Monday morning at 6am I will be embarking on a 3 day trip to Chicago. Along with Cindy & Janet at the DDVB, I’m attending the National Main Street Conference.
The conference is being put on by the National Trust for Historic Preservation – Main Street. The focus of the Main Street program is to preserve the historic integrity of your home town/city while enabling the building & business owners to thrive in a unique, diverse environment.
The vitality of so many cities is becoming more and more dependent on our downtowns. A vital downtown is a draw not only for tourists, but residents, and business recruitment.
I’ve been working with the Defiance Development & Visitors Bureau to establish the coveted Main Street status as a member of the Board of Directors and a volunteer. In just over a year, it is amazing what has begun changing in Defiance, Ohio.
The Main Street status offered us a greater opportunity at acquiring grant monies to assist the downtown building owners with repairs and renovations. The overall morale in the area has improved and the residents of Defiance are starting to take notice.
My focus at this conference is to soak up as much as possible during the technologies sessions and marketing. Other conferences I’ve attended I was able to learn an amazing amount of “stuff” about actual building restoration. It’s a fascinating process.
In addition to getting to ride the train to Chicago, we’re staying at the historic Palmer House. The pictures are amazing. I can’t wait to see it in person. I’ll be the dorky tourist standing in the lobby with my jaw on the floor and my eyes as large as soccer balls. But I’m okay with that. A little dorkiness never hurts.
You can read more about the Conference at the Main Street 2009 Conference Official Blog. When I return I’ll post my own pics.
