Campbell Main Street has been a Main Street program for just over 2 years. In that time, they have been in the Community Empowerment Grant program, a competitively selected grant for services that assist in establishing a locally empowered organization focused on downtown development through adopted strategies, developed from community input. In that time, the organization has been successful in creating new events and projects that have reinvigorated the downtown area and brought the community together.  

To further these early efforts, Missouri Main Street Connection and Campbell Main Street partnered together to elevate the already outstanding work being completed by the people in this community. As part of the Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) grant through USDA, Campbell, MO received branding services. This process allowed the community to come together through input sessions on what is important for the future of downtown and the community and turn those elements into a community and downtown brand.

Ben Muldrow of Arnett Muldrow & Associates brought his expertise to:

• Present on the Promotion point of Main Street

• Solicit input, needs, and wants of the community to provide a comprehensive and cohesive branding service that brought a cohesive identity to the community

• Recommend a new brand scheme for multiple entities, including Main Street Campbell, the Peach Fair Festival, and the City of Campbell.

This service helped to bring targeted short-term and long-term recommendations for the downtown and community. Campbell Main Street received a new brand scheme that can be implemented to promote Campbell as a place to live, work, and visit. The Main Street Board will now review the brand scheme they received and vote to adopt it. Look out for Campbell Main Street’s new branding soon. Through this service, this passionate community of just 1,500 now has the direction and resources to continue to grow and build on the expanding economic ecosystem being cultivated in downtown.

Historic preservation is at the heart of the Main Street movement. It’s what sets Main Street apart from other economic development initiatives in communities. Despite being the heart of the movement, what does historic preservation mean and how do Main Street organizations identify, advocate, and educate community members about the historic assets that make their community unique?

The National Park Service says, “Through historic preservation, we look at history in different ways, ask different questions of the past, and learn new things about our history and ourselves. Historic preservation is an important way for us to transmit our understanding of the past to future generations. Historic preservation helps tell our stories which involve celebrating events, people, places, and ideas that we are proud of.” But how do we bring this mentality to the local level and advocate and educate the community on local assets? The first question is, “What are your local assets?”

Every historic downtown is unique by nature. The buildings, people, and businesses are all unique and have a different story to tell that has shaped what downtown is today and will be in the future. First, there is a history behind why your community was made and many times understanding your downtown, the original development in a community, helps to shape that story and narrative. This is where Main Street organizations can start to showcase the historic assets in their downtown; look back at how the downtown was developed and tell those stories to the community. This fosters an appreciation of those historic assets and educates the community on why your downtown’s story is unique starting at its conception.

There are also other stories to tell that may not have to do with that original development. Did you know that what we consider history is not just 100+ years old; history is made every day. The invention of pre-sliced and packaged sliced bread in Chillicothe in 1928 created a new historic asset that added to the fabric of the community.

Chillicothe is a great example of a big event happening, but not every story or event has to be so dramatic in nature. There are many unidentified assets that are waiting to be identified. After identifying your historic assets, Main Street organizations can craft their downtown’s story to be told through educational materials to the community, such as Route 66 coming through downtown, a building that has housed or is currently housing a significant business, or an historic courthouse; these are all historic assets that make a downtown unique.

For instance, Carthage celebrates its unique history using art, by creating a mural that celebrates the important artists and people from the community.

In Laclede’s Landing in St. Louis, they celebrate the story of Ester, an emancipated slave and one of--if not the--first black, female landowner in St Louis, with the renaming and activation of an alley.

Main Street organizations, while primarily an economic development organization, have the responsibility to identify and share those unique historic assets in their downtown. Historic preservation is layered into how Main Street organizations can distinguish themselves as being different from other economic development entities. In addition, heritage travelers, who, according to Global Urban Development, spend 2.5 times more money in a community, are looking for historic assets that set your downtown apart. Every downtown is different; that story needs to be identified and told to the community and to potential visitors.  

The Downtown Strong: Building Resilient Economies grant is a grant provided by the U.S. Economic Development Administration through Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) that continues to impact Missouri communities.

Since 1993, IB Nuts & Fruits Too has been creating gift boxes and baskets filled with Missouri-made products for Washington, Missouri area businesses and individuals. Through the ‘Art of Giving’ residents have grown to treasure IB Nuts & Fruits Too as it has grown over its almost 30 years from one of its original owners Margaret Horn, known endearingly as ‘The Nut Lady’, to being passed down to Barbara Hillerman and her daughter Kristy Stoyer who operated the store for about 18 years moving the store to its current location on the corner of Elm and Second street.

