Meet Angie Busby

My role is responsible for creating a positive economic impact for the community through research and implementation of programs and initiatives, to recruit and expand business, and encourage travel to the community, while promoting opportunities for economic growth through innovative means. This position works closely with elected commissions and boards, which are focused on defined areas within Canton’s Roadmap.

My typical day is mostly out in the community uncovering potential opportunities for development or helping to support existing projects/businesses already in development. I work with prospective developers as well as individual small-business owners to ensure we are investing in areas and opportunities which will have the most significant economic impact for the city.

One of my main focuses, specific to economic development, is to define and create a tourism brand for the city. Canton has the perfect backdrop for a live, work and play environment, and I hope to help market the city in that manner.

I have been in this role since October 2021. My professional career prior to my role with Canton was a 10-year career in mountain luxury destination sales and marketing in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

To date, the most unusual request was to get on the roof of one of our downtown buildings with a prospective developer. It was a little scary, as I realized that it was a bit more technical than I had expected to access the roof, but I kept my word and accessed the roof.

The sale of the Jones Building to Penn Hodge Properties is a very exciting and a much-anticipated development opportunity for our Main Street and downtown offerings. Another exciting aspect of economic development and tourism is the interest from outside developers in Canton’s potential. We are in a position to responsibly brand, define and market all the wonderful attributes which make Canton special.

What I love most about my job is being a part of strong leadership in Canton. The city has been on a clear path defining our Roadmap on what we are looking to accomplish and how we are to get there. My position is to help continue to move Canton forward in the Roadmap, as well as identify new and exciting opportunities around defining a tourism profile for the city.

My goals all center around providing the best life for myself and my daughter here in Canton. When thinking of both personal and professional goals, my focus is to make sure to have a good balance between work and home, while helping to build a community we love to live in.

My professional goal centers around growing and learning in this role. The job presents several areas to enhance my knowledge around economic development in the city, county and state, as well as how we all work together toward common goals.

Another professional goal is to implement my combined experience and knowledge in destination marketing and tourism to help create a brand for the city of Canton which is reflective of its strong community network

I love the outdoors, so any opportunity to be outside is where I like to spend my time. I enjoy hiking, golfing, camping, listening to live music, getting on the river or just hanging at the park with my dog. I have a 16-year-old daughter who is involved in equestrian activities and enjoys riding her horse, Denver, so we spend a good amount of time at the barn. My second child is our sweet beagle-boxer mix, Kodie. She usually is my walking, hiking and going-to-the-park companion.

Independence Day celebrations, held on July 2 this year, began with the annual parade through downtown Canton, presented by the American Legion Post 45. The fireworks show, set for dusk, was launched from the same location as in years past: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Riverstone. Although going to this event is an annual tradition for many Canton residents, and even some from neighboring cities, most of us don’t know what is involved in putting on a show this size. Canton Parks and Recreation Manager Adam Dodson shared behindthe-scenes details about what goes into planning the fireworks show each year.

Every year, at the first of the year, I go through the process of reaching out to different pyrotechnic companies and get pricing and show details. I narrow it down to pricing, availability, length of show, etc. Due to COVID-19 and supply-chain issues this year, it was more difficult to find a company than in years past, but we went with a company that has done our show previously.

We estimate that there’s upwards of 10,000 people who see the show every year.

What I like to call a “hidden gem” is the activities that go on and the amount of people that gather. It turns into a tailgate party. Some people get to the Home Depot or Publix parking lots at 8 a.m., grilling and cooking out all day. It’s a big community party. That goes back to us having the ability to shoot where we shoot, so we don’t have crowd restraints, and the traffic flow is able to continue.

A lot of people don’t realize that there are several great locations to see the show. Every year, we have several thousand people come to Etowah River Park. They also get there early in the morning. It is an amazing place to see the fireworks. People bring picnics and grills. The concession stand opens up, and snow cones and snacks are available. Music plays over the speakers throughout the day.

A third-party company launches the fireworks every year. City staff, the fire department and police are heavily involved in the operations leading up to the show. We have to get permission from the fire marshal every year.

While the third-party company is setting up and shooting off the fireworks, the police department shuts down roads. Afterward, city staff comes in and cleans up the launch site. Normally, we are there from early afternoon to midnight, cleaning up after the parade and after the fireworks. It’s a group effort with everyone.

This year, the main body of the show consisted of 437 total shots. The finale had 205 total shots (same size shells). Overall, 642 shells. The show length was estimated to be 20-25 minutes.

The fireworks used had 3- to 5-inch shells. This year’s show involved a combination of electrical components (fireworks tethered to a computer system) and oldfashioned lighting of fireworks.