Board Member Dave Laforce and Director Rick Ufford-Chase attended the Main Street America Conference in Tulsa this week. This has become a “must do” event for NDD over the last several year, which we are able to make happen because of the generosity of our Lead Sponsors.
Last year, NDD became an accredited Main Street program, which basically means that we have met a high standard for organizational and programmatic effectiveness. Our board members have found that this conference is kind of mind-bending. We come back every year with new ideas that we can try out here at home.
For example, last summer’s Tiny Art Program was a direct result of our most effective technique – R&D (Rip-Off and Duplicate): several of us attended a Main Street workshop from the Main Street program in Gallup, NM and we came home totally excited about trying it here.
One of the most exciting parts of the Main Street Now Conference every year is the announcement of the Great America Main Street Award Winners. If you’re looking for some inspiration about what Newport can become if we all work together, check out the Youtube videos on the Main Street America channel. This year’s winners were Witheville, VA, Sykesville MD and Farmington MI, and there are five minute videos about each of them that are pretty inspiring.
If you take a look at these videos and think to yourself “I want to be a part of this too”, send an email to rickuc@nddvt.org.