Amanda Dye, who has been executive director of Main Street Radford since mid-2003, will be leaving in April for a new job at Virginia Tech.

She will join the new office of the Center for Regional Strategies, which will work on ways the university can be an economic development player for the region.

A native of Richlands in Tazewell County, Dye graduated from Emory & Henry College with a degree in mass communications, public policy and community service. She also earned a master's degree from Radford University in corporate and professional communications.

She said she hopes to still volunteer to work with the Radford organization, which promotes and supports businesses and events in the the historic downtown area of Radford.

"It was a difficult decision to leave Main Street," she said.

The Main Street board has already started searching for a successor.

- Paul Dellinger