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We are excited to welcome Lynda Tran, Tyrone Rachal, and Mary Helmer Wirth to the Main Street America Board of Directors
Two months ago, Erin Barnes joined Main Street America as our new President and CEO. In a letter to the network, she shared her passion for her Main Street, Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, and invited the network to share videos of their communities.
Last month, she attended the Coordinators Meeting in Denver, Colorado, and met many new faces, but there are still a lot of Main Streeters who aren’t acquainted with our new leader. To help us get to know Erin better, we sat down with her to dive deeper into some of the themes she mentioned in her letter, explore her plans for the Movement, and learn more about her passions and interests.
You mentioned in your letter to the network last month that you started your career as a community organizer. From your experience, what are the key qualities an organizer needs to effectively bring communities together?
I started my career as a community organizer working with fishermen in the Pacific Northwest. I loved this job. I loved working with fishermen, and I loved learning how to be in community in this job. I think the most important lesson that I took away from this experience was that all people have their own motivations and visions and desires for their communities, and a good organizer listens and helps them find a way to bring those ideas to life. This was the fundamental philosophy that I brought to my work at ioby. Allowing for complexity and allowing people to see each other face-to-face, as people, is an effective way of bringing people together.
How do you define success of community-led economic development work?
The success of community-led economic development work is whether the community actually gets to lead. Often, large development projects struggle to authentically engage community members. An organization that participates on behalf of the community is not the same thing! Involving the community in meaningful ways means going slow, building trust, and centering community vision.
We just entered year two of implementing Main Street's new Strategic Plan and a lot of exciting work is underway. What are you prioritizing in your role as our leader to support this work?
Main Street America’s Strategic Plan is excellent, and I’m so impressed with all the work that everyone in our community, our network, our staff, and our board did to put this together. My priorities are the priorities of the strategic plan, and that’s why I have them taped onto my desk. I think the six long-term objectives fully encapsulate what Main Street America needs to do to be the most impactful organization we can be over the next 5 to 10 years, and these are precisely what my priorities are in my role as CEO.
The next Main Street Now Conference will be in Birmingham, Alabama, next May. How are you hoping to build off the success of the 2023 conference in Boston?
I’m very sorry that I wasn’t with everybody together in Boston, but I wasn’t sorry that I was busy spending time with my newborn at that time. I heard that Boston was fantastic; I saw some videos, I saw some photos, and it sounded like it was a lot of fun. This is an incredible network of passionate leaders, some of the most innovative hard-working and dedicated leaders I’ve ever met, and frankly I just want to make sure that the Main Street Now Conference in Birmingham serves the network.
I’ve heard from folks about what types of professional development opportunities they are looking for, and I am hearing that there is a desire for information specifically for rural towns and information specifically for big cities. The second thing is that I’m hearing that there’s a desire for more professional development for coordinators. I imagine that would also be really useful for Main Street managers. Keep the feedback coming! I want to learn from this network.
What has surprised you most about the Main Street Movement since you joined? What are you excited to learn more about?
What has surprised me the most about the Main Street Movement since I joined is that people have referred to it as much more than a profession. It’s amazing to see this level of dedication and enthusiasm for this work, and I know I’m going to learn a lot from everybody. I think I’m most excited to learn more about what it’s like to be a Main Street manager on a day-to-day basis. I know it’s not easy, it’s so many different types of jobs at once: it’s a management job, it’s an economic development job, it’s a persuasion job, it’s a visionary job, and often it can feel very isolating. So, I’m really interested in learning more from the Main Street managers about ways that Main Street America can support them.
If you had to pick only one aspect of what makes Main Streets so awesome, which would you choose and why?
If I had to pick one aspect of Main Streets, it’s the randomness of interactions that happen. I think this is what Jane Jacobs called "the ballet." For example, I was recently in Atlanta visiting friends and I found myself in the Little Five Points neighborhood. We came across the shop Stuff We Wanna Say, which I recognized from one of the welcome videos that was sent to me after my letter to the network. It was so wonderful to meet the owner Patrice Hull and enjoy the Main Street magic. These kinds of moments and interactions are why our communities are so special.
