 
Holly Springs Main Street caps off year with awards
Holly Springs Main Street caps off year with awards
By Sue Watson
The South Reporter
A truly robust crowd of “characters” turned out for the first annual Holly Springs Main Street awards ceremony November 9.
Spirit built all year long for a number of Main Street projects as the implementation of the program got off the ground. Dozens were recognized for their contributions since the inception of the program three years ago when Main Street was organized through a joint effort of Rust College and the City of Holly Springs.
Roots first produced new shoots and this year the shoots put forth many flowers.
Emcee Edward Moses said telling the success story for this year, hopefully, will move others to want to be a part of Main Street activities.
Gary Adams, in offering prayer at the ceremony, asked God that the program “enhance the quality of life...in our efforts to revitalize this historic city.”
In welcoming remarks, David Beckley, chairman of the board of directors, recognized Clencie Cotton of Rust College and former alderman-at-large Tim Liddy for “having the dream” to bring Main Street to the city. The two worked undauntedly until Holly Springs Main Street became a reality.
He reminded those present that Main Street was underwritten initially by a grant from the college and by the Holly Springs mayor and board of aldermen. But it is time this fledgling is expected to fly.
“Now it is time for you to get involved in Main Street because as of January 1, it will fly on its own,” Beckley said.
Rust will continue as a member but not underwrite the association, he said.
Mayor Andre’ DeBerry echoed Beckley’s remarks and challenged all businesses in town to support the association through membership and involvement and to invite others to join the effort.
Judy Smith, formerly a board member who later volunteered to fill the vacant executive director’s post, said over the year she has come to know why the association chose the motto – “All Kinds of Character.”
The honors and awards followed:
• Class I Certificates
Clencie Cotton and David Beckley (leadership); Bank of Holly Springs (charitable gifts); Thomas LP Gas, Irene Strickland and Betty Burch with Jennie’s Flowers & Gifts (downtown innovation); Harvey Payne (volunteer of the year).
• Class II Certificates
Time, Talent and Resources - Genevieve Conley (interim while there was no director); City of Holly Springs ($20,000 donation).
Landscaping Eddie Lee Smith Multi-Purpose Building - Phi Beta Sigma Sorority, Inc. (donation); Strawberry Plains Audubon Center (landscaping design); Holly Springs Building and Grounds crew (installation of plants); Lieutenant Jefferies (concrete planters at door).
• Blues Alley - Bikers Night Out: Tyson Drug Company (bottled water); Holly Springs Police Department (traffic control and safety); Holly Springs Fire Department (barricades/traffic flow); Wanda Richmond and Jehovah Jira (hospitality); Hugh Hollowell, portable facilities.
• Community Fall Festival: “Thriller” performed by students with Holy Family School; Orlando Parham (Thriller organizer, music teacher); Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (hot dogs, candy, literature); Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. (games, candy, literature).
• Promotional T-shirts with Main Street branding and “All Kinds of Character” on front and “We are Holly Springs. We are young. We are old. We are rich. We are poor. We are Holly Springs,” and graphics of buildings on back were presented to members of the board of directors and committee members. Board of directors - David Beckley, chair; Steve Gresham, treasurer; Alfred Moore, secretary; Ishmell Edwards, vice-chair; directors Ben Cole, Walter Hubbard, Donald Street, Bill Mobley, Barry Burleson, Bobby Bonds, Andy McMillon, Tim Liddy, C.F. Brittenum, Bob Lomenick; ad hoc directors Andre’ DeBerry, Clencie Cotton, Stephanie McKinney, Rebecca Bourgeois. Committee chairs - Fannie Lampley, promotions; Tim Liddy, economic restructuring; Harvey Payne, organization; Gwendolyn Wyatt, design.
Others who helped with Bikers Night Out - Wayne Fiddis (WURC FM 88.1 sound equipment), Dura Moss (organizing bikers), Sy Oliver and Harold Moncrief (technical assistance and sound system).
• Plaques Awarded - Fannie Lampley (outstanding leadership); Rust College (philanthropy); Court Square Inn (downtown innovation); Holly Springs Tourism Bureau and Stephanie McKinney (promotion of the arts with wall murals); Tracy Reynolds (volunteer of the year).
