Historic Manassas Inc. Receives Virginia Main Street Milestone Award

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

On Friday, March 21, Historic Manassas, Inc. was presented with a Virginia Main Street Milestone Achievement Award for 35,000 volunteer hours contributed to date toward downtown revitalization. The award was presented at the annual Virginia Main Street Milestone Achievement Awards ceremony held at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va.

HMI’s marketing and events coordinator, Steve Urry, was also recognized as one of six recipients to receive the John Marlles Scholarship to attend the National Main Street Conference in Philadelphia at the end of March.

The Honorable Patrick O. Gottschalk, Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia, addressed the attendees to the luncheon, which acknowledged the achievements of Main Street volunteers, local leaders, businesses, local governments and private investors. 

“The revitalization of Virginia’s downtown areas through the Virginia Main Street program and the hard work and dedication of local staff and volunteers is a key component of Virginia’s overall economic growth and strength,” said Gottschalk. 

Speakers at the event included Lauren Adkins of the National Trust Main Street Center, who spoke to the importance of building sustainable communities in the face of dramatic demographic and other changes.Bill Shelton, Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development took part in the awards presentation and praised the communities for their efforts to improve their downtowns. 

In addition to Manassas,VMS recognized 15 other Virginia communities for excellence as well. Currently there are 21 designated Virginia Main Street communities: Abingdon, Altavista, Bedford, Blackstone, Berryville, Culpeper, Franklin, Harrisonburg, Luray, Lynchburg, Manassas, Marion, Martinsville, Orange, Radford, Rocky Mount, South Boston, Staunton, Warrenton, Waynesboro, and Winchester.

The Virginia Main Street program, managed by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, provides assistance and training to help communities increase the economic vitality of their downtown commercial districts.  Virginia Main Street uses the National Main Street model to help communities revitalize their downtowns by focusing on their unique heritage and attributes.  The program helps communities implement a comprehensive revitalization strategy that creates economic growth and pride in downtowns. 

For more information about the Virginia Main Street program, call (804) 371-7030 or visit their Web page at: www.dhcd.virginia.gov/MainStreet. For further information on Historic Manassas, Inc. and how you can help, contact Linda Robertson, Executive Director at 703.361.6599, or visit the Partner With Us section of this website.