Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group (MVLCDG) was named one of eight semifinalists in the Great American Main Street Award. The winner of the award is to be announced at the Main Street Now conference in Richmond, Va., May 16.
“The Great American Main Street Award is the highest honor within the field of commercial district management,” said Patrice Frey, president and CEO of Main Street America. “These eight semifinalists are shining examples of the kind of transformation that is possible when using the Main Street Approach. These programs have brought renewed vibrancy to their communities and sparked impressive preservation-based revitalization.”
Joe Jennison, director of MVLCDG, said that the organization has been asked to apply for the Main Street America awards in the past.
“We thought this year was the year to try because of the success we had helping businesses through the pandemic [the $218,000 in Pandemic Relief Grants to 82 businesses in Mount Vernon and Lisbon] and the work we had done on the Pocket Park and the $50,000 grant for the Smoking Cessation project.”
The application process was a 56-page document which took months to prepare, but Jennison said he was very proud of the final application and the snapshot it provided of the work he and the CDG do for the community.
“I have known for a while that we have a strong program due to our strong volunteer base, hard-working board and ongoing support from both cties,” Jennison said. “Writing the application, I was reminded of so many great memories over my 12 years here. I often tell groups when I talk about Main Street that the photos here don’t lie – the smiles of our volunteers and patrons are real. We have somehow managed to have fun every time we get together. I look forward to 12 more years of joy in this job. We love this work and we love guests.”
One thing the application notes is how big the return to festivals has been for Mount Vernon.
“We had more than 12,000 attendees at the Chalk the Walk festival in Uptown Mount Vernon, and businesses recorded best sales since pre-COVID,” the committee wrote. “Events we have had since have all outdone 2019 numbers as well.”
And no matter what happens in Richmond, Va., this spring, Jennison said he and the volunteers at MV-LCDG are already planning the next festivals and celebrations in this community, including starting work on Mount Vernon’s 175th birthday party.
The reinvestment statistics from this year’s batch of semifinalists show the true impact of their hard work. Together, these eight semifinalists have brought in more than $139 million in public investment and more than half a billion dollars in private investment, generated 3,277 jobs, opened 844 new businesses, rehabbed 2,186 buildings, and logged 260,773 volunteer hours since their programs’ inceptions.
GAMSA semifinalists were selected from a nationwide pool of accredited Main Street America applicants based on their successful and innovative uses of the Main Street Approach. Criteria for winning include: strength of the Main Street program in spurring community transformation, commitment to historic preservation, innovative programming, implementation of cross-sector partnerships, community outreach and stakeholder engagement, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. More than 100 communities have been recognized as winners since the award’s inception in 1995.
Since 2008, Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group has built a strong reputation as a Main Street destination through award- winning festivals, creative fundraising projects, stellar small business recruitment/retention and stunning design projects. With the strong support of more than 500 volunteers, this small Main Street program has reduced the vacancy rate by more than 78 percent and has created 58 net new businesses and 474 net new jobs. In 2015, the Community Development Group transformed a former high school gym into a museum space capable of hosting a world-class Smithsonian exhibition. The hard work of their many volunteers continues to invigorate their Main Street with programs that create a desirable place to live, work, and play.