Outstanding Service Plaques - Frances Underwood (landscaping); Charles Terry (Bikers Night Out); Willie Wilkinson (scheduling “Blues” bands); Ralph Waller and the Tough Street Band; Duwayne Burnside (entertainment); Robert Kimbrough Sr. and Blues Connection; Sue Watson, The South Reporter (media contribution); David Caldwell (electricity and resources); Rust College Mass Communications (sound system).
• David Beckley (chairman’s award); Tim Liddy and Clencie Cotton (founders award); Judy Smith (executive director’s award).
Emmily Hurdle was guest soloist for the awards ceremony.
In a recapitulation of Main Street’s progress this year, Smith made these additional remarks:
“When a pebble is thrown into the water, you see concentric circles,” she said. “In the center of the pool everybody has the same goal. We all should have a goal of improving the city. The slogan, ‘All Kinds of Character’ takes me back to my childhood where we were talked to about values and principles. I equated values with personality - who you want people to think you are. Principles say who you are as a character.
“Main Street is a Holly Springs project. If we could get 100 people to donate $100 we could do a lot. People saw us uptown and we worked. I talked about Main Street and my husband, who goes to Amory to work, said Amory planted flowers downtown. They are a Main Street community.
“We have many things to do - those small things that will make a difference. It’s so simple. A six-pack (of flowers) is $1.68. Look at what we created – Bikers Night Out. People picked up the trash on the streets (after the shows). We did not know them.
“That’s the kind of character we have in this town and that’s what we need to promote. That’s what Main Street is about.”
Photo: Board chairman David Beckley honors executive director Judy Smith during the recent banquet. By Sue Watson
Top 5 reasons to Buy Locally this holiday season
Top 5 reasons to Buy Locally this holiday season
Here are the top five reasons to support a small business during the holiday season:
Pass these five reasons around your community --
1. Buying local creates jobs: As the old saying goes, everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. Well, the same could be said for jobs. Congress just changed hands mainly because of jobs, and President Obama’s job is in trouble because of jobs. We all want more jobs, but no one seems to be able to create them.
But buying local is YOUR chance to do something about it.
Did you know that half of all employees in the U.S. work for small business, and that small businesses create 60 percent of all new jobs? By participating in Small Business Saturday (and small business Sunday through Friday too) you foster job creation in a very real and tangible way.
Buy local, create a job.
2. Small business fosters community: What is a community, anyway? It is a group of people with something in common. If you go downtown in your city, the community you will likely find is one of small business owners. When a downtown has a bustling small business district, it is usually said there is a strong community there, and conversely, when there are too many empty storefronts, it is bad for the community.
By buying local then, and supporting your neighborhood small businesses, you are fostering a strong community in your community.
3. Buying local keeps the dream alive: What is a small business? Sure, from an economic perspective it is an entity engaged in commerce that sells goods or services for a profit. But that dry definition fails to do justice to what a small business really is.
A small business is someone’s dream.
It takes a lot of courage to leave the security of a 9 to 5 job and venture out on one’s own. Being an entrepreneur is a risky enterprise that usually happens when someone’s passion is so overpowering they cannot help but start their own business. Given that most small business people have little formal business education and that they are fueled by passion more than profit, they are generally a self-taught lot who learn as they go, make mistakes, keep calm and carry on.
By supporting small business, you are allowing someone to live the dream another day.
4. Buying local boosts your local economy: There is an economic ripple effect that occurs when you support a small business.
First of all, as indicated, it fosters jobs; the owner needs to hire people to service his customers.
But the economic ripple goes far beyond that. There are the employees with money in their pocket; they spend that money with other small businesses. Moreover, there is the business owner with profit in her pocket. She spends that on buying more goods to sell, on taking care of her family, and on growing her business. Then, there is the business. That business pays taxes, which helps build roads and fund schools and the police.
Buying local creates an economic cycle that helps everyone.
5. Buying local creates a ripple in society: Think about throwing a pebble into a still pond. It creates a concentric circle that starts small and then ripples out bigger and bigger, right? Well, that is exactly what happens when you support a local small business, and this ripple is different than the economic ripple. This is a spiritual/psychological ripple.
When a small business person succeeds, it is noticed. It may be a child who sees that dad didn’t have such a kooky idea after all and that dreams do come true. Or it may be the entrepreneur’s neighbor, who sees the successes and decides that he could do it too.
The ripple grows.
One successful small business begets others. New entrepreneurs create more entrepreneurs. Enthusiasm breeds imitation. Suddenly, that blighted block downtown is bustling with energy.
