Main Street Scottsboro recognized at awards conference

News

Tuesday, 30 August 2022 09:26

Main Street Alabama celebrated local program successes at the ninth annual Awards of Excellence August 18, at the Auburn Marriott Opelika Resort Hotel & Spa at Grand National in Opelika. During the Awards of Excellence program, Main Street Alabama’s President and State Coordinator, Mary Helmer Wirth, and Assistant State Coordinator, Trisha Black, honored projects and individuals that made tremendous impacts in their respective communities. The Alabama Municipal Electric Authority sponsored the event.

The Awards of Excellence recognized winners in the categories of Preservation, Historic Rehabilitation, Fundraising, Public Relations, Public/Private Partnerships, Business Development, Economic Impact, Adaptive Reuse, Promotion, Business Promotion, Marketing, Placemaking, Non-Historic Building Design, and Planning & Public Space. Local Main Street programs also selected a Main Street Hero that honored an individual, business or organization that made an outstanding contribution to their program. This year, the Main Street Scottsboro program won three awards and nominated the Scottsboro City Council for the Hero Award.

“Everything we do as Main Street Scottsboro is for our community; we want the people of Scottsboro to be proud of their town and to be invested in its revitalization, and it is so rewarding to be recognized for our efforts by Main Street Alabama. Our organization is so proud of the projects we have done over the past year, and we want to continue to make our downtown a place everyone loves. We hope to build on this momentum and do even better things in the future!,” said Main Street Scottsboro Executive Director Katie Kirkland.

The Main Street Scottsboro Board received awards in the following categories: Excellence in Promotion- Trade Days; Excellence in Preservation- Downtown Historic Photo Trail; Excellence in Planning & Public Space- Downtown Square Lighting Project; Main Street Hero Award- Scottsboro City Council. The full list of winners and descriptions can be found on Main Street Alabama’s website, www.mainstreetalabama.org.

“Last night we celebrated the accomplishments of local Main Street programs,” Wirth said. “These programs represent small rural cities as well as larger, more urban communities. The diversity of these communities makes each one unique, each are working within their own capacity to improve, reinvigorate, and revitalize their downtown or neighborhood commercial districts. We were inspired by local success stories and by the businesses, organizations and individuals who are dedicated to making their communities the best they can be.”

The Awards of Excellence Banquet is a highlight of LAB, a three-day conference that bolsters the efforts of communities participating in the nationally acclaimed Main Street program or those communities interested in district revitalization. The ninth annual event drew over 150 community leaders from Alabama.