FEATURES

Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) unveiled the My Community Matters program on January 28^th in Jefferson City at the Capital Building. The program, which is a partnership with MMSC and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the Rural Community Development Initiative grant, will help community-based development organizations promote economic development in low-income, rural communities. 

The targeted communities include Brunswick, Butler, Concordia, Kirksville, Knob Noster, Monroe City, Rockaway Beach, Sikeston, and Willow Springs.

MMSC State Director Gayla Roten noted, “MMSC looks forward to working with both USDA and Missouri communities to implement this program and help build sustainable communities through downtown revitalization. Without our valuable partners, this program would not possible.”

My Community Matters initiative will provide technical training and assistance to communities in rural Missouri. This assistance and training will focus on a variety of topics centered on the four points of the Main Street Approach which are Organization, Design, Promotion and Economic Vitality. Within these four points services will cover visioning, market analysis, board training, sustainable design practices, micro-enterprise development, and entrepreneurship. The overall goal of the program is to help Missouri communities build capacity to support sustainable economic development.

Missouri State Legislators congratulated their districts on this grant opportunity. 

Historic Downtown Sikeston

Dr. Steven Hoffman – MMSC Board President, John Douglas, Senator Wayne Wallingford, Lynn Lancaster, and Gayla Roten – MMSC State Director

Gayla Roten – MMSC State Director, John Douglas, Lynn Lancaster, Representative Holly Rehder, and Dr. Steven Hoffman – MMSC Board President