Remember the Harry S Truman graffiti art that Ryan "ARCY" Christenson painted during the 2018 Main Street Now Conference? It's found a home in Independence, Missouri - Harry's home town! MMSC presented the piece to the Independence Square Association on Tuesday, May 22. The Harry graffiti art with be displayed for the community to enjoy in various locations around Independence.
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ARCY in action in Barney Allis Plaza, Kansas City during the 2018 Main Street Now Conference
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Harry and Ryan "ARCY" Christenson
See more of ARCY's grafitti art at arcyofficial.com.
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Neil Johnson (aka Harry S Truman), Independence Mayor Eileen Weir, current Independent Square Association president Chelsea Pierce, and Keith Winge of MMSC
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Congratulations to Missouri Preservation Honor Awardees
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The Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation presented its 39th annual State Historic Preservation Honor Awards on March 22 in Jefferson City to 13 recipients. The Honor Awards recognize individual historic building projects, people and/or projects that have created or inspired synergy in historic preservation, published works promoting Missouri's architectural history, and lifetime achievements in the field of historic preservation.
Six of the thirteen awarded were for individuals and/or projects in communities actively participating with Missouri Main Street to revitalize their downtown commercial districts.
The Neal Group Construction, LLC in
Joplin
received the McReynolds Award.
The Preserve Missouri Awards was presented to five other MMSC communities: Beck Event Space in
Harrisonville;
4th Street Theatre in
Moberly;
Historical Museum in
Monett;
Marquette Tower Property in
Cape Girardeau
; and Fred Schnier Buildilng in
Washington
.
Read more here
for details about outstanding preservation achievements in Missouri communities.
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Welcome New Affiliate Grant Communities
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MMSC accepted three new communities into the Affiliate Grant program in May. Grant recipients are Harrisonville, Kirksville, and Pleasant Hill and they will receive services to start a Main Street downtown revitalization program in their community.
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Harrisonville is in Cass County, south of the Kansas City metro area. Serving as the county seat, it has slightly more than 10,000 residents and boasts a historic district with 34 contributing buildings.
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Kirksville has a population of 17,000+ and contains two colleges. The county seat of Adair County, it too has a historic district encompassing the downtown square.
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Pleasant Hill is also located near Kansas City, and you may know it's the home of the National Weather Service's Kansas City office. The downtown contains a historic district with over 50 contributing buildings.
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The Impact of the 2018 Main Street Now Conference
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In March, MMSC hosted the 2018 Main Street Now Conference (a national conference of the National Main Street Center) in Kansas City. Over 1600 people from 49 states, Washington DC, and Canada spent time and dollars in the KC metro area. See the economic impact in the infrographic below.
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Not shown in the infographic is the impact this national event had on first-time attendees. MMSC was able to award 30 scholarships due to the generosity of scholarship sponsors for Missouri residents who would have otherwise not been able to attend the 2018 Main Street Now Conference.
Scholarship recipients were asked to submit a narrative of their experience at the Main Street Now Conference in Kansas City. Below are a few testimonies from a small number of these first-time attendees.
You can read more experiences here.
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Simply put: WOW! Without a doubt, the National Main Street Conference was one of the most empowering conferences I have ever attended.
–
Adam Morton, Knob Noster, MO
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I cannot express how fulfilling it was to be around like-minded professionals that do what they are passionate about every day.
– Lauren Manning, St. Joseph, MO
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The first general session . . . was absolutely wonderful. It made me think of our Main Street organization in a completely different way.
–
Liz Ogle, Grandview, MO
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#MoPlacesMatter Today and Every Day
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We had a fantastic inaugural Road Show to Celebrate Preservation Month in Missouri! Thank you for celebrating with us!
Preservation Month is celebrated nationally every May, and we wanted to encourage Missouri citizens of all ages to learn more about the history surrounding them in our home state through the discovery of visiting new communities and historic sites and by understanding the importance of preserving our history and historic treasures we all love.
During our trek, we interacted with groups of school children on field trips, residents interested in learning more about their community, vacationers traveling through on their way home up north, and even a couple visiting from Scotland (all the way to Missouri-cool!).
Preserving our history should be a year-round thing, and we hope you'll take every opportunity to celebrate and support the places that matter to you.
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School children learn
"This Place Matters"
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Scavenger hunt, historic preservation style
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People learn cool history about their community
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This activity is partially funded by a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Office and the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Grant awards do not imply an endorsement of contents by the grantor. Federal laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, age, handicap or ethnicity. For more information, write to the Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240.
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Affiliate Grant Workshop
If your town has started a downtown revitalization program or is thinking about doing so, the Affiliate Grant may jump-start your plan.
RSVP to attend
the next free workshop on
August 2 in Jefferson City
and learn what this 60/40 cost-share grant offers and the criteria required for application.
This workshop is supported by Missouri Department of Economic Development and USDA Rural Development.
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Main Street Quarterly Training
One of our newer Affiliate Grant communities,
Ozark
, will host our late summer quarterly training. Join us on
August 17
to learn "Cultivating Leadership Within Your Community" presented by Ellen Shepard, CEO of
Community Allies LLC
. Find details and
register here
.
This workshop is partially provided in partnership with USDA Rural Development. This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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Missouri Main Street Connection | 417-334-3014 | [email protected] | momainstreet.org
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Missouri Main Street Connection is a statewide, 501c3, not-for-profit organization committed to fostering renewed vitality and sustainability in historic commercial districts across the state of Missouri.
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