Holly Wunderlich is the newest owner of IB Nuts & Fruit Too as she stepped into ownership when Barbara retired in July of 2019 after working with her and Kristy to transition the store and customers smoothly.  She kept the status quo initially, but there was a lot of work to do in continuing to grow the business and what it could offer to its customers.

Holly’s background in customer service, an MBA, and a project management certification have been beneficial in effectively running the business. During the pandemic shut down, Holly offered free delivery of baskets along with an established shipping option.  She marketed this heavily and actually gained business as companies looked for ways to show appreciation to employees working from home. However, she still wanted help to expand this as part of her business and increase her sales year-round.

She saw the Downtown Strong Grant as an opportunity to work with a consultant to provide valuable feedback and analysis of the business that will help her make the best decisions moving forward. In her application, Holly had identified several areas of growth for IB Nuts & Fruits Too since succeeding the previous owners with updating and refreshing the store’s brand and image, both online and in the physical storefront, streamlining the business operations side to assist in inventory and accounting procedures as well as a better integrated point of sale system, and finding ways to diversify her customer base to increase sales.    With these objectives in mind, it made sense for her to work with Chimera Creative Works, also in Washington, Missouri. 

Steven Lyles with Chimera worked with Holly to provide a complete evaluation of the business, its operations, sales, brand, products and services, and customers. He then built a business plan that would direct Holly moving forward. In addition, Chimera helped Holly with ideas on a brand refresh, building a new website, and designing a new store layout.

Holly noted that, overall, the grant came at a great time for her as she recently had transitioned into ownership of this existing business. She said:

“It allowed me access to professional services I otherwise would not have been able to afford. It helped me put things in writing and focus my business on what I want to accomplish in the next few years. While the business was previously successful, I knew we could do even more and continue to grow, especially online.  We were able to launch a new website and update the brand, which was the main goal.” 

There is a lot happening in Downtown Washington and Holly wanted to make sure her business stayed relevant and was a business the town would be proud to keep in its downtown.  She said, “I love the new look and feel Chimera created. I am excited to continue to implement the changes and incorporate the new brand and tag line.”

The services included in this article were prepared by Missouri Main Street Connection, Inc. using Federal funds under award 05-79-06056 from Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Missouri Main Street Connection Inc. (MMSC) partnered with the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities through ARPA in awarding $5,000 grants to 12 selected communities through a competitive process to fund projects focused on strengthening heritage and cultural tourism in rural Missouri. The grant helped each community implement a project and market itself to prospective visitors. These heritage tourism projects gave added value to the economies in each community through a range of projects from murals to walking tours to new monuments and building plaques that all highlight each respective community’s history for residents and visitors. One of the Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grants was awarded to Warrensburg Main Street in March of 2022 with the project being completed in October of 2022.

Warrensburg Main Street is the Main Street organization for Warrensburg, Missouri. They are no stranger to the hard work of Main Street as they have found creative solutions to revitalize the heart of their community, the downtown, since the late 1970’s when a group of visionary business and civic leaders formed the organization. The most recent project implemented to promote their downtown is the “Stories of Downtown” historic walking tour highlighting their historic buildings in the historic commercial district made possible through funding Warrensburg Main Street received from MMSC's Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grant.

“Stories of Downtown” blends the virtual world with the real-world using plaques, QR codes, and information printed on the plaque and hosted on their website highlighting over 50 buildings around the downtown district. The plaques are on buildings selected for this historic tour spread throughout the district. The plaques have the address, year the building was built, and a brief description or other important facts about the building style.  The QR code is on the plaque itself and takes the participant to the Warrensburg Main Street website where there is a landing page with comprehensive descriptions of each building as well as pictures of the building from past and present. Warrensburg’s ambitious goal of creating this intensive and immersive project were made possible through its incredible use of community partners that include a variety of community organizations, local groups, and the University of Central Missouri.

