Marshall and King City: Two New Communities Getting a Dynamic Kick-Off
June 30 | Ben White
It’s been a busy 2nd quarter for Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) as our staff administered services to several communities across Missouri through the Community Empowerment Grant (CEG) program, moving 10 communities from the Affiliate Tier to the Associate Tier (Read our Press releases), brought in four new communities through the CEG program, and more! The CEG program is designed to assist in the establishment of a strong nonprofit organization focused on downtown economic development as well as guide the organization through effective planning using community feedback. Each community in the CEG program has one thing in common: they have a strong group of community members that have the desire to make downtown a better place and an economic engine for the community.
Marshall and King City are two newer communities participating in the CEG program that MMSC delivered additional technical assistance and services to through our partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This partnership allows MMSC to deliver additional Promotion, Design, and Economic Vitality services to these communities, which allowed each community to come together through input sessions to determine what is important for the future of their downtown with a unified vision.
Marshall and King City received these additional services within their first year of the CEG program as part of MMSC’s effort to provide these targeted services earlier to communities. This allows the communities to get an extra boost and establish branding that will assist them in later components of the grant program, including volunteer recruitment and partnership development. MMSC is excited to see what each of these Main Street program accomplish going forward as they already have a strong desire to revitalize their downtown through partnerships and a desire to implement the time-tested Main Street Approach™ with being less than a year old as an organization.
Marshall
Marshall, MO is centrally located in the state of Missouri with a population over 13,000 (according to census.gov estimations). Marshall Main Street received branding, renderings, education, and tools from MMSC’s Resource Team to support their journey of becoming an Affiliate Main Street program that drives economic vibrancy and community pride upon completing the CEG program. Each service was tailored to Marshall’s needs based on input gathered by MMSC’s Resource Team from passionate community members over a two-day period. As a newly established 501(c)3 nonprofit Main Steet program, the education, applicable tools, and unique renderings specific to what the community needed are invaluable to the success of the organization and the downtown as a thriving economic hub. It will set a firm foundation, based on community input, for the Main Street program to build up in later stages of this grant.
One notable discovery during this visit’s community input sessions was that despite Marshall being known as the home of Jim the Wonder Dog, who had the ability to take very specific commands in many different languages and predict the future, including the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the sex of an unborn child. The community wants to be known for more than just this unique and special phenomenon. Our Resource Team was able to lean into this finding and tailor their destination, city, and Main Street branding, to give a nod to Jim the Wonder Dog, while bringing in additional community details, such as the courthouse. Marshall has begun a new age, and we believe they have a bright future ahead of them.
King City
King City Main Street is also a newly formed Main Street program in the early stages of the CEG program’s services and training. The branding, renderings, education, and tools delivered by MMSC’s Resource Team assisted the new organization and community get their bearing with the Main Street Approach™ and will inspire economic growth.
Each service focused on providing what the community needed including branding focused on one of the prominent corner buildings downtown that serves as a gateway coming into the community; multiple façade renderings to property owners that encourage them with what a redevelopment of their spaces could look like; and recommendations for the organization to work with community partners in the creation of a business recruitment guide. The business recruitment guide will assist local entrepreneurs with the information they need to start a business in King City provides and additional best practices for economic development as it pertains to the downtown.
Missouri Main Street Connection is excited to see how Marshall and King City work to implement the Main Street Approach™ and the recommendations from these visits. Communities like these are a testament to the impact of Main Street regardless of the age of the organization as real change happens when energized leaders come together for one common purpose. It’s all about the people in the community that make all the difference.