As another example, when I went to go vote, I ended up meeting one of my neighbors who is pretty famous in my neighborhood because she constructs a bandstand every Halloween. This is a really big deal in our neighborhood, and I never knew who was behind it. I just happened to introduce myself while we waited in line and quickly learned that she was the face behind the bandstand. And I was like, “Wow I didn’t know I was going to meet a celebrity tonight!” I love running into my neighbors and seeing people on the way home from the farmers market and picking up their kids from school, and all of those little interactions.
If you were to open your dream Main Street small business, what would it be?
I’m always impressed that in my neighborhood, the bodegas seem to have every single thing that you could possibly need. You know, they have bananas, ice cream, toothpaste, headache medicine, and sponges. They know every single thing that a person needs in that two-minute walk from home. So maybe I would just be a regular bodega owner. I think I’d learn a lot about what people really need on a day-to-day basis.
What are your favorite things to do outside of work? Any hobbies or special interests you want to share?
My favorite thing to do in my free time is to wander around new cities and towns without any purpose. It’s better if I do this by myself, because then the other people with me don’t get frustrated when I just stop dead in my tracks because the sun is setting at this perfect angle, lighting up the side of a building, and I’m just overcome with beauty, and I have to stop for a little while. It is truly magnificent to see the ways that over time, little by little, communities have created a built environment that actually serves them. Over hundreds and hundreds of years, we just keep carving away at this incredible sculpture and this incredible place that holds us and shapes us as much as we shape it.
Franklin Bronze Plaques, a Main Street America Allied Member, is this quarter's Main Spotlight advertiser. For more information about the products and services they provide to Main Street organizations, click here >
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Georgetown has developed a strong Downtown Master Plan that helps serve as a guide-point for planning efforts in downtown
Announcing the 2020 Mary Means Leadership Award Recipient
Meet Sharon Jablonski, the Director of Morganton Main Street in Morganton, North Carolina, and the first recipient of the Mary Means Leadership Award.
Announcing the 2020 Great American Main Street Award Winners
Congratulations to these Main Street programs for their fantastic work!
Community Spotlight: Missouri Main Street Connection Leads the Iowa Community Expedition
Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) had the opportunity to take Missouri Executive Directors and other community representatives on the Iowa Community Expedition
District Spotlight: Pontiac, Michigan
In response, UrbanMain and Main Street Oakland County joined forces in March 2018 to assist Pontiac stakeholders in putting their downtown organization back on a positive track, making Pontiac the first community in Michigan to participate in the UrbanMain initiative.
2018 Partners in Preservation: Main Streets Winning Sites
American Express, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Main Street America announced the winners of the 2018 Partners in Preservation: Main Streets campaign.
2018 Community Transformation Workshop Recap
An essential component of the Main Street America Institute, the three-day in-person workshop gives participants hands-on tools to enact revitalization projects in their communities.
A Statewide Movement Improving West Virginia Main Streets
Since 2013, Try This West Virginia has sought to improve health environments in local communities as a collaboration of organizations working together to combat the health challenges facing West Virginians.
Community Spotlight: Main Street Hampton
Main Street Hampton hosted a Food and Friends Farm-to-Table dinner at the Rustic Brew during Main Street Iowa Restaurant Week.
Community Spotlight: Partners in Preservation 2018
From community gathering spaces to retail incubators, from small towns to big cities – this year’s projects and communities are a testament to the diversity of Main Streets across the country.
Community Spotlight: Ames, Iowa
Downtown Ames hosted a festival for the 46th annual RAGBRAI race (The Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa).
7 Ways To Bring Your Main Street On Screen
You don’t need to be a big-name district to make a video that goes viral; you just need to know what you’re doing.
Comcast Newsmakers: Revitalizing Downtown
Matt Wagner, National Main Street Center's Vice President of Revitalization Programs, discusses competitive advantages, incrementalism and the power of the Main Street America network
Community Spotlight: Main Street Homer, Louisiana
Main Street Homer (Homer, Louisiana) was awarded a $25,000 A Community Thrives social impact grant from Gannett/USA Today Network to create an arts center with affordable artist studios and classroom/event space.
Evolution, Acceptance, and Change: The Main Street Approach as a Catalyst for Revitalization
Nearly slated for demolition 30 years ago, downtown Cedar Falls has experienced an amazing transformation through its revitalization journey using the Main Street Approach.
