Michelle Preston is seen in August 2022. (Enterprise photo — Andy Flynn)

WILMINGTON — Over the past 17 years, thousands of visitors have made a trip to this mountain town and walked through the doors of the Whiteface Visitors Bureau in search of things to do in the area.

More often than not, it was Michelle Preston, the bureau’s director since 2007, who was there to greet them. Preston, flanked by her dog Dexter, has offered up countless ideas for where to visit, where to eat, where to stay or where to hike, tailored to each person’s interests. In ways big and small, Preston has shaped how many people have experienced this town that she calls home.

This past Friday, Aug. 9 was Preston’s last day at the visitors bureau. This month, she’ll start a new job at Haselton Lumber, a local company started in 1901 that was acquired last year by a new owner, Zach Marshall.

“I’m just excited to see what the next chapter of my life will bring,” she said. “I felt like I had just come to a good place where it was time for me to move on and to start my own thing.”

Preston also plans to focus on establishing a new business of her own, Elevate Planning and Events. She hopes to fill what she sees as a gap in the events market by offering planning for a broad range of events — from parties to picnics and family reunions — for families, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

“I’m still going to continue to do my passion, event planning,” she said. “I’m not out of the picture. I’m just changing my focus.”

As a self-described “people person” with an entrepreneurial spirit, Preston remembers selling Mary Kay cosmetics when she first moved to town. She didn’t know anyone then, so she started organizing dinners for women at local restaurants to meet new people. She later organized a showcase of home-based businesses, bringing together sellers of Mary Kay, Tupperware, Pampered Chef and other products for buyers to peruse. When she learned of a part-time job opening at the visitors bureau, she decided to apply. At the time, her children were in school and the job fit into her schedule. She worked under the previous director, Diane Buckley, for more than a year before Buckley left and Preston took over.

Preston has had countless interactions with tourists after leading the bureau for more than a decade, but one encounter stands out. She remembers telling a group of older women — who believed that because the elevator to the top of the Whiteface Veterans’ Memorial Highway was closed, they’d have to find something else to do — that there was another option. She encouraged them to drive up the toll road and check out the view from the parking lot. If that wasn’t “the best experience ever,” then she offered to buy their tickets.

“I don’t care if that elevator is running or not,” she said. “All of the views going up, and when you get to that parking lot, you can get up and walk around. I said, ‘I’m telling you, if you don’t think it’s worth every penny of that drive, you come back here and I give you my word, I’ll pay for your tickets.’ They came back and they were blown away.”

Alongside her late husband Randy, a Wilmington town supervisor, Preston has been a booster for the town of Wilmington for many years. She has overseen the bureau as the foot traffic and interest in printed brochures has slowly declined, in tandem with the rise in popularity of the internet, ushering the office into the digital marketing age. She has offered support to local business owners as they started new ventures or searched for resources. As the director/operating manager of the visitors bureau, she was also a lead organizer behind some of Wilmington’s largest events, including the Festival of Colors, the AuSable River Two-Fly Challenge, the Whiteface Uphill Bike Race and the Wilmington Mountain Music Fest. She’s seen firsthand how they’ve grown in popularity, some — like the Two-Fly — expanding from one to three days. Others, like the Festival of Colors, have added on new acts and activities.

“It’s kind of sad that I’m leaving now, but in a sense it’s exciting because I know that I was at the beginning of it,” Preston said.

Preston said that she will miss the regular visitors to the bureau, some of whom made a point to come back to the office each time they returned to Wilmington.

With Preston’s departure, the Whiteface Visitors Bureau is searching for a new full-time operations manager and events coordinator. The bureau can be reached at 518-946-2255 or by emailing info@whitefaceregion.com. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon.