[OMS_MANAGERS] Downtown Update - April 2023 Newsletter

[La Grande Main Street Downtown]

April 2023 Newsletter LA GRANDE MAIN STREET DOWNTOWN About Us Support Our Mission Hello OMS, Spring is here and already we have had a very fun and productive series of events and are looking forward to more exciting things this April. A letter from our Executive Director, Monica McLaughlin What a wonderful couple of days it was in the city of Boston. It was my first time there--I loved the history, the food, the walk able city, the bike lane that was on every street, and of course, the National Main Street Conference. In attendance, there were over 1900 other Main Street Directors and Managers from every corner of the country, and a few from abroad as well. Out of those 1900, I spent a lot of time with the 14 other Oregon Main Street Directors that attended the conference. Every Thursday at 9:30, we have a “Mornings on Main” call with all of the directors. This is an opportunity to ask for advice, learn best practices, and celebrate our little wins from the week before. It was a joy meeting most of these directors in person and getting to know them better and, of course, asking them many questions on how their organizations operate.  In the many sessions I attended during the conference, I learned a lot. My mind is racing with fresh ideas and ways we can continue to improve. I learned new and innovative ways to market businesses to create downtown as a destination, (we have access to a FREE training through NEODD, a $200 value, for businesses on this subject by the same speaker that was at the conference, more info to come). I learned the best way to find new volunteers, as well as what past events, building of highways, and monopolies, led to National Main Street needing to be born to preserve historic communities, businesses and downtowns. I learned how important it is to the people of each community to acknowledge their town’s history in its entirety even though it can be unpleasant at times, as it does play a big role towards positive growth and healing.  I learned that events are a great way to bring the community together, and to help make downtown a destination, if executed correctly. I learned that partnerships between organizations is one of the most important things we, as Main Street Directors, can do to help our community. This is one of the very many reasons why we are bringing a new event to La Grande. We are partnering with Rotary, Lyons, Soroptimist, Optimist, Parks and Rec, and the Chamber of Commerce to bring the inaugural Community Harvest Festival to downtown on Saturday October 7th.  I learned how we can work together with other Main Streets in the region to support each other and promote each other. This conference reiterated that through the four points of the Main Street Model; Design, Economic Vitality, Promotions, and Outreach, we are able to build a sustainable infrastructure for our community to grow for years to come. I am thankful for the opportunity for this professional development for not only myself, but for our organization and how we run things. St. Patrick's Day Pub Crawl and Shamrock Shuffle Tis spring and the season started off with great excitement due to the reintroduction of our Pub Crawl and the inaugural Shamrock Shuffle 5K/10K! These two events brought hundreds of people downtown for merriment and fun physical activity. Even with the “interesting” weather we have been having, our St. Patrick’s Day events were the highlight of the weekend and brought an amazing energy to downtown. On Friday night, actual St. Patrick’s Day, food was consumed, drinks were imbibed, raffles were entered and won, and much laughter and fun happened. On Saturday, March 18th, serious and whimsical runners/walkers/shufflers of all ages and intent completed the 5K and 10K Shamrock Shuffle. Prizes, medals, and ribbons were awarded and participants went away with feelings of accomplishment and a morning well spent. There are future exciting events in the planning stages to look forward to as spring moves ahead and turns into summer. The flower baskets are going up (see below), two perennial favorites (Crazy Days and EO Beer Fest) are returning with new and exciting additions, and the first annual Community Harvest Fest is being planned with multiple organizations in our community.   This month, LGMSD is hosting the Downtown Cleanup on April 22nd from 9 AM to 12 PM with volunteers weeding, sweeping, and generally tidying up our downtown to truly make La Grande even lovelier. If you would like more information or would like to volunteer, please go to our website:   Then, on April 29th from 10 AM to 4 PM, downtown businesses will be holding a Spring Open House, highlighting what they have on offer. There will be a passport to fill out for the opportunity to enter into a raffle for gift cards from participating merchants. Our first La Grande Women in Business will be Tuesday May 23rd, from 5:30-8pm. Interested in joining? Please fill out this form for more information! Click here We are so excited about the revamp of Crazy Days this year! Join us July 14th and 15th, for the craziest Crazy Days! Are you interested in being a vendor for Crazy Days? Click here. Interested in meeting awesome new people and helping out at the Holiday Parade, Shop Local Sub Committee, etc? Fill out the form for more information! https://forms.gle/i3T9e5p5xTaThS6t5 New Partners  We would like to welcome our new members: ·       Les Schwab Tires ·       Let ‘Er Wrap ·       Merlyn’s Catering ·       Raul’s Taqueria ·       Sim Shot ·       Sorbenots ·       Source One Business Consulting ·       Wild Child Birth and Photo Thank you so much for helping to make Downtown La Grande vibrant, stable, and beautiful! Committee Reports - Updates from Most of our Committees Promotion Committee – Shawna McKinnis   The Promotions Committee has had a very busy first quarter! We welcomed back the St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl with a wonderful turnout of more than 100 registered participants enjoying the food and drink specials that several of the participating downtown bars and restaurants offered on St. Patrick’s Day especially for the Pub Crawl! The Shuttle and Loveland’s provided safe rides and feedback on the event was wonderful! The following day, 110 runners, walkers, and shufflers showed up on Depot Street in front of the Main Street office for the Shamrock Shuffle 5K & 10K.  Our thanks to the local businesses that sponsored the event that provided aid stations, t-shirts, the timing company, and prizes. The event was incredibly successful, bringing in runners who were not just local but from other areas as well. We look forward to hosting both events next year and hope to grow both!   Currently we are in the planning stages of a few new events that will include music and fun, as well as our Annual Crazy Days Celebration, which will bring back some fun blasts from the past, as well as a few new and exciting things to see and do, so stay tuned! Outreach Committee -- Nicole Felty   The Outreach Committee has been hard at work preparing for our upcoming Downtown Clean-Up Day, which is happening on April 22nd from 9am to 12pm. It's going to be a great opportunity for us to come together as a community and make a positive impact on our downtown area. If you're interested in volunteering please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/jduWnhCGCt295yH17 Also, we're super excited to announce that we're getting ready for a Main Street Training with Sheri Stewart from Oregon Main Street. This training is going to be really informative for current and prospective members and will help us learn more about the Main Street approach and how we can apply it to our downtown area. We're really looking forward to it! Design Committee -- Cassie Hibbert and Evie Stacey Façade Grants: Are you considering improvements to the exterior of your downtown building? LGMSD offers up to $7,500 in grant funding for exterior rehabilitation and restoration; painting; brick, masonry, and stucco repair; window repairs; awnings; signs and graphics; and exterior lighting. LGMSD volunteers are happy to work with you on ideas and navigating Historic Landmarks District standards to find the best option for your business needs. Contact Executive Director Monica McLaughlin for more information or visit our Facade Grant webpage.   Downtown Flower Baskets: LGMSD is pleased to announce the return of hanging flower baskets to downtown for Summer 2023! LGMSD will place 36 flower baskets on Adams Avenue light poles from 4th Street to Greenwood Ave. Baskets will be displayed late May through mid-September. Sponsorship opportunities start at $100/basket and will be recognized through a sign on the flower basket and on the LGMSD website, newsletter, announcements, and social media. If you would like to sponsor a flower basket, please contact Monica McLaughlin, LGMSD Executive Director - (541) 313-8770 - director at lagrandemainstreet.org 102 Depot St., La Grande, OR 97850 - lagrandemainstreet.org.    Eastern Oregon Beer Festival -- Tisha Comer and Stephanie Hansen The Beer Festival Committee is still meeting once a month for now, continuing to improve our processes and communications. We have collaborated with one another and are working together to lock in a title sponsor and strive for strong commitments from our community sponsors as well.   We have lost one member of the committee and are currently recruiting for someone to lead our marketing team. In the meantime, we will all work together to accomplish more impressive advertising and awareness.    We are staying within budget by saving where we can and spending where we need to. We have The Market Place locked in to be our venue for the VIP party and will be meeting with them next week to pick the menu.    