Missouri Main Street Connection
SUMMER  2014 
In This Issue
A Heartfelt Thank You
Save the Date 2015 Annual Conference
Affiliate Grant Workshop
Upcoming Fall Conferences
Career Opportunity
New Advisory Board Members
Missouri Communities Receive Awards
Thank You to our Sponsors
Main Street Summit
MMSC Affiliate Grant Update
Downtown Revitalization Workshop
MMSC Offers Space for Training
Be Contagious - Shop Local
Tech Top 10
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A Heartfelt
Thank You

 

Missouri's 6th Annual Downtown Revitalization Conference was made possible through the many hours and talents given by our guest speakers and volunteers. We sincerely Thank You! 

Save the Date

 

Get Plugged In... Downtown, Missouri's Annual Downtown Revitalization Conference, will return next year in Kansas City:

 

July 28-30, 2015

 

Upcoming Missouri Main Street Events

 

Affiliate Grant Workshop

September 24

Jefferson City, MO

For more information, read the article in this newsletter. 

 

Main Street Summit

October 15-17

Branson, MO

Read more about this opportunity

 

Quarterly Training & Downtown Revitalization Workshop

November 13

Warrensburg, MO

Download a printable flyer

 

Visit the MMSC online calendar for information about these events and other conferences. 

Upcoming Fall Conferences

Missouri Municipal League
September 14-17
St. Charles, MO
Event details are available on the MML website.

Missouri Preservation
October 6-8
Excelsior Springs, MO
The MO Preservation website has more information.

Missouri Community Betterment
October 19-20
Columbia, MO
More information is available on the MCB website.

National Trust for Historic Preservation
November 11-14
Savannah, MO
Visit NTHP for conference details or to register online.
Career Opportunity with Blue Springs Downtown Alive!
 
Blue Springs Downtown Alive!, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the revitalization and historic preservation of Downtown Blue Springs, Missouri, is seeking an Executive Director. Deadline to apply is August 15, 2014.
New Members Added to MMSC Advisory Board

 

Dick Burke

Executive Director
Missouri Association of Counties
PO Box 234
Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-634-2120
[email protected]

Steven Devlin

Executive Program Director

Business Development Program 

University of Missouri Extension 
W1035 Lafferre Hall 
Columbia, MO 65211 
573-882-4321 
[email protected]


Michael S. Kearney

CEcD, Manager of Economic Development
Ameren Services
PO Box 66149, MC 350
St. Louis, MO 63149
314-554-2304
[email protected]
 

Rebecca Rost

Preservation Planner & Grants Manager 
State Historic Preservation Office
PO Box 176
Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-751-7958
[email protected]
 

We Invite You to Invest in Missouri's Communities!
 
Missouri Main Street Connection, Inc. (MMSC) is the only organization in the state dedicated exclusively to the economic and physical revitalization of Missouri's downtowns, central business districts and the neighborhood business districts. We provide a variety of services in order to ensure that our communities maximize their ability to undertake a successful revitalization program. 
 
Your support of MMSC puts you at the center of our efforts to develop the sense of place, quality of life, and economic vitality of Missouri's downtowns and traditional neighborhood business districts. 
 
You can feel confident that your support is truly making a difference.  MMSC provides downtown development services, guidance and technical training and advocacy services to communities regardless of size, demographics, or location. 
 
As needs for communities increase and as state funding dwindles, your support goes even further to help support our work with communities to address the most pressing revitalization challenges and achieve comprehensive, enduring success. 
 
The first step in the comprehensive and successful revitalization of Missouri communities is becoming an investment partner of Missouri Main Street Connection*.

Join our yearly investor program today. 

*Missouri Main Street Connection is a statewide, 501c3, not-for-profit organization.
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Our Mission

The Mission of the Missouri Main Street Connection is to provide communities with the knowledge and tools to economically and physically revitalize their downtowns.

 

MMSC works to ensure that the downtown districts in Missouri's cities and towns remain essential elements to their sense of community, their cultural heritage and to the state's economy. Downtown revitalization is encouraged through economic development within the context of historic preservation. The primary purpose is to ensure the long-term success of the downtown by creating, educating, training and empowering a comprehensive, professional, volunteer-based downtown revitalization organization. 

Missouri Communities Receive Downtown Revitalization Awards

 

Four communities participating in the Missouri Main Street program have reached or surpassed one million dollar milestones from private improvements in their historic downtown districts.

 

In the past year, Cape Girardeau exceeded $6 million in private investments, while Liberty, Lee's Summit and Warrensburg each passed the $1 million mark in private improvements.

 

As a whole, the 20 communities actively participating in the Missouri Main Street program last year exceed the $18 million mark in both private and public improvements in their downtowns. The Missouri Main Street Program, launched as a non-profit organization in 2005, is designed to help communities preserve their historic buildings and reinvigorate their downtown districts.

