News from Missouri Main Street Connection

September 2011

In This Issue

Grants Awarded to Six Missouri Communities

Community Development Coordinator Hired

Missouri Communities Win Downtown Revitalization Awards

MMSC Board Election

MO Preservation Conference

MMSC Workshop - Business Recruitment

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The National Trust Main Street Center

Missouri Main Street Connection Newsletter

Grants Awarded to Six Missouri Communities for Downtown Revitalization

Appleton City, Blue Springs, Concordia, Monett, Peculiar and Seymour are receiving matching grants from Missouri Main Street Connection Inc. (MMSC) for downtown revitalization. They were selected in a competitive application process to participate in the new cost-sharing grant program that provides training and technical services to not-for-profit revitalization groups in Missouri's historic commercial districts.

Missouri Main Street Connection staff will conduct an initial consultation with each group to evaluate their current revitalization efforts, followed by a series of customized workshops and technical training services.

The grant period in each community will cover two years of intensive training and mentoring, using the preservation-based Four-Point Main Street Approach® to Revitalization. Each group will receive on-site training from MMSC to develop the leadership skills necessary to conduct a comprehensive revitalization program.

Representatives from each community also will attend regional revitalization workshops and conferences conducted by MMSC. The goal of the grant is to create local volunteer organizations that can undertake self-sustaining revitalization programs in cooperation with their municipal governments and other civic organizations.

The grant is a 40/60 match, requiring each community to contribute 40% of the cash value of the services, and MMSC to contribute 60% of the value of services

As a result of their successful grant applications, these communities are also Affiliates in the MMSC Tier Structure, which ranks revitalization progress on standards established by the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Center. For information about the MMSC Affiliate grant program, please contact Gayla Roten at 417-334-3014 or info@momainstreet.org.

Community Development Coordinator Hired

Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) is pleased to announce Jeanine Rann as Community Development Coordinator to help meet the growing demand by communities across the state of Missouri looking to revitalize their commercial districts. MMSC received nearly 40 resumes and letters of interest from highly qualified candidates from all over the country, and we are thrilled to have chosen Ms. Rann from Lee's Summit, Missouri, who we believe will be dedicated to our mission in providing communities with the knowledge and tools to economically and physically revitalize their downtowns.

"We are thrilled and honored to have Jeanine joining our team," says Gayla Roten, State Director, Missouri Main Street Connection. "We now have the growth capacity to provide resources and services to additional Missouri communities, and I know Jeanine is dedicated and motivated to begin work with great enthusiasm."

Jeanine has 17 years of professional experience in downtown revitalization including extensive experience utilizing and implementing the Main Street Four-Point Approach®, public relations, marketing, Jeanine communications, public speaking, volunteer recruitment, grant writing and events coordination. She has worked with urban and rural communities and has advanced training in commercial district revitalization having earned her Certification as a Main Street Manager from National Trust Main Street Center®. While working as the Executive Director for Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street Inc., for the past eight years the program was recognized with multiple State and National awards for excellence in downtown revitalization including the 2010 Great American Main Street Award® given out to only five communities across the nation every year, from the National Trust Main Street Center®. During her tenure she earned the confidence and respect of the elected officials and secured a $600,000 economic revitalization contract with the City of Lee's Summit and was responsible for the implementation of the Downtown Master Plan. In addition, she managed the marketing and public relations during their 18-month streetscape and infrastructure construction project. Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street Inc. was also named the "Best Downtown Revitalization Organization" in the state of Missouri by MMSC in 2009.

Jeanine will be responsible for assisting the Director of Missouri Main Street Connection with management, administration and implementation of the statewide Main Street® program that utilizes historic preservation as an integral foundation for downtown revitalization and economic development. Rann will support the effort to maintain a consistent, quality program of services that will result in the transferences of the Main Street Four-Point Approach® to communities throughout the state and will increase the potential success in all downtown revitalization activities.

Missouri Communities Win Downtown Revitalization Awards

Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) presented 14 awards for excellence in revitalization during its state-wide conference August 9-11 in Kansas City, Missouri. Awards went to Cape Girardeau, Chillicothe, Clinton, Excelsior Springs, Glasgow, Lee's Summit, Liberty, Sedalia and Washington.

"With these awards, we are proud to honor the dedication and investment that communities across Missouri are putting into their downtown revitalization programs," said Steven Hoffman, professor of history at Southeast Missouri State University and President of Missouri Main Street Connection. "Their efforts reveal the most cherished values of citizens who choose to preserve their downtowns and improve the quality of life for everyone in their communities."

Washington, Missouri, took awards in four categories. The Best Large Scale Project went to the Old Dutch Hotel & Tavern. The Heritage Travel Award went to Winter in Wine Country. The Outstanding Public Partner Award went to The Old Main Post Office. The Top Special Event Award went to the Main Street BBQ & Blues Fest. The runner-up for the Outstanding Public Partner Award was The Livingston County Library in Chillicothe. The runner-up for the Top Special Event Award was Chillicothe's Kids' Christmas event.