We are continuously working on getting more beer and cider brewers to attend. We have reached out to over 50 brewers and are still in contact with some of them.    In total, the committee volunteers have approximately 23 hours of time spent working on Beer Festival activities since the last meeting we had.  Our next meeting will be April 19th, where we will secure all of the details from this month and deliver more tasks to the team. Humanities "Consider This" Conversation   The Oregon Humanities staff will be in La Grande at HQ, 112 Depot Street, on April 18th from 7 PM to 8:30 PM to host a free live screening of their Consider This conversation with Monica Guzman about creating connection across political divides. She is the author of I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. Ms. Guzman is a bridge builder, journalist, and author who encourages people to talk across their perceived divides. Meet LGMSD   Check out the newest feature on the LGMSD webpage: Meet LGMSD.  Each week, we take you behind the scenes to introduce you to the folks that make us who we are—the Board, the Committees, the volunteers, and the staff. Each week, we plan to introduce you to one of the many individuals who contribute so much to La Grande Main Street and ultimately making La Grande a vibrant, stable, beautiful place to gather, shop, eat, work, live, and play. So far, we have profiled Mary Ann Miesner, the President of our Board of Directors, Joshua Annas, the Vice-President of our Board of Directors, Shawna McKinnis, the Secretary of our Board of Directors, Suzannah Moore Hemann, the Treasurer of our Board of Directors, and Carol Summers, Nicole Felty and Timothy Bishop.. Next, we will be featuring Brianna Troutman.. Check it out on our website at: https://www.lagrandemainstreet.org/news Flower Baskets   La Grande Main Street Downtown is pleased to announce the return of hanging flower baskets to Downtown for Summer 2023! LGMSD will place 36 flower baskets on the Adams Avenue light poles from 4th St. to Elm St. Baskets will be displayed from mid-May through mid-September.   Sponsorship opportunities include 1 Basket: $100 3 Baskets: $250 7 Baskets: $500 15 Baskets: $1000 All 36 Baskets: $2500   If you would like to sponsor a flower basket, please contact Monica McLaughlin, LGMSD Executive Director - (541) 313-8770 - director at lagrandemainstreet.org 102 Depot St., La Grande, OR 97850 - lagrandemainstreet.org.    All sponsors will be recognized through a sign on the flower basket and on the LGMSD website, newsletter, announcements, and social media. This year is starting off with fun and exciting events and a forward-moving spirit. Join us in the adventure that is La Grande Main Street Downtown.! Interested in being a Partner? Click here 2023 LGMSD Partners Ad Dad Advantage Mortgage Aguilera's Amazing Aromas Allied Mortgage Associated Design and Engineering BELLA Mercantile Be Well Studio Benchwarmers Pub & Grill Beyond the Lens Photography Birddog Glass Blue Summit Realty Cam Credits Carol Summers City of La Grande Clanktronix/The Archives Claudson's Sew and Soak Community Bank Community Kindness of Eastern Oregon Community Merchants Connected Professional Accountants LLC Country Financial, Paul Swigert Designs By Stef Dochos Dirty Girls Detailing DraWiki Eastern Oregon Title Edward Jones - Shawn Mangum Eleven Fifteen Spa Elkhorn Media Group EOAliveTV EONI Eastern Oregon University Elkhorn Media Group Fairway Independent Mortgage Fitzgerald's Flowers Globe Furniture Grande Ronde Hospital Grande Ronde Soap and Bath Guyer and Associates Hines Meat Company. John Howard and Associates Josh Annas Katie Martin Custom Designs La Grande Theatres Longbranch Lucy's Boutiques at the Market Place Underground Market Place Fresh Foods Mary Ann and Arlan Miesner Merlyn's Catering MJ Goss Motors Mountain Valley Therapy Mountain Works Nate Conklin State Farm Nature's Pantry Northwest Furniture & Mattress OTEC Peak Lifestyle Studio Papa Murphys Take & Bake Real Deals RE/MAX Real Estate Team Rob's Speedy Delivery Rosewood Cottage Side A Brewing Scott's Heating and Air Sorbenots Tap That! Growlers, LLC Teal Cactus Ten Depot Street The Potter's House Timothy Bishop Travelodge Tyler Photo Co Union County Chamber of Commerce/Tourism Wheatland Insurance Woodsy Wicks ​Ziply Fiber   Upcoming Events La Grande Main Street 102 Depot Street La Grande, OR 97850 541-963-1223   Contact Us     Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email About Events Calendar News Contact La Grande Main Street Downtown | 102 Depot St, La Grande, OR 97850 Unsubscribe oms_managers at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by director at lagrandemainstreet.org powered by Try email marketing for free today!
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/oms_managers/attachments/20230407/29e7dbfc/attachment.html>