Main Street Roots Run Deep in Downtown Wytheville
Since starting as Executive Director, Todd has helped the organization achieve Virginia Main Street Designation Status and national Accreditation.
Announcing the 2018 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The National Main Street Center, Inc., announced Downtown Oregon City, Rock Springs Main Street/Urban Renewal Agency, and Howell Main Street as the 2018 Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA) winners during its annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri.
Main Streets in Action
We rolled out four new Main Street America videos highlighting the power of the Main Street movement, Main Street Approach, economic impact of Main Street, and the incredible volunteers that make Main Street's grassroots network so effective.
Community Spotlight: Ridgefield Main Street
Ridgefield Main Street is an energetic, up-and-coming Washington Main Street program located just north of Vancouver, Washington.
Want to do something big? Start small.
A series of small, incremental improvements, when taken together, provide momentum for long-term economic transformation and improved quality of life in a community.
Michigan Main Street Refresh Implementation: The Refresh from Our Communities’ Perspective
Here's a bit of background on each of the communities. Read on for the Refresh Implementation Q&A.
Announcing the 2017 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The National Main Street Center, Inc. announced the 2017 Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA) during its annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Reality of Main Street — Letter from the President
The National Main Street Center and the Brookings Institution have jointly authored a response to Mr. Hyman’s piece, The Reality of Main Street, that is featured on Brookings’ blog.
Michigan Main Street Refresh Implementation: Our Process and Lessons Learned So Far
Michigan Main Street Center was the first Coordinating Program to implement the new Main Street approach on a large scale. In this article, they share their robust process and valuable lessons.
The Reality of Main Street
There is another way for smaller communities to compete in today’s economy and we believe a strong main street strategy is at the heart of it.
The Myth of Main Street? Letter from the President
Letter from past MSA President, Patrice Frey
The Lowdown in Downtown LaBelle
Fritz the dog has made his way into the hearts of the residents of LaBelle, Florida, and helped our Main Street Community find a way to make what we do more noticeable.
Strategic Planning Through Transformation Strategies – Saline, Michigan
Back in October 2015, we introduced the three key components of the refreshed Main Street Approach: inputs, outputs and Community Transformation Strategies.
Revitalization and Main Street Transformation
For a lucky few downtowns, greatness may happen effortlessly with a strong sense of place that seems to develop organically and simply sustain itself. For most places, success doesn’t happen by chance.
Revisit Your Community’s Unique Assets: Connecting Asset-Based Economic Development to Community Transformation Strategies
This need for change results from the heavy emphasis on three components of the refreshed Main Street Approach.
The 2016 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The 2016 winners are a diverse group in geography and character, but together demonstrate the broad applicability of the Main Street Approach:
Main Street Nation Radio
The first official show under the Main Street Nation banner aired in June 2015 on WJR-760 AM Detroit.
The Path To The Future
The economic value of historic preservation on Main Street.
Refresh Demonstration Project Sites: Learning Labs for the Updated Main Street Approach
A series of demonstration projects providing the opportunity to test new strategies on the ground, learn from practitioners, and refine the approach.
Why Business Retention and Expansion Plans are Important for Downtowns
A business retention and expansion plan, properly implemented, not only helps keep businesses open but possibly even helps them expand.
Wisconsin Main Street: 27 Years of People, Places and Progress
While there have been over $1.2 billion in public and private investment in Wisconsin Main Street communities over the past 27 years, what really makes it special are the people and places that have been involved.
Pop-Up Art Tour
Main Street Bartow's empty storefronts become pop-up art galleries to promote economic development.
A Walk Through Rehoboth Beach Main Street
Although a “beach town,” Rehoboth Beach is open 365 days a year, and with that has the unique challenge of catering to both year-round residents and tourists within a wide range of ages, interests and economic levels
Independent We Stand Makes Main Streets a Priority
In communities across the country, hardworking business owners and buy local advocates come together to foster an organized effort to reinvent and revitalize Main Streets and downtown districts.
Announcing the 2015 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The National Main Street Center is pleased to announce that Cape Girardeau, Mo., Montclair Center, N.J., and Rawlins, Wyo. were selected as the 2015 Great American Main Street Award® (GAMSA) winners.