The design, content, and production work to implement this project took a collaboration with several local partners. Design and content were the first components Warrensburg Main Street addressed by working closely with Johnson County Historical Society, Warrensburg Preservation Commission, and the technical writing class at the University of Central Missouri.  First, during several workshops and brainstorming sessions, students in the University of Central Missouri’s technical writing class developed the content and path of the historic walking tour including what information they researched and created would go on the plaque and on the website as well as which buildings in the district along Pine and Holden Street would get plaques, as they could not at this stage add 50 plaques.  After this step, the Johnson County Historical Society assisted Warrensburg Main Street at selecting the buildings along Pine and Holden Street with significant and noteworthy history that would benefit the most from having a plaque. This collaboration gave each participating group a new way for visitors and locals to engage with downtown and its history, but also gave them a chance to learn about each other.  Other local partners like a marketing company, local photographer, and local printing company were utilized to produce the plaques and webpages that would present and hold the information created and photos taken.

From start to finish the “Stories of Downtown” historic walking tour project was a community project as various partnerships with other community organizations, schools, and local groups made this project a reality. Now that the “Stories of Downtown” historic walking tour is in place, it offers Warrensburg Main Street a way to promote their historic district all year long through a virtual activity that participants can engage with on their own time.  Warrensburg Main Street, Warrensburg Convention and Visitor Bureau, and other community partners are excited to include the walking tour in their 2023 event programing including Historic Preservation Month, University of Central Missouri Family Weekend, and Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce mobile app.

Missouri Main Street Connection awarded the Marketing Heritage & Cultural Tourism Grants in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Missouri Main Street Connection Inc. (MMSC) partnered with the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities through ARPA in awarding $5,000 grants to 12 selected communities through a competitive process to fund projects focused on strengthening heritage and cultural tourism in rural Missouri. The grant helped each community implement a project and market itself to prospective visitors. These heritage tourism projects gave added value to the economies in each community through a range of projects from murals to walking tours to new monuments and building plaques that all highlight each respective community’s history for residents and visitors. One of the Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grants was awarded to Canton Main Street Association in March of 2022 with the project being completed in October of 2022.

Canton Main Street is the Main Street program for Canton, Missouri, which is a community of almost 3,000 people (as of the 2020 census). They received a Community Master Plan from Missouri Main Street Connection in 2021 after working to develop the plan with the Canton Main Street Association, City of Canton, and community partners. A part of this master plan was a wayfinding community gateway monument that captured the iconic imagery of the community and would be clearly visible from highway 61, because their current signage wasn’t effectively drawing in visitors.  The concept for the new community gateway monument included a large “C” that would measure approximately 14 feet high by 16 feet wide at the top of a core-ten steel sculptural component composed of two-dimensional images of natural elements of the Mississippi River, especially pelicans, which is exotic for the Midwest but an identified icon in the city’s branding. 

Implementing a gateway monument of this scale is beneficial as it attracts traveler’s attention and is the visual beginning of the storytelling elements Canton Main Street Association has for their district that convey its history and heritage which has been shaped by the Mississippi River. Being on the Mississippi, with its rich diversity of wildlife that can be enjoyed, has led Canton to be the spot for unique river camping, river walks, bird watching, Blue Catfish fishing tournaments, and a downtown river community to explore. Though it is costly, Canton Main Street Association utilized the Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grant to begin the process of actualizing their gateway concept through getting preliminary technical engineering designs created and applying for permits and permission work with the city.

The Canton Main Street Association board and volunteers have worked diligently over the grant period to designate a location, secure necessary permits and permissions from the city and other entities like the Missouri Department of Transportation, and work with an engineering company to complete the technical engineering study. They are now beginning to raise funds that will pay for the installation of the gateway monument through local campaigns. If you would like to support the Main Street Canton Association with the last stage of this project funding and installation contact them on their Facebook page. 

Missouri Main Street Connection awarded the Marketing Heritage & Cultural Tourism Grants in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) visited Missouri’s state capital, Jefferson City, on January 24th with local Main Street program executive directors, board members, and city officials for the annual “Power of Main Street.” This annual visit to the capitol is a time where state legislators hear what is happening in their congressional district as local Main Street programs share the impact they are having in their downtowns and their revitalization success through the Main Street Approach™.

As our Board President Bob Lewis says, “The world belongs to those who show up,” and that is exactly what Missouri’s Main Streets did. Over 30 delegates from across the state arrived in Jefferson City to meet with their state legislators and pass out educational materials about the “Power of Main Street.” This day of educational advocacy is important for the over 50 Main Street programs in Missouri as it helps legislators understand the impact these programs have at the local level with business and job recruitment and retention, resiliency through the pandemic, and private and public investment in their district.

