Downtown Knowledge

As we turn the calendar to 2024 many of us are already planning our year. We’re blocking out vacations, scheduling our signature events, and lining up key dates. For those of us in the Main Street program, an event that should be on everyone’s calendar is the Main Street NOW Conference that will be held…

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Legislative Advocacy: Making the case for Main Street & Main Street Issues [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Hang around any group of Main Streeters (or any community revitalization professionals) long enough and you will inevitably start to hear about some form of legislative roadblock or some new bill that is going to make it harder to do their…

We’re all done with the terms, “new normal”, “pandemic”, “unprecedented” and about 724 others that have dominated our vocabulary over the past year and a half. Last year, we watched as very quickly everyone went from having events to being locked away from one another. Not surprising, this was very challenging for the organizations that…

Recently I saw a discussion thread on “The Point”, the National Main Street Center’s discussion board. This particular post was about a downtown chart of accounts and reading some of the comments took me right back to my first few weeks as an Executive Director. When I first got the position, there had been quite…

There’s no denying that events are a large component of downtown life. Whether your organization is dependent on events for fundraising, or you are holding them to increase attendance and build atmosphere, events are a critical aspect of nearly every downtown. While these events are frequently essential for the health of an organization and the…

I think we would all agree that a website is not an option for any organization, it’s a requirement. Your website can be one of the most effective communication tools that you have. Since we deal with technology, we get asked about websites a lot. Most of those questions revolve around what should be included…

For over a decade now, I’ve had the good fortune to be a part of the Main Street movement. When I started I was told by our State Coordinator that I needed to fill out our monthly reporting, so I did. I didn’t think much about it at the time, I just did it. As…

I have been fortunate to be associated with Main Street for over a decade now. Along the way I have discovered that many of us face similar situations. That similarity got me thinking. Are these really situations, or does this similarity lead to group-think about a problem? Is there a problem, or do we say…

This is a unique time. Main Streeters are faced with some new challenges as the world faces the COVID-19 Pandemic. It seems as though the landscape is changing almost daily, and while we know there is light at the end of the tunnel, we don’t yet know when we will reach it. Having some time…

I was at a conference recently and got to thinking about how to get the most out of the conference. I had presented early on, so I had time to watch the attendees and really think about how to maximize your time. Like everything, there is a right way and a wrong way to do…