Meet Travis Hornby, the new General Manager + Foundation Director at Pybus Public Market. We spoke with Travis about his plans for Pybus, his pride in the Wenatchee community and his favorite places in town.
Q: What brought you to this role?
A: “I’ve been involved in this community since I moved here in 2006. I owned my small business, a frozen yogurt shop in Moses Lake, for seven years. I was the president of the central chapter of the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance for six years. I’m also a co-founder of Wenatchee Valley T.R.E.A.D. (Trails. Recreation. Education. Advocacy. Development.) and I serve on the Wenatchee City Council. There’s a uniqueness of what this job entails, and I have experience in a lot of it: small business acumen, working with a Board of Directors, fundraising for non-profits and construction.”
Q: How does your experience translate into this new leadership role?
A: “It’s all about being able to manage all the different things at once and keeping the organization running. When Evergreen MTB Alliance was growing, we had multiple projects at different levels at any given time. We kept them moving along, from concept to completion – the private and public partnerships to benefit the community, which is very similar to how Pybus runs. It's managing tenants and planning out concepts for development. It’s also understanding how boards function and how the Pybus Public Market works with the City of Wenatchee operations.”
Q: What role does Pybus Public Market play in the community?
A: “It is the meeting place for our community. Where people gather, where people meet to talk about ideas, look at art, find out what's going on in our community. Another cool thing about Pybus is the nonprofit support we provide. We offer discounted meeting spaces and have non profit events to display the great things people are doing in the Wenatchee Valley.”
Q: What do you hope to bring to the Wenatchee community through Pybus Public Market?
A: “We have an opportunity to do more public events. We have a development plan in the works that would increase our ability to have events outside in every season – music, art, tastings, food and drink events. We host the farmers market here, and continue to be a partner with the organization, which supports our agricultural community. Pybus is also perfectly located for recreation next to the river as an access point to apple capital loop trail and boat launch.”
Q: What does it mean to you to be a leader in the Wenatchee Valley community?
A: “It’s humbling. The Wenatchee community is amazing in their support of nonprofits. There is such a strong sense of community here. We do things for ourselves, our growth and development. We’re not just chasing tourism dollars; we’re doing it because we feel it’s good for our community. The development of Pybus is a community project and I’m humbled and honored to be a part of it.”
Q: How have you seen the valley grow in the past 10 years? How do you hope to see it grow in the next 10?
A: “We’re on a good projection of growth from the last 10 years, and I see that growth continuing. We have a lot of assets that are valued. With the ability to work from home more, you don’t have to be in a big city to work anymore, a lot of folks are moving here. We are positioned well for growth.”
Q: What’s your favorite place in town for:
Food + drinks:
“Pybus-- it’s all here. We have a great selection of beer and wine. Right now, my favorite menu item is the veggie rice bowl at Hellbent Taproom.”
Fun:
“That’s seasonal for me – summer is boating and skiing on the Columbia River. Springtime is the mountains and trails we’ve created. And during the winter it’s Mission Ridge for back country skiing.”
Sunset/Sunrise:
“I get amazing sunrises from my office every morning. It comes up over the Columbia River and foothills of Wenatchee.”