Warrensburg Main Street got the prize for the earliest meeting with a legislator as they started in the morning meeting with Representative Dan Houx, Representative Rodger Reedy, and Senator Rick Brattin with MMSC staff Keith Winge.  Jill commented;

“We love having the opportunity to talk with our [legislators] about the benefits of having Main Street communities throughout Missouri. We also did a little bragging on the many successes Downtown Warrensburg has seen over the past few years thanks to the resources our state agency provides to us.”

Over the past five years, Warrensburg Main Street worked to provide resources for online networking, online training, grant resources, and digital promotions to their small businesses during the unprecedented time.

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Jamie DeBacker(Warrensburg Main Street), Jill Purvis (Warrensburg Main Street), Representative Rodger Reedy, and Keith Winger (MMSC).

One of the early afternoon meetings was between Downtown Joplin Alliance (DJA) and Senator Jill Carter. Lori Haun and Lindsay Gagnon shared with the Senator the many accomplishments the DJA achieved over the past five years despite the economic turmoil including 75 new businesses, more than 60 apartment units in beautifully renovated historic buildings, the opening of the Cornell Complex, and expanding their Empire Market. They also talked about current ongoing projects like the restoration of the Olivia building and the work they are starting with the Union Depot, including upcoming input sessions. Senator Jill Carter expressed her interest in coming to the input session for the Depot and, if her schedule allows, will drop in. Without these in-person meetings with legislators these personal invites and connections couldn’t be made which will continue to support the success going on in Joplin and across the state in other Main Street districts.

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Katelyn Brotherton (MMSC), Lindsay Gagnon (Downtown Joplin Alliance), Senator Jill Carter, and Lori Haun (Downtown Joplin Alliance).

Some of our local Main Street programs have personal connections with their legislators so their meetings are more casual but still informative on the impact and importance of the Main Street Approach™ in the success of downtowns across Missouri. Alyssa Sanders with Smithville Main Street is very familiar with her representative, Representative Josh Hurlburt who is in touch with what is going on in Smithville through Smithville Main Street.

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Alyssa Sanders (Smithville Main Street) and Representative Josh Hurlbert.

Another strong relationship between Main Street program and legislator is found with Downtown Washington Inc. and newly elected Representative Kyle Marquart. Tyler King and Downtown Washington had a strong relationship with Kyle Marquart as a local Washington citizen. Not every community member will eventually become an elected official at the state level, or even city level, but it is through the grass-roots efforts of the Main Street Approach™ that relationships and connection with community members will lead local Main Street organizations to successful preservation-based economic development. That is why forming relationships with your community at every level including local community member, city official, state official, and beyond is so important as you never know how the connections you form with people will impact the work your organization can accomplish in revitalizing your downtown and forging a bright future.

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Cassidy Desmond (Downtown Washington), Representative Kyle Marquart, and Tyler King (Downtown Washington).

Each meeting with state legislators is as unique as each community and its representatives are different from another. That is why it is important to visit with state legislators and get to know them and most importantly let them get to know you and your organization. The delegates from Pacific Partnership, which included Sam Dean, Amanda Nemeth, Erik Goebel, and Christine Slusser, got to know Senator Ben Brown more as they found a picture in his office of his kids at BIGFOOT 4X4 which is a destination in Pacific, Missouri.

Pictured Above:  Senator Ben Brown.

Several Main Street communities are within the same congressional district and share legislators so they visited with them together.  Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization and Old Town Cape met with Senator Holly Thompson Rehder, Chillicothe Main Street, Brookfield Main Street, and Downtown Marceline Foundation met with Senator Rusty Black, and Historic Downtown Liberty, Inc, Fayette Main Street, and Smithville Main Street met with Senator Denny Hoskins. Each of these local programs are at different levels within Missouri Main Street Connection but all share the desire to continue to improve implementing preservation-based downtown revitalization and see their downtowns grow and were able to share how Main Street is making a large impact in their legislator’s districts.

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Gayla Roten (MMSC), Janna Clifton (Uptown Jackson), Senator Holly Thompson Rehder, Dr. Steven Hoffman (Old Town Cape & MMSC), and Bob Lewis (MMSC).

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Bob Lewis (MMSC), Michael Olinger (Downtown Marceline), Senator Rusty Black, Tomie Walker (Chillicothe Main Street), Dave Tavres (Downtown Marceline), Gayla Roten (MMSC), and Cheyenne Graff (Brookfield Main Street).

