Keep people shopping locally.

That’s the goal of Clarks Grove woman Beth Staser, who started July 20 as the new marketing director at Northbridge Mall.

Staser said by keeping people shopping locally, it will in turn keep Albert Lea vibrant. And that means the mall can give back more to the community.

Staser, whose specific job duties include marketing the mall and bringing in events that drive traffic to the stores, is no stranger to planning trade shows or events.

She said she planned 136 events every year at a previous job, which she did not want to name.

She most recently worked at Home Solutions for four months in charge of the company’s marketing, but then the opportunity came along where she could work as an independent contractor for the companies in the mall, she said.

To go hand-in-hand with her new job, Staser recently completed training in the Certified Trade Show Marketer program — which trains people in trade show and event marketing. This has been a four-year process, and she said she is ready to apply some of the things she’s learned.

She encouraged people to look for upcoming events at the mall. An exciting one in the near future is the back-to-school fashion show, she said.

As part of her goal to keep people shopping locally, she noted she hopes to appeal more to the demographic of people who are more likely to do a majority of the shopping at the mall.

“My vision is to have more family-oriented events,” she said.

She even is considering bringing live entertainment there, she noted.

“We hope to add more family events while maintaining tradition,” she said.

Northbridge Mall has more than 35 stores and businesses, and in September, a major highlight will be the opening of Dunham’s Sports, she said. The company is conducting interviews in an empty store in the mall.

Outside of work, Staser is one of the volleyball coaches for the Albert Lea JO program. She enjoys quilting and sings in a praise team band as part of Shy Ministries. She’s heavily involved with First Baptist Church in Clarks Grove, she said.

She is a single mother of two daughters, Casey and Sarah Baer, and is a recent grandmother, too.

She can be reached in her mall office from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 377-3185.

Information about the Northbridge Mall can be found on www.northbridgemall.com.