important because they get people into the city, but it’s about connections, and I’m going to be visiting business owners to meet them and let them know what we do and why we’re here.”

Main Street Board Chair Barton Holmes said Abercrombie’s familiarity with the tenets of Main Street – Economic Vitality, Design, Promotion and Organization – have been honed through years as an active volunteer and are among the reasons he is the best fit for the organization.

“His proven passion for both the Main Street mission and the Laurens community makes him a natural fit to lead the organization forward,” Holmes said, admitting that the stability that Abercrombie can lend will be especially important after almost eight months without a director. Abercrombie has been a friend of Main Street Laurens since its early days, and actively volunteered since the beginnings of Squealin’ on the Square 25 years ago. He graduated from Laurens District High and Lander University along with friend and former Main Street Director Jonathan Irick. The two worked together for years, and now Abercrombie is working to rebuild the strong ties that  weakened during the eight months without a director.
“Transitions are often challenging,” Holmes said, “and we acknowledge that during our recent period without a director, there were areas where we could have improved.

However, the board is confident that Brad is the right person to guide Main Street Laurens to bigger and better things. His established dedication to our downtown and his vision for its future are exactly what we need at this pivotal moment.”

Catching up on any accreditation requirements will be among Abercrombie’s top priorities, as are pinning down plans for this fall’s 25th anniversary of Squealin’ on the Square and gaining regular business sponsorships. As the festival nears, he’ll be leaning on volunteer coordinator Patsy Adams, he said, because she can always find enough volunteers for any event.

“I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be, and we’re working to get back to that sense of community,” Abercrombie said. “But Main Street is not a one-man show – it’s a whole organization show,  and it takes me and the board and committee directors to put on all the things we need to get done.”

This story ran Page 1 of the Wednesday, July 16, 2025  issue of The Laurens County Advertiser.