Pictured Above: (Left to Right) Keith Winge (MMSC), Danelle O'Connell (Historic Downtown Liberty), Senator Denny Hoskins, Deanna Cooper (Fayette Main Street), Corinna Lucas (Historic Downtown Liberty), Alyssa Sanders (Smithville Main Street), and Bill Emmons (MMSC).

Despite the uncertainty of the incoming winter weather, just like how Main Street thrived during the economic turmoil from the pandemic, “The Power of Main Street” Capitol Day was a success. Our staff heard many good things from the legislators as we accompanied the local Main Street program delegates. 

The City of Sedalia continues to work towards revitalizing its downtown district through the city-led Main Street program formed using services provided by Missouri Main Street Connection’s People Energizing Places (PEP) matching grant. As a 75/25 matching grant with Missouri Main Street, 75% of the grant service costs are covered by Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC), the PEP grant is a great way to leverage local dollars to elevate or focus downtown revitalization efforts with the help of Main Street specialists.

Through the administration of PEP’s specialized trainings, Sedalia’s new board of directors, committee chairs, and volunteers have advanced their knowledge of facilitating and implementing preservation-based economic development.  Several recent trainings included services under the Promotion point of the Main Street Approach™ and more specifically creating a brand identity for the newly formed city-led Main Street program. 

Ben Muldrow is a branding specialist and partner with Arnett Muldrow & Associates, a creative planning firm. He has experience working in over 550 communities in 40 states and five countries.  In addition, Ben has worked in over 25 Missouri communities creating branding strategies and tools for many Main Street organizations and districts.  He spent three days in Sedalia meeting with stakeholders and city leadership to develop new branding for the downtown district and the organization.  The feedback from the stakeholders referenced the architecture from the district, being flexible for various uses, and that it should work with the new City of Sedalia branding.  Ben also took inspiration from Sedalia Main Street’s transformation strategies focused on creating an entertainment and family-friendly downtown.

The new branding debuted during a brand-unveiling presentation on the third day of the visit. During this presentation, Ben walked through the new branding recommendations he created based on the input sessions with complete explanations of the contents of the branding toolkit including colors, typefaces, graphics, and messaging. He elaborated on each section of the branding toolkit with its inspiration and connection to what he gathered from Sedalia’s stakeholders. The Main Street logo is anchored by the archway which is a one of the gateways into the downtown district. Downtown’s branding color palette expanded allowing the use of several colors found in the downtown district, one example being the red brick of several buildings in the district. This provides some flexibility to the system for the graphics and logos to reflect seasonal use and events. 

The City’s new branding typeface and fonts were used as the primary font for the Sedalia Main Street logo.  Another part of the City’s new branding integrated by Ben for the downtown branding was the tag line “Cross Paths.” 

Sedalia Main Street accepted Ben’s recommendations, meaning the newly formed Main Street program now has their own identify and look with new graphics presented for the downtown organization and its efforts.  All of the assets created will be available for Sedalia Main Street to create marketing and event materials.

This branding system will be integrated into all things Main Street from events, marketing and promotional materials, branding resources and programs offered downtown, integration into wayfinding signage, and shared with vendors for merchandise and souvenirs.  Included in the branding service was an implementation checklist and complete style guide to promote proper usage and tools to help integrate the new tools into programming and communications. 

If your Main Street program is interested in accelerating the downtown revitalization efforts or need some assistance with a specific project, contact Missouri Main Street Connection at 417-334-3014 or email Keith Winge at kwinge@momainstreet.org about the PEP grant or other grants that are available.  

Progress is a big deal in Main Street from the first façade renovation and new businesses opening downtown to being recognized for your local Main Street organization’s preservation-based economic development efforts. This year, two local Main Street organizations have been recognized for their accomplishments in implementing the Main Street Approach™ through progressing to the next tier in the Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) tier system. MMSC is proud to recognize Downtown Joplin Alliance and Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization for their achievement of Accredited and Associate tier placement respectively.