Chillicothe took two first-place awards: The Outstanding Special Project went to The Clipper, and the Top Facade Rehabilitation Under $10,000 Award went to Heartland Advertising. The runner-up for Outstanding Special Project was Cabool for the Independence Weekend Celebration. The runner-up for the Top Facade Rehabilitation Under $10,000 was the former J.C. Penney building in Excelsior Springs.

Cape Girardeau took the Business Excellence Award, which went to Annie Laurie's Antiques. The runner-up for the Business Excellence Award was Heritage Hall in Liberty.

Clinton was the winner of the award for Best Streetscape and Public Improvements Project. The runner-up for the Best Streetscape and Public Improvements Project was Lee's Summit.

Sedalia was the winner of the award for Best Adaptive Re-Use/Preservation Project which went to the Commerce Apartments. The runner-up in this category was the Grand Boulevard Lofts in downtown Kansas City.

Liberty was the winner of the award for Best Economic Restructuring Project, which went to the Green House on the Hill. The runner-up in this category was Lee's Summit for its Business Development and Retention Strategic Plan.

Glasgow was the winner of the award for Top Facade Rehabilitation Over $10,000, which went to the building owned by Nikki and Aaron Gouge.

A new category this year, called the Giraffe Award, more commonly known as the "Stick Your Neck Out Award" went to Jim and Ginger Nelson of Excelsior Springs. The runner-up in this category was The Big Fields Cafe in Ste. Genevieve, owned by Teresa Vaughn and Bill Uding.

The Volunteer of the Year Award went to two individuals: Steve Franke of Chillicothe and Brad Culbertson of Lee's Summit. Runners-up for the Volunteer of the Year Award were: Dala Whittaker of Cabool, Allen Huff of Clinton, Michael Burton of Liberty, and Kenneth Pinnell of Washington.

Awards for Outstanding Public Official went to two individuals: Heather Brooks, Cape Girardeau's Assistant City Manager; and John Griesheimer of Washington, MO, presiding Commissioner of Franklin County. Runners-up in this category were Eva Danner of Chillicothe, Karan Johnson of Liberty, and Stephen Arbo of Lee's Summit.

The next Missouri Main Street Revitalization Conference will be in St. Louis, August 7-9, 2012.

MMSC is the state coordinating program for the Missouri communities that participate in the Main Street® Program, operating in 43 states under the direction of the national trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Center® in Washington DC.

For additional information about Missouri Main Street Connection and the participating communities in Missouri, call 417-334-3014, or see the website: www.momainstreet.org

MMSC Board/Advisory Board Election

The following individuals were elected to the MMSC Board during the Annual Meeting August 12, 2011, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Board: For 2-year-term (expiring August 2013)

*Mark Gardner

Advisory Board: For 2-year-terms (expiring August 2013)

*Jonathan Kemper

*Karen Bode Baxter

Rep. Lincoln Hough

Rep. Jay Swearingen

*re-elected

Missouri Preservation Conference

This year's Missouri Statewide Preservation Conference will again be held in a downtown location--City Hall in Joplin.

The conference will be November 2-4 and offers sessions on timely topics that impact historic preservation, including "Adapting Historic Buildings to Residential Living" and "A Marriage Between Art and Historic Preservation" as well as a session on "Revitalizing Your Downtown."

Online registration with a program of sessions and events will be available online at www.preservemoconference.org after October 1.

November MMSC Workshop

Recruiting "New Business" for Downtown

Mark your calendars for this training session for your education and enjoyment.

Topic: Business Recruitment

Attendees: Main Street communities throughout the state, at every level of development.

Session Title: "New Business in Your Future?"

Description: Learn to target those new businesses through targeted market research. This workshop will show you how to conduct research that will:

Analyze the district's current strengths and weaknesses.
Estimate local consumer buying power.
Identify sales "voids" and existing business clusters.
Help you decide what types of new businesses to recruit.
Develop a recruitment strategy.
Establish a financing plan for business growth and retention.

Location: Clinton, MO

Date: November 8, 2011

Time: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm

The featured speaker for this workshop is Keith Kjelstrom. Mr. Kjelstrom provides services in commercial district revitalization, economic development, land use planning, and strategic planning for local and state governments, businesses, and non-profit organizations. With 28 years of experience in economic development, he is a seasoned analyst, facilitator, presenter and trainer. He specializes in helping communities to harness the tools and techniques of business development, including market analysis, business strengthening, business recruitment, and project funding development. Keith served with California Main Street for 11 years, including 8 years as director. Early in his career, he was a local Main Street manager. He holds a master's degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in political economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Keith Kjelstrom Consulting

Las Vegas, NM

(505) 454-1187

keithkjelstrom@msn.com

Missouri Preservation Seeks Administrative Assistant in Columbia, MO, Office

Missouri Preservation is seeking an Administrative Assistant at its Columbia, Missouri, headquarters. This is a full-time position offering a competitive salary, vacation pay, and a health insurance stipend. The successful candidate will have excellent office, computer and people skills, be able to multi-task a variety of duties in a busy administrative office. This is an immediate opening for a self-starter with experience. Send email with cover letter, resume and 3 letters of reference to:

Karen Bode Baxter, Board President

kbbaxter@i1.net

Call (314) 353-0593 or (314) 691-1941 for more information.