20th Anniversary: Impact That Talks – Gayla Roten
Logan Breer & Gayla Roten | January 30, 2026
What motivates you to get up in the morning and start work as the State Director?
I grew up in a small town between two other small towns where we went to church in one, my dad worked in another, and I went to school in the third. When I was young, my parents felt that it was very, very important to be integrated into the community. I remember how I enjoyed spending time in Moberly on Thursday nights, having a soda at the soda fountain when the merchants were open late.
Our communities are special places where we create lasting memories and joyful experiences, but we’ve faced quite a few challenges over the years, and some are having a tough time economically. I truly believe that if we introduce a Main Street framework and support its use, we can help another community keep those cherished memories alive for generations to come.
Main Street is just a part of who I am, thanks to my parents, to get up every day thinking about what I can do to help communities be a place of joy and connection for others. Also, why wouldn’t I do what I do, if we’re not doing it what’s going to happen?
Where did the idea of Main Street come from? Was it instinct?
Again, it is part of who I am. From a young age I knew the importance of community. As I went to college, got my first job, and grew up, I had the opportunity to make a dream come true by moving to Branson and opening a business in Downtown Branson with my sister. Shortly after we opened our gourmet gift shop, I attended my first national conference in 1998.
“I was just amazed that there’s all these people out here trying to save our Main Streets and doing the same thing.”
At the same time, the State of Missouri passed legislation and began implementing a Main Street program in 10 pilot communities, not in Branson though. I began to meet with my local Senator, who ate breakfast every Saturday morning at the Branson Café, to share information about National Main Street. He, in turn, shared about the limited funding of the program and that the program’s meetings and training were open to the public, so I began attending and meeting people from across the state.
How would you describe the Main Street process?
It’s the methodology, the Main Street Approach™. Having beautiful streets, banners, great streetlights, and a focus on tourism isn’t enough to get people to come. It’s all that plus caring for our local people and businesses downtown. The methodology focuses on historic significance, elevating commerce, and protecting deteriorating buildings. It takes organizing your neighbors and getting people motivated about doing things collectively together to make real change happen.
“When the cash registers are ringing, people work within; when they stop ringing is when they start searching outside. And I really felt like that was true.”
I saw this as an avenue to ensure we always had a sense of belonging and place, where all people felt welcome. You know, the shop owners support local programs, and I just felt like we couldn’t lose that.
When did the tides change and people start wanting to know more about Main Street?
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, we sat down and divided up the list of people we met at other conferences from downtown to see if they were interested in hosting a Town Hall or Vision Session with one of us local directors. We went around talking Main Street to any community that would listen to us.
Once the statewide nonprofit, Missouri Main Street Connection, was formed, I believe that gave us credibility, but it was still an upward climb from there. Building relationships and meeting with people face-to-face was key. There was a core group of us who pounded the pavement.
“One of the first things that you hear when you work with a new community is, where do you get money to do this? That’s a great question, but what do you need the money for? There is money out there to do this work, but you’ve got to have a plan first.”
Any final comments?
I do want to bring it back to the fact that this was all possible because many years ago, back in 1989, the state legislature created legislation for Main Street. They may not have known what it could be in the early stages, but we have made a real difference, economically and socially, as a statewide nonprofit for the past 20 years.
Also, stay tuned for more stories like these to get to know the Main Street movement in Missouri in a new way. We look forward to you reading and hope that these stories intrigue you to pick up our 20th anniversary book when released in July at the 2026 Missouri’s Premier Downtown Revitalization Conference. You can learn even more about my story, Bridgette Kelch, Diane Hannah, and so many amazing people.
1 thought on “January 29, 2026 – 20th Anniversary: Impact That Talks – Gayla Roten”
What a great story of how Gayla got started with Main Street. I look forward to hearing more on how the network was built and key people who made it happen. Congratulations on celebrating 20 years of great work in Missouri.