The Downtown Joplin Alliance achieved national and state accreditation from both Main Street America (MSA) and MMSC. Accreditation is the highest level a Main Street program can achieve and indicates that Downtown Joplin Alliance is exceeding in implementing the Main Street criteria impacting their local district in big ways. The National and State designation of accreditation came after Norma Ramirez de Miess, MSA, and Keith Winge, MMSC, completed an on-site review of the organization’s implementation of the Main Street criteria. Reaching this benchmark does not mean revitalization ends as it is equally important to maintain the accreditation status once earned.

In 2021, Downtown Joplin Alliance, through their program’s strong historic preservation ethic, active Board of Directors and committees, as well as other technical aspects that help the program function at a high-level, saw public and private investment of over $45 million in the historic district from 36 projects. The district saw a net gain of 19 new business and 54 new jobs. Additionally, volunteers for Downtown Joplin Alliance donated 1,425 hours of their time. Downtown Joplin Alliance celebrated this accomplishment with a cake from the City of Joplin and said,

“This would not have been reached without our staff, our board, our committee members, our other fabulous volunteers, and all of our fantastic partners, such as Joplin City Government, the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, and Connect2Culture amongst many others.”

The Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization was selected as a new Associate tiered Main Street program with Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) following a program review by MMSC.  Associate designation is recognized by MMSC as a way to distinguish communities that are working toward being recognized as a national and state Accredited Main Street program.  As a stepping stone on the path to full accreditation, this benchmark highlights communities that are seeing an increase in the economic value of the downtown and is making progress to achieve an active and vibrant downtown revitalization organization.

During 2021, Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization continued to implement historic preservation-based economic development in uptown Jackson that cultivated $461,382 total investment in downtown, 22 net new jobs, and 2,272 volunteer hours. Their impact has created a place for people to gather, live, and work in uptown Jackson

You can read the press releases written by MMSC staff through the link below:

www.momainstreet.org/press-releases/

The Main Street Approach™ is a time-tested economic development and historic preservation-based approach utilized successfully over the past 40+ years by over 40 coordinating programs and 1,200 neighborhoods and communities nationally. Missouri Main Street Connection’s program’s purpose is to implement this approach in creating vibrant communities across the state. The current Main Street criteria that is used to gauge the effectiveness of how a Main Street Program in implementing the Main Street Approach™ is based on over 40 years of successful downtown revitalization and demonstrates that empowering individuals to develop their downtown motivates high achievement, creates a place people will want to live, work and invest, and makes our state economically stronger. The goal of the National Main Street Center and Missouri Main Street Connection is to encourage preservation-based economic development through the Main Street Approach™.

Missouri Main Street Connection Inc. (MMSC) partnered with the Missouri Humanities Council in awarding $5,000 grants to 12 selected communities through a competitive process to fund projects focused on strengthening heritage and cultural tourism in rural Missouri. The grant helped each community implement a project and market itself to prospective visitors. These projects added heritage tourism to the economies in each community through a range of projects from murals to walking tours to new monuments and building plaques that all highlight each respective community’s history for residents and visitors. One of the Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grant was awarded to Charleston Revitalization Movement (CHARM) in March of 2022 with the project completed in September of 2022.

Charleston Revitalization Movement (CHARM) is a newer Main Street community in the Community Empowerment Grant program but their history and local significance runs deep. From being the lifelong residence of the 46th Governor of Missouri, Warren E. Hearnes, who was the first person in Missouri history to serve in all three branches of the state government to their high school basketball team’s, the Bluejay, twelve state championship titles, the community has a variety of heritage and history to celebrate. It is this deep, rich history that would be on display with a 24’ mural in a welcoming pocket park following the transformation of an overgrown vacant lot left after a building was removed.  

Charleston Revitalization Movement’s (CHARM) overall project is broken up into two phases with phase one being the mural and intial development of the pocket park. During phase one, the first step was to address the condition of the space for the pocket park by removing a tree and overgrown brush and poison ivy.

After clearing the lot, the concrete pad of the old building was exposed allowing for CHARM to preserve it with safety modifications for its new use. As the work was being done on this project CHARM said,

“On more than one occasion, visitors to the area stopped by to see what was taking place as well as offer encouraging words of how much they enjoy visiting our town and how beautiful the architecture and the atmosphere is.”

Next, a 10’ concrete ramp was installed for ADA accessibility and benches placed for locals and visitors to enjoy. The mural was then installed in the park. It is a digitized collage of artwork from three local artist that is printed on weatherproof materials depicting the Mississippi County Courthouse surrounded by beautiful dogwoods and azaleas, the Old Train Depot, a farming scene, a tribute to Charleston High School’s Bluejay Basketball team, and a portrait of Governor Warren E. Hearnes. Lastly, CHARM brought in planters and botanicals to spruce up and soften the space with nature and greenery.

