Gentlemen of the Road stopover in Bristol

Bristol, TN/VA is a unique place.  “Two States; One State of Mind” is their motto, but navigating two sets of  building regulations, garbage pickups, tax codes and general government type operations can get a bit confusing. However, Christina Blevins, executive director of Believe in Bristol, Bristol’s Main Street organization, bridges the gaps everyday in a positive, [...]

Entrepreneurs. Better with age?

Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the economy. They’re innovators, experimenters and risk takers, the driving force behind capitalism’s “perennial gale of creative destruction,” in economist Joseph Schumpeter’s evocative metaphor. So says Chris Farrell in this week’s Bloomberg Businessweek. But Mr. Farrell goes on to remind us that entrepreneurs are not only young, brash, rule breakers.  [...]

Culpeper – 2012 Great American Main Street Award Winner

Congratulations to Culpeper Renaissance, Inc., a 2012 Great American Main Street Awards® (GAMSA) winner.  Recognized as a leader in implementing the Main Street Four-Point Approach®, embracing sound historic preservation practices and building strategic partnerships, Culpeper Renaissance, Inc. (CRI) was honored at the Main Street Awards Ceremony at the 2012 National Main Streets Conference in Baltimore, Md. The National Trust [...]

2012 Virginia Main Street Milestone Achievement Awards

Congratulations to the 14 designated Virginia Main Street communities that received Milestone Achievement Awards at this year’s annual luncheon. The luncheon, attended by nearly 100 members of the Virginia Main Street community, was hosted by DHCD Director Bill Shelton. Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng applauded the hard work and accomplishments of the Virginia Main [...]

VMS adds “Reports” page to blog

One of the many services that Virginia Main Street (VMS) provides designated Main Street communities is access to the technical expertise available from the National Trust Main Street Center (NTMSC). Although the work of the NTMSC is always community specific, the observations and recommendations that are included in the reports are valuable resources for any [...]

Hopewell Celebrates Virginia Main Street Designation

A kickoff event celebrating Hopewell’s designation as an official Virginia Main Street (VMS) community was held Thursday, January 12 at the Beacon Theater in downtown Hopewell. At the event, the VMS staff presented the town with road signs signifying its designation as a Main Street Community and joined with local officials in remarking on the [...]

Tourism Marketing Grants Announced

Governor McDonnell recently announced that the Virginia Tourism Commission (VTC) will award $635,000 in matching grants to 35 local tourism initiatives.  The grants, which require a 3-to-1 match, will help local and regional entities attract visitors by leveraging local tourism marketing dollars. Several designated Virginia Main Street (VMS) communities and their partners will receive grant funds. [...]

Waynesboro Applying to Become Designated Appalachian Trail Community

Waynesboro City Council unanimously approved a resolution to support city staff in gaining recognition as an official Appalachian Trail Community on October 25, 2011.  This designation would officially recognize the ongoing partnership between the city of Waynesboro and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and provide the city with promotional and economic development support.  Benefits of this [...]

Hip-hop highlights: Lynchburg video features merchants and real community spirit

This video, promoting Downtown Lynchburg, is terrific. It’s even better when you know that it was done through the volunteer efforts of Lynch’s Landing board member Tony Camm and a bunch of spirited merchant and community participants. Camm, manager of the Downtown Lynchburg Holiday Inn, put a musical pastime to work for the community, writing the song [...]

Virginia Main Street designates four new communities

Governor McDonnell announced yesterday that four new communities can now tout their distinction as Designated Virginia Main Street Communities.  The new communities are the cities of Hopewell and Bristol and the towns of Farmville and St. Paul.  They were chosen based on a combination of factors that included need, readiness, community support and appropriateness of their [...]