Main Street Arkansas Newsletter
Spring 2004 - Volume 19 Number 1
Rogers Wins Great American Main Street Award
Congratulations to Main StreetRogers! Rogers is the first Main Street Arkansas community to win the prestigious Great American Main Street Award for its successful efforts in revitalizing downtown. The award has been given to 50 cities in the nation since it was initiated in 1995.
Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Kennedy Smith, director of the National Trust’s National Main Street Center, made the announcement at the opening plenary session of the Trust’s National National Main Streets Conference in Albuquerque in May.
"We continue to survive because our downtown merchants have resolved to provide a customer friendly atmosphere," says Marge Wolf, Main Street Rogers's executive director." An to create a downtown where not onlyare goods purchased, but memories are made."
Main Street Rogers worked hard to promote economic growth since its inception in 1984 as a pilot community of Main Street Arkansas. Today Rogershas seen 95 rehabilitated facades, almost $12 million in downtown investment and reinvestment, and rental rates have jumped from 40 cents per square foot to $8-$12 per square foot.
The Downtown Recruitment Program has brought 40 new businesses to the commercial corridor in 2002-2003 and currently 98 percent of the retail space is occupied, as well as 95 percent of the office space. Additionally, building owners have renovated upper floors into upscale residential housing for their owners.
The City of Rogers was formed in 1881. It basked in the glory of the Frisco Railroad but when the railway-based economy declined, the town was left with decaying, turn-of-the-century Italianate buildings and a failing economy.
Thanks to Main StreetRogers and its partners, the town has held onto its roots by renovating many of its buildings and recalling the railroadwith the antique Frisco Caboose that sits in the heart of the Walnut Street Historic District, which is home to 23 buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Victory Theater, a 1927 movie theater,was added to the National Register in2002. By 1977, the theater had become an indoor flea market. The localcommunity theater group approached Main StreetRogers in 1994 to find space downtown; the Victory Theater was the perfect choice. After a sum of $2 million, including a $30,560 Model Business Grant from Main StreetArkansas, and 10,000 volunteer hours, the curtains went up in 2000.
Business development is a pillar of Main StreetRogers. Its Preferred Loan Program offers a total of $4. 5 million in loans from nine participating banks, and the Mini-grant Program distributed $13,000 last year. Main StreetRogers also helped secure five Main Street Arkansas Model Business Grants for large projects and developed a debit/gift card program for downtown stores in 2003. Main Street also sponsors a variety of small business seminars to complement its business consulting services. The revitalization effort has also had a positive impact on job recruitment.
Main Street Rogers works in all areas of revitalization, including image building, business assistance programs, design guidelines, and heritage tourism.
Main Street Rogers has found a strong ally in the city government, which annually offers contributions, in-kind office space, and utility donations. In addition, the city involves Main Street Rogers when projects are being considered in the downtown area.
Departments such as the Planning Department and Parks and Recreation provide technical assistance, manpower, and equipment that are critical for success. Main Street Rogers and the Parks and Recreation Department successfully applied for an ISTEA grant for the FriscoPark and Trail redevelopment, including a bike and pedestrian trail. The park pavilion is a community destination on summer nights for concerts and a farmers’ market.
The Great American Main Street Awards recognize exceptional accomplishments in revitalizing America's historic and traditionaldowntowns and neighborhood commercial districts. Five equal awards recognizing overall achievementin historic preservation-based commercialdistrict revitalization are given each year.
The other 2004 Great American Main Street Award winners are: Burlington, Iowa; Encinitas, Calif.; Paso Robles, Calif.; and Westfield, N. J. Each winning community receives a $2,500 cash prize to further its revitalization efforts, a bronze plaque commemorating its award, road signs, and a certificate.
Arkansas Heritage: Find It on Main Street
Almost every town or city in Arkansas has an area of commerce and social life, whether it is named Main Street or something else. The 2004 Heritage Month theme, Arkansas Heritage: Find It on Main Street, focuses on these historic areas as one of the most direct links to our Arkansas heritage. During the month of May, Arkansans celebrated their Main Streets and discovered the history behind them.
This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Main Street Arkansas and its efforts to help communities find new ways to keep their downtown commercial areas as viable parts of theircommunities.
"The Main Street Arkansas program has worked to creat 725 new businesses that have brought a net gain of 3,840 jobs. There have been 2,300 facade renovations and building rehabilitations in Main Street communities. That's aheartfelt investment. But if you think the numbers are impressive, you should see the results in person. The hard work is evident when you enter that restored train depot, walk on the improved sidewalks and green space and conduct business in a restored, historic building," said Cathie Matthews, director of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.
The Heritage Month poster for 2004 commemorates the theme "Arkansas Heritage: Find It on Main Street" and marks the twentieth anniversary of the Main Street Arkansas program.
The poster illustration was done by Little Rock artist Gary Golden and illustrates the importance of our Main Street commercial areas, both then and now. It shows how buildings and their uses have evolved over the years as we find new ways to keep our downtown commercial areas as viable parts of our communities.