The Marketing Heritage and Cultural Tourism grant has mobilized Charleston Revitalization Movement (CHARM) into action to address a void in their community and by doing so created the perfect environment for people to come together as CHARM wrote in their final report,

“This project has allowed local organizations and city leaders to join forces for the common good of the community. Local business owners have pitched in and contributed in-kind donations of their employee’s labor to help get the larger tasks completed. The community is pulling together and healing from the impact of the past few years.”

With the collaboration between CHARM board members and volunteers as well as Charleston community members in transforming the overgrown property, this space will be able to be used by the community for years to come. The excitement from the development of this space in Charleston has created a buzz for the locals and has sparked excitement in the community resulting in “people signing up to get involved in not only this project but future projects as well.”

Now that phase one has been completed, Charleston Revitalization Movement (CHARM) is waiting for the winter season to pass before moving forward with phase two which will include an elaborate selection of botanicals planted for year-round enjoyment. They also planned to bring additional enhancements to the pocket park in the spring of 2023 for the annual Dogwood-Azalea Festival in April. CHARM had heard many visitors express that they plan to return to see the finished project. Now that the pocket park and mural are ready to greet visitors, CHARM will share their story online to bring back visitors who saw this project in the works as well as new visitors to see what is unique and special about this town and its Main Street.

Missouri Main Street Connection awarded the Marketing Heritage & Cultural Tourism Grants in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for Humanities through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Downtown Strong: Building Resilient Economies grant is a grant provided by the U.S. Economic Development Administration through Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) that continues to impact Missouri communities.

Main Street Kirksville is home to the Moonshine and Lace Boutique owned by sisters Laura Harvey and Michele Thurlo. These sisters took a risk in becoming entrepreneurs in 2017 by starting the Moonshine and Lace Boutique as a mobile boutique traveling to fairs, festivals, and events. They primarily utilized Facebook for their advertising and developed a good following. At the urging of their customers, they opened a storefront in downtown Kirksville in October 2019. Following the opening of their brick and mortar location, they were excited about the traffic and sales they were generating. Laura and Michele were looking forward to the 2020 spring and summer season on the downtown square with the desire to participate in the many neighborhood events, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.

As a result of the pandemic, they had to temporarily close their newly-opened storefront in March of 2020 even after using safe precautions and implementing regulations. With their storefront closed, they relied on their website and Facebook page for continued sales. Customers that made purchase online and on Facebook were offered porch pickup. However, their sales were low as they felt the impact of the difficulty of receiving inventory, supply chain issues, and inability to work directly with models and customers.

Months after closing in June of 2020, Moonshine and Lace Boutique was able to reopen, but the entire Kirksville downtown area struggled with low traffic. Laura and Michele worked with other downtown businesses to create some small events to help increase traffic, but they knew they needed more. They applied for the Downtown Strong Grant to help them increase their online sales and expand their business promotions.

Moonshine and Lace Boutique was awarded the Downtown Strong Grant and worked with Dana Thomas from BOLD Marketing, who reviewed their existing ecommerce website platform. As a result, BOLD did extensive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) work and training. BOLD updated and provided support for the boutique’s Google My Business profile, connected accounts to Google Shop and Facebook, and developed and launched a 2-month Google search ad campaign that helped identify best practices for their audience’s shopping habits.

To enhance their business promotion, BOLD provided Facebook support and ad designs, reviewed Moonshine and Lace’s email platform, and designed email assets to use for customer engagement. They reviewed their existing referral program and made recommendations for an improved platform. In addition, Dana helped them develop ways for getting their message out on a local level and ideas for downtown events where they could partner with other businesses on the downtown square.

Laura and Michele are grateful for the Downtown Strong Grant opportunity and commented  that they felt that learning about SEO has been huge for them. They said, “They started with no knowledge of it at all and now have direction.” The energetic and willing-to-implement attitude of the owners combined with BOLD Marketing’s expertise and support has given Moonshine and Lace Boutique the tools they needed to help navigate the challenges of opening a storefront just prior to the pandemic.

The services included in this article were prepared by Missouri Main Street Connection, Inc. using Federal funds under award 05-79-06056 from Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.