DEMOPOLIS – Cecil Williamson has spent plenty of early December weekends taking part in Christmas on the River festivities. This year’s event won’t be like any of those – for her, at least.

As the new mayor of Demopolis, Williamson will hear from adoring visitors who loved her town, and she wants to make sure the phones don’t stop ringing after this year’s COTR.

“We’re going to have a lot of people in Demopolis for Christmas on the River, and for the football games, as well,” Williamson said. “I really want to see our town cleaned up before we host our visitors.”

It’s no secret among economic developers that a community’s appearance and presentation play enormous roles in the interest of prospective businesses and industries. In fact, Veronique Green, the wife of former NBA superstar A.C. Green, visited Demopolis during COTR and decided to open a business in downtown because of that visit.

“A.C. had gone to speak to a group in Selma, and I decided to drive around,” Veronique said during a March interview with The Times. “I ended up here during the river parade and I loved this area.”

The rest was history, and Williamson believes Demopolis needs a good sweeping before visitors begin arriving in the next few weeks.

“If citizens still have limbs from the hurricane damage, or if they have garbage that’s sitting around, I really would love to see people get that out to the street now,” the mayor said. “Rather than waiting until Christmas on the River, let’s get things cleaned before people come to our city.”