 

A recent ceremony honored those communities along with individuals, businesses, cities and civic organizations that have invested skills and volunteer time to revitalize their downtowns. The Missouri Main Street Connection hosted the Evening of Excellence Awards at the Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel, St. Louis. Awards were presented in 12 categories.

 

Blue Springs Downtown Alive! accepted the Outstanding Public Partner award for a joint project completed by America's Community Bank and the City of Blue Springs.

 

Old Town Cape's Vasterling Building - now the Vasterling Suites - won the award for Best Large Scale Project, in a tie with Liberty, MO.

 

Krystal's Up Town Salon, in downtown Chillicothe, won the award for Top Fa�ade Rehabilitation Project over $10,000.

 

The Excelsior Springs Community Theatre and the Slightly Off-Broadway Players won the award for Best Adaptive Re-Use Preservation Project.

 

BobKorn Kettle Corn, of downtown Excelsior Springs, won the award for Business Excellence, in a tie with a Warrensburg business.

 

Linden Square at Gladstone Village Center won the award for Best Streetscape and Public Improvement Project.

 

Brad Culbertson, of Lee's Summit, has given of his time and energy "above and beyond" what is normally expected from a Main Street board member. For that reason he was presented with the "Stick Out Your Neck" Award. The Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street organization (DLSMS) offered the nomination.

 

An individual honored during the ceremonies was Suzanne Garrett, who won the award for Volunteer of the Year, nominated by Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street, Inc. (DLSMS)

 

Liberty's redevelopment of the Bedinger Furniture Store won the award for Best Large Scale Project, in a tie with Old Town Cape.

 

Historic Downtown Liberty's Economic Improvement Committee won the award for Best Economic Restructuring Project, in a tie with Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

 

The Independence Avenue/International Marketplace won the award for Best Economic Restructuring Project, in a tie with Historic Downtown Liberty's Economic Improvement Committee. The Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce offered the award nomination.

 

Winning the award for Business Excellence was the Old Drum Coffee House & Bakery, of Warrensburg, in a tie with an Excelsior Springs' business.

 

The award for Top Promotional Event went to Warrensburg for its first-ever Burg Fest event, a cooperative effort of the Warrensburg Main Street, Inc. with several local organizations and schools.

 

Special recognition went to Warrensburg Main Street for its own version of the Evening of Excellence. Warrensburg submitted the nomination for the Outstanding Special Project Award, but the judges didn't see it as a special project - in fact, it didn't fit into any of the existing categories - thus the special recognition.

 

An individual award winner was Mayor Sandy Lucy, of Washington, MO, who accepted the award for Outstanding Public Official. She has been a major champion of the Main Street Approachand advocate for historic preservation and small businesses. Downtown Washington, Inc. nominated her for the award.

 

The project to celebrate the 175th Anniversary of the founding of Washington, MO won the award for Outstanding Special Project.

 

View complete press release.

THANK YOU to all our SPONSORS who made the 2014 Get Plugged In...Downtown Revitalization Conference a Great Success!


MSSummitMain Street Summit

 

Main Street Summit: Steps for Downtown Success will be held on October 15-17, 2014 in Branson, MO. This new addition to the Missouri Main Street education offerings is an invitation only event for non-accredited communities to learn first-hand how to get more out the Main Street Approach from National Main Street Senior Program Manager Kathy La Plante.

 

This focused program will be limited to 15 communities that have shown potential over the past 18 months in learning and developing their skills to succeed with Main Street. Admission is free. Save the date and watch for your invitation in the mail! 

MSAffilGrantMMSC Affiliate Grant Update
 
Missouri Main Street Connection's Affiliate Grant Program is currently in a grant cycle with applications due by September 5, 2014. There are currently four remaining Affiliate Grant openings available for 2014. If you have attended an Affiliate Grant Workshop and are interested in applying during this cycle, please contact Community Development Coordinator Keith Winge at 816-522-4362. The next Affiliate Grant Workshop will be held in Jefferson City on September 24th. Registration is available now.

Congratulations to Odessa for being accepted in the last grant cycle as our newest Affiliate Grant Community. Odessa is a community of over 5,000 in the central western side of the state approximately 36 miles east of Kansas City. Odessa noted in their application to become an Affiliate Grant Community that their current assets include historic building stock in good condition and strong support from the
local government while items to be improved include how to involve the "bedroom community" mentality and working with the significant number of absent property owners. Odessa currently has a good selection of specialty shops but does have significant space for additional businesses. 

