Hopkins takes over at Historic Macon

Emily Hopkins began her new role as executive director of the Historic Macon Foundation this February after nearly a decade with NewTown Macon.

The former NewTown vice president of external affairs and Main Street manager took over following Nathan Lott’s departure from Historic Macon in December. 

“The innovation of Historic Macon has always impressed me and been something that I’ve wanted to be a part of,” Hopkins said.

She described Historic Macon’s approach to preservation as an economic development tool and a means of uplifting historic neighborhoods.

Hopkins takes the helm ahead of an integral time for the organization as it collaborates with NewTown and the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce to save the state’s historic tax credit program.

The credit program allows property owners to receive a percentage of their building rehabilitation costs back, but the state has reached its $30 million well ahead of the 2029 renewal. 

“These tax credits have been critical to downtown’s revitalization,” she said. “We would not have the downtown that we have today without the historic tax credit.”

There are six ongoing projects in downtown Macon alone that could benefit from the tax credit program, Hopkins said. A bill to increase the credit cap to $60 million is currently being considered by the state house of representatives, but needs to be pushed to the senate before the legislative session ends in April.

A career come full circle

Hopkins’ transition from Newtown Macon, which helped foster the economic revitalization of downtown Macon to a foundation that spearheaded the city’s historic preservation efforts marks a new chapter in her career. But in many ways, it’s a return to her roots. 

A South Carolina native, Hopkins recalled how a “total leap of faith” brought her to Macon in 2014 when she took a job with Historic Macon after completing graduate school.

She spent the next few years as special events and marketing coordinator — tasked with bolstering the foundation’s events and fundraisers, such as the biannual flea market —  all the while falling in love with the city she moved to, sight unseen, just three years prior. 

Hopkins eventually came to NewTown in 2018. In a full circle moment, she worked for the late Newtown president and CEO Josh Rogers, whose influence changed her career trajectory long before they officially met in Macon.

Serving as director of Historic Macon, Rogers visited and spoke at Hopkins’ graduate school in Cooperstown, New York.  When it came time to apply for jobs, she jumped at the opportunity to work for the foundation.

 “I’d never forgotten that presentation that Josh did,” Hopkins said.

In her eight years at NewTown, Hopkins said she learned to put people first and “do what’s right for Maconites by Maconites” — a lesson she will carry to Historic Macon.

“Macon is an incredible community,” she said. “I don’t think there’s any problem that we can’t figure out how to solve because we have everybody on the right page and working together.”