Macon, Georgia
2024 Great American Main Street Award Winner
Get inspiring insights from Main Street business owners and economic development leaders.
Listen NowWe work in collaboration with thousands of local partners and grassroots leaders across the nation who share our commitment to advancing shared prosperity, creating resilient economies, and improving quality of life.
Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders that make up Main Street America™ represent the broad diversity that makes this country so unique.
Looking for strategies and tools to support you in your work? Delve into the Main Street Resource Center and explore a wide range of resources including our extensive Knowledge Hub, professional development opportunities, field service offerings, advocacy support, and more!
Your one-stop-shop for all the latest stories, news, events, and opportunities – including grants and funding programs – across Main Street.
Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
Main Street America celebrates communities whose successes serve as a model for comprehensive, preservation-based revitalization efforts in their historic downtowns and commercial corridor districts with the Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA).
Winners represent the diversity of communities in the Main Street America network — small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts from every region in the country — and demonstrate the power of the Main Street Approach™. Since the inception of the Great American Main Street Award in 1995, over 110 Main Street programs have been honored.
Eligibility: All Accredited Main Street America programs, with an active Main Street membership and that have not previously won, are eligible to apply for GAMSA.
Application: The GAMSA application period typically takes place during the summer months. Eligible communities were invited to submit applications for 2025 GAMSA consideration from June 12-July 26, 2024.
Selection Criteria: Semifinalist and winners are selected from a nationwide pool of applicants by a jury of Main Street professionals and leaders in the fields of community and economic development and historic preservation. Criteria for winning GAMSA include: strength of the Main Street program in spurring community transformation, commitment to historic preservation, innovative programming, implementation of cross-sector partnerships, community outreach and stakeholder engagement, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Accolades & Ceremony: Semifinalists will be promoted through MSA’s digital channels and will receive media relations materials. Recipients also receive a short documentary film, a plaque, media relations support, prominent placement on the MSA website for two years, and recognition at a ceremony at the 2025 Main Street Now Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Questions: Email gamsa@mainstreet.org.
Please join us in congratulating eight Main Street organizations as 2025 Great American Main Street Award semifinalists and celebrating their incredible accomplishments!