As she sat on a bench on a gusty Friday morning in Oak Harbor, Melissa Riker recognized the importance of her role to breath new life into historic downtown.

It’s the position she’s been tasked with as the new executive director of the Oak Harbor Main Street Association.

She said she’s ready to go to work.

“This is quite the little gem that we have down here and there’s no one to pull them off Highway 20 to get them down here,” Riker said. “I’m really excited.”

Riker, 33, displayed the sort of enthusiasm, experience, background and work ethic to convince the nonprofit group’s volunteer 13-member board of directors that she was the best candidate for the full-time paid position.

Thirteen people applied for the job and three were interviewed.

Margaret Livermore, the board’s president, said Riker’s Main Street experience was the primary factor.

Riker demonstrated her skills as chairwoman of the group’s organization committee over the past several months, guiding efforts for an Oktoberfest event last Sunday and Main Street Market on Sundays.

Riker also has been traveling to Main Street conferences to further her knowledge about the program, which is geared mostly around revitalizing a town’s historic downtown core.

Oak Harbor has become an official Washington State Main Street community, one of just 34 in the state, according to Riker.

“It’s something that’s really exciting for Oak Harbor,” she said. “It gives us a lot of opportunities that are opened up to us now just from grants. And even just organization.

“It’s a very clear format to follow with the Main Street Association.”

“So it’s kind of fool proof.”

The structured program outlines a blueprint for cities to follow. One of those steps was to hire an executive director within a year of becoming a Main Street program.

In that role, Riker will oversee and coordinate the group’s four committees and represent Oak Harbor’s group at local and state meetings, among other leadership responsibilities, Livermore said.

She essentially is the face and voice of the group, along with the board, Livermore said.

“The goal of Main Street is to revitalize the historic downtown,” Livermore said. “As with many cities, the historic downtowns are disappearing.”

Livermore said this is different than previous efforts from other groups in Oak Harbor. Main Street offers perks to contributors such as a tax-credit incentive program.

“This has more of a whole city buy-in,” Livermore said. “What Main Street does, it’s not there to make merchants in that area money. Its duty is to create an exciting community area where people would want to come.”

Riker is familiar with that sort of landscape.

She grew up in Colville, another Washington State Main Street community, with parents who were small-business owners.

“I have the energy and I’m very enthusiastic about things that are good for the community,” Riker said.

The Oak Harbor Main Street Association focuses on improvements and events in the historic business district. It can apply for grants to make improvements such as to building facades.

The group also will hold fundraisers. A “Disco Night” fundraiser is planned for the senior center Saturday, Oct. 15.