INTRODUCTION - Main Street Saint Joseph

NOTE: The following email was sent to a long list of downtown stakeholders on April 27, 2021.

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Good afternoon Downtown Stakeholders,

If we haven't met, my name is John Rodgers and I am a board member of Main Street Saint Joseph. I am reaching out to introduce myself as a fellow downtown stakeholder, and also as the elected President of the newly-formed Main Street Saint Joseph Board of Directors.

If you are unfamiliar with the Main Street name, allow me to share a bit about the organization and how our newly-formed board believes it can help Downtown St. Joseph.

• MAIN STREET AMERICA is made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders dedicated to maintaining and revitalizing main street communities across America. The National Main Street Center was established as a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1980 as a way to address the myriad issues facing older and historic downtowns during that time. Working with a nationwide network of coordinating programs and local communities, Main Street has helped over 2,000 communities across the country bring economic vitality back downtown, while celebrating their historic character, and bringing communities together.
• MISSOURI MAIN STREET CONNECTION is the leading statewide nonprofit organization devoted to preservation-based economic development in Missouri. Through the Main Street America™ movement and partners, Missouri Main Street Connection empowers community revitalization by celebrating, supporting, and sustaining Missouri historic commercial districts in both rural and urban settings. The four areas of focus are: Organization, Economic Vitality, Design, and Promotion.
• MAIN STREET SAINT JOSEPH is the new, local iteration of Missouri Main Street Connection. The St. Joseph community was fortunate to receive a grant to work directly with Missouri Main Street Connection and benefit from two years of focused guidance, board development, programming and support to implement Main Street Missouri's proven methods for economic revitalization and measurable success factors in St Joseph, Missouri, beginning with Downtown St. Joseph.

The Main Street Saint Joseph board is just beginning to organize, and our first order of public business is to facilitate a Public Town Hall* meeting with local residents, leaders and downtown stakeholders on Thursday, May 27th at 6pm, at the Restoration Church Natatorium, 1427 Jules Street, Downtown. You are cordially invited to attend this Public Town Hall event. More info will be made available in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please mark your calendars and plan to join us!

*State leaders from Missouri Main Street Connection will be facilitating this workshop and their leadership requires all attendees to be masked. We thank you for your cooperation.


The forming of Main Street Saint Joseph was led by Mo-Kan Regional Council which resides in Downtown St. Joseph, and a diverse set of initial board members was appointed by Mo-Kan leadership to represent the different jurisdictions of downtown business and economy. In the future, these positions will be filled through an annual election process.

Each business segment has a board member representative; Your first Main Street Saint Joseph Board of Directors and their assigned business categories are as follows:

• ARTS - Max Guenther, Artcrafts Engraving Co. 
• CIVIC - Trevor Tutt - MoKan Regional Council 
• ECONOMIC SERVICES - Tama Wagner - St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce 
• DINING & ENTERTAINMENT - Pat Modlin (Treasurer), Felix Street Gourmet/Room108 
• FAITH - Brian Kirk, First Christian Church
• INFRASTRUCTURE SVCS - John Rodgers (President), Phoenix Preservation
• PROPERTY OWNERS - Todd Coffman (Secretary), Nesting Goods
• PUBLIC SERVICES - Christy George, Mosaic/Downtown Assoc/Downtown CID
• RESIDENTIAL - Christian Huffman, American Electric Lofts 
• LIFESTYLE & LEISURE - Dana Massin (Vice President), Manic Snail 
• AT-LARGE - Laura Wyeth, BHHS Real Estate

Included above is the email for each Board member. You can feel free to reach out with any concerns related to downtown business, economic issues, events, or other feedback you may have. You can also expect to hear from your representative when community input is requested or new information becomes available that is related to your stakeholder category.

On behalf of Main Street Saint Joseph, I want to thank you for your investment in downtown. I and the rest of the Board look forward to working with the downtown community, and downtown stakeholders and supporters throughout the community, to help downtown St. Joseph continue to grow and thrive in 2021 and beyond.

We look forward to hearing your ideas on the future of downtown at our Public Town Hall meeting on Thursday, May 27th at 6pm at Restoration Church.


Sincerely,

John Rodgers
Main Street Saint Joseph, President

Photo by Patrick Evenson, Coverage Photography. Courtesy of St. Joseph Convention & Visitors' Bureau.