And it all starts, literally, when you choose to spend some money at a local small business.
Good Design Helps Increase Business
Good Design Helps Increase Business
By Mickey Howley, Water Valley Main Street Manager
Last week Eddie Ray retired from Mechanics Bank. Eddie had a long career there, he guided the bank for many years, expanded its interests and holdings, built new bank offices and renovated the old ones, and made sure the bank was left in capable hands.
He made sure Mechanics Bank remains the major business smack dab in the middle of Water Valley’s downtown. So you think a hard working guy like that would be planning something relaxing his first day off the job? Not Eddie Ray; he was at the Mississippi Main Street Design Conference with me on his first official day of retirement, which he spent sitting in fascinating seminars about State Antiquities Law and Best Practices for Design Review and Mississippi Landmarks Program and talks on Design Guidelines. Very sexy stuff. Just thinking of that kind of excitement makes me want to retire now.
Those of you who attended the Water Valley charrette presentations in the courthouse back in January of 2009 will remember the charrette leader, Mississippi Main Street’s architect Randy Wilson. Randy was one of several speakers at this conference in Jackson and even he said that while good design pays his bills, he finds it hard to see why non-architects find it interesting. This comment came during a presentation titled, “Dealing with Mid-Century Alterations to Historic Buildings” that focused on “Carrera Glass” additions to buildings. Note: the best example in Water Valley of this is the blue glass covering on the corner of the Hendricks Machine Shop building.
Eddie sat through this presentation and took notes and stayed awake. Why? He could have easily been fishing, but he was there because he is a Main Street guy from “way back,” a dedicated volunteer (we’re lucky, WVMSA has a quite a few), and he has a serious interest in good design on Main Street.
Good design not only pays Randy Wilson’s salary, but it pays off in the long run. Ask the hard working stylists at Hair Trendz. Their business has steadily increased with new customers who patronize the business not only for the cuts, but for its sharp looks both day and night. And the old customers like the new look, too. It is a basic perceptual fact of retail shopping nature that if a place looks clean and inviting and taken care of, chances are the business inside will be good, too.
If the storefront looks tired, rundown, and shabby, well, chances are the business inside might be in the same shape. That is the point Randy Wilson was trying to get across: good design, whenever it was made, continues to work. And just because a design is old, does not mean it was a good one to begin with. That’s what kept us awake and very interested: the relationship between good design and good business.
Members of the WVMSA Design Committee like Eddie Ray and Jessie Gurner who is currently serving as chair of the Design Committee, have been to conferences and know about these issues and seen their effect.
This is not to say they are “architects”, but they are available as local contacts to talk to and point you in the right direction if you think good design can help your business. Contact the WVMSA if you need any design assistance with buildings or businesses.
Photo: Hair Trendz Salon in downtown Water Valley
Covington County Chamber: Main Street Charrette implementation in progress
Covington County's Charrette implementation in progress
Chamber News
By Marie Shoemake
The Chamber of Commerce continues to move forward with the recommendations of the Mississippi Main Street Association's Four Point Approach of Design, Promotion, Organization and Economic Restructuring. The chamber is soliciting bids for the county welcome signs to make a good "first impression" to travelers on Highways 49 and 84. Mount Olive City Beautiful has organized committees and begun work to revitalize downtown.
Steve and Shasta Stewart, owners of Main Street Cafe in Collins, had their building painted as recommended on the charrette poster. The face lift certainly adds to the appearance of downtown Collins and now other business owners are remodeling on Main Street in Seminary. The chamber encourages businesses and citizens throughout the county to "Clean up-Spruce Up" and decorate for the various season. Let's work together to make the county attractive from Mount Olive to Seminary.
As we continue to focus on "IN COVINGTON" and RECONNECTING the towns of Collins, Mount Olive and Seminary, the chamber will again sponsor the "Santa Shops Covington County First" program to encourage shopping with local merchants. The chamber gives away $900 in chamber dollars to be spent locally. Remember, it benefits
all of us as a community to buy locally to keep that money in Covington County.
The Covington County Chamber of Commerce is an Association Member of the Mississippi Main Street Association. Marie Shoemake is the Executive Director of the Chamber.
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Downtown Columbus
Main Street Columbus leads the state in the number of upper level apartments with approximately 146 apartments. |
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