I will say first and foremost that by far the best part of the workshop is just the opportunity to talk and exchange ideas with other like minded individuals. This was equally important with the other participants from Wyomng and the people we interacted with in each town in Virginia. I especially enjoyed my bus buddy Genia who owns a retail shop in Wheatland. As you can imagine we could relate on a lot of topics and had some ideas for each other as business owners.
The towns of Blackstone, Farmville and Hopewell all had interesting stories to tell and Main Streets of different scales with unique challenges and advantages. Blackstone I very much appreciated what they had done to make an extremely small town with a unique clientele, (the military base), into a town that at times gathered regional attention for events and its history. Overall I would say that the lessons learned in Blackstone were linked to how important it is for organizations in a small town to work together and to not underestimate one overly driven individual's mark on the community. Farmville for me was a town that was in the opposite place of Blackstone. They seemed to have many things set up to have a vibrant downtown. These included many unique old buildings in overall great condition, a huge keystone business that has a nationwide draw and a large student population. And yet they had lost their Mainstreet accreditation. The lesson here for me was to not get complacent or over confident, it is good to always strive to be better. Hopewell was a scrappy small town. The current projects were very interesting and the director seemed very driven. However they have many challenges ahead and a lot of empty storefronts. My take from this is that it always feels good to root for an underdog. So if that is where you are at, keep your head up and don't be afraid to tell your story, people want to listen.
“Overall I feel like the workshop helped me to get some extra drive and motivation. My main takeaway was an appreciation for LMSA and where we are at as an organization. My current goal is to be extra mindful of how big my main focus with Mainstreet is, which is the Wyo Theater of course!”
Overall I feel like the workshop helped me to get some extra drive and motivation. My main takeaway was an appreciation for LMSA and where we are at as an organization. My current goal is to be extra mindful of how big my main focus with Mainstreet is, which is the Wyo Theater of course. I intend to make sure that I put my strongest energy into this project and to not stress if that means I have to miss other Mainstreet opportunities. The GAMSA award winning Mainstreet program in Laramie has a bright future ahead and is a great place to be involved!