Over the next two years, Missouri Main Street Connection will be working with Odessa on establishing a downtown organization, educating the leaders and volunteers on the Main Street Four-Point Approach and help identify and lay out a plan for the priorities downtown. Welcome to the Missouri Main Street community! 
Downtown Revitalization Workshop

The fall Downtown Revitalization Workshop will be held in Warrensburg on November 13th and will feature Donna Harris, a national speaker on all things Main Street. Donna will share a unique look at packaging your organization's assets and data for use when talking to city government officials, property owners, potential business owners, and others. She will also talk about getting extra mileage out of your economic statistics you collect and submit every quarter to MMSC. 

More information can be found online including registration details and cost. If you plan on attending, please bring current photos of your downtown and a laptop as this session will be hands-on with on-site application. 
MMSC Now Has Space Available for Training

Missouri Main Street Connection is pleased to offer a creative meeting space in our Branson office for brainstorming, planning and training. Whether you want to energize your board or create your strategic plan for the upcoming year, our retreat-like location allows community leaders to escape the day-to-day distractions. Our office is easy to find and has plenty of space for up to 24 people.

 

Some of the services available are board retreat, team-building, Four-Points training, new board orientation, new manager training or a consultation on how to establish a Main Street organization. Download the complete service directory.
 

Be Contagious - Shop Local

When you spend a dollar locally, it multiplies.
Locally-owned businesses tend to do business with other locally-owned businesses and aren't constrained to buy only from a national distributor. They bank with local banks, advertise in local newspapers and purchase local services such as accounting and printing. Each time a dollar is re-spent in the local economy, it's like new income - creating a "multiplier effect" - rather than this money "leaking out" through remote corporate headquarters and centralized purchasing departments.

Community ownership
Local business owners live and invest in their community. This makes them less likely to leave and more likely to be invested in how their business decisions affect the community.

A more stable economy
An economy composed of many small, locally-owned businesses is more stable and often more prosperous over the long-term than one dependent on a handful of absentee-owned companies. Local ownership ensures that businesses are firmly rooted in the community. They are unlikely to move and will do their best to weather economic hard times.
 
Job creation
Small, locally-owned businesses provide the largest share of net new jobs generated each year and also provide the most stable employment opportunities in a community.

Local owners are local contributors.
Research has shown that small local businesses make indispensable contributions to communities and neighborhoods. Ninety-one (91) percent of small employers (small-business owners) contributed to their community in the last year, and/or direct cash donations. About 41 percent contributed all three ways. The estimated average value of contribution is $6,600 per small employer, contributing roughly a total of $40 billion a year back into the local community. (per (NFIB) National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation)

Maintain uniqueness
Our one-of-a-kind Downtown businesses are an integral part of our distinctive local flavor and character. A local economy of diverse, unique businesses also attracts today's skilled workers and investors who can choose to settle and grow businesses anywhere.

Customer service is better.
Local businesses often hire people with more specific product expertise for better customer service.

Competition and diversity leads to more choices.
A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.
 
Reduced environmental impact
Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.

Be contagious - shop local.

Gayla Roten, State Director of Missouri Main Street Connection
Tech Top 10

Top 10 Tech Tools for Program Efficiency

There are technology tools available to enhance the efficiency of your program.


 

Why use technology?

  • Streamline the event process
  • Simplify financial practices
  • Facilitate better communication
  • Fill the gap when additional staff is not an option

Technology can be:

  • Affordable
  • Easily accessible
  • Intuitive
  • A way to facilitate dialogue
  • Efficient
  • Global

These top 10 tech tools are free, low-fee or have non-profit affordable rates.

 

Quickbooks is an accounting software that can be tailored to your specific needs. Use it to write checks, send invoices, and print financial statements.

 

Social Media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, Pinterest) can be used to increase brand awareness, to take your message viral, and to allow real-time feedback and interaction.

 

Mail Chimp is an email marketing solution for managing contacts, sending emails, and tracking results. It is free up to 2000 contacts.

 

Adobe Creative Cloud is a low-fee subscription service with access to a collection of software for graphic design, video editing, web development, photography, and Cloud services.

 

GoToWebinar allows users to share messages with multiple people and to record for later viewing for a low annual fee.

 

PayPal is a low-fee subscription payment processing service which allows you to accept payments online or on-site and invoice clients.

 

Kickstarter is a nontraditional method for fundraising where nobody pays until the goal is reached.

 

Basecamp is a low-monthly-fee project management system used to create lists, share files and pictures, define/delegate work, and establish deadlines. Only one person needs the program installed; it is all cloud-based.

 

Dropbox is an affordable document management system used to share/store files and pictures. Files can be accessed anywhere.

 

Google Platform is cloud-based and free. Use it for email, photo management, documents, blogging, calendar and videos.

 

Bobbie Mills

Missouri Main Street Connection