The collectible poster is suitable for framing and will be a complement to an office, den or family room. To get your free poster, call (501) 324-9150 or e-mail info@ArkansasHeritage. com.
From the Director of the Department of Arkansas Heritage
"Are We Pleased? You Bet We Are!" That was the front page headline on the first edition of the Main Street Arkansas Newsletter in 1984. Twenty years later, we continue to be impressed with the downtown revitalization efforts in our state.
Vacant train depots and theaters have been restored to serve as community gathering places once again. Historic commercial buildings once in danger of being condemned are being restored to house new businesses, some with housing on the second floors.
Neglected public areas now have green space, improved sidewalks, lighting and banners creating truly welcoming environments. Locally owned businesses are learning how to co-exist with the big box retailers, and most of all, community pride is growing.
I encourage you to visit these Main Street communities and see for yourselves the really wonderful things that are being accomplished there. Are we pleased? You bet we are. And you'll find that pride on Main Street.
Sincerely,
Cathie Matthews
Main Street Arkansas Launches Delta Initiative
In 2003, Main Street directors from Blytheville, Dumas, Helena, Osceola and West Memphis approached Main Street Arkansas for assistance with their common issues and problems in the Delta. At our December quarterly meeting in Batesville, the Main Street Arkansas staff visited with the group to discuss possibilities and everyone agreed to commit to working together on a program to address the unique economic struggles facing the Delta Main Street cities.
As a result, Main Street Arkansas began a new program, The Delta Initiative. This program brings together experts in three areas: small business development, heritage tourism and neighborhoods/housing to develop a customized approach for our Delta Main Street cities.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Center had experience in this area with their Preservation Development Initiative (PDI). Following the PDI model, we organized the Delta Initiative Team, with Valecia Crisafulli, small business development specialist for the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Main Street Center; Amy Jordan Webb, director of heritage tourism for the National Trust, and Lawrence Williams, executive director of CORE Neighborhood Revitalization in Macon, GA. Cary Tyson, assistant state coordinator for Main Street Arkansas, served as team leader. Phase I of the Delta Initiative began in April with an intensive week-long team visit in the Delta.
Work began with a public forum on April 5 in West Memphis. Approximately 50 people attended the forum, including representatives from the Delta Main Street communities, as well as representatives from the offices of Sen. Mark Pryor, Rep. Marion Berry, Rep. Mike Ross and State Rep. Denny Sumpter. Representatives from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, the Arkansas Department of Economic Development, Southern Development Bancorporation, Arkansas State University and the Delta Byways Commission also participated in the forum.
Participants took part in a regional analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The consultants gave a short presentation on each of their focus areas and facilitated breakout sessions to brainstorm and identify issues. The group reassembled in the afternoon to discuss suggested joint strategies in the areas of small business development, neighborhood/housing issues and heritage tourism. We adjourned with new ideas and a sense of cooperation and willingness from all to attack the challenges facing our Delta downtowns and the week ahead.
On April 6-9, the team visited each of the five Delta Main Streets. Community visits consisted of tours focusing on each of the three strategic areas and interviews with community leaders. The team members met each evening to compare and review their individual findings.
Executive directors from the Delta Main Streets returned to West Memphis April 10 for a wrap-up discussion of the team's preliminary findings and strategies. The team will present a written report detailing a plan of action and potential partners for future work. The written report is expected in July. Cary Tyson will schedule a follow-up meeting to discuss the written report and to determine the plan of action for the group.
Community-Specific Promotions
By Rick Segal, Retail Consultant
BEWARE!! There is a stranger in town!
These are the words you used to hear from an old western movie.
But I am beginning to believe that those words are passing through the minds of our customers every time they see another national chain settle in their community.
The first few days, or even months, that the store is open, the manager usually tries to make some attempt to become part of the community. They will join the chamber or show up for the merchant meetings, or even run some local advertising. But before you know it, they abandon their involvement because they got busy.
Busy is good. We want businesses to do business, but what are they really saying? They are too busy to bother with the " dumb" local stuff, after all, their advertising and promotions are national or regional in scope.
When Jordan Marsh Stores in the Boston area was bought by Macy’s in New York, their advertising became the same advertising as Macy’s used in the New York stores. It wasn’t a big deal, but those of us who are purists liked the scenes of Boston in the background, instead of the high rises of Manhattan. Please understand that this is in no way a knock on Macy’s, because they have been a wonderful corporate citizen. It’s just the continuation of the homogenization of America. Every region of our country is starting to look the same. We are losing our regional differences.
So much for standing on my soapbox and trying to bring back the good old days. (It’s scary when you start to sound like your parents. ) This article isn’t about being good or caring or concerned about the world around us. This article is about making MONEY—increases in revenue and decreases in operating costs, the stuff that makes executives rich from bonuses.
But as the words of the great contemporary lyrical prophet of my time, Bob Dylan, said in song, " The times, they are a-changing."
The audience who first heard that song is now the generation of power. We are a generation that has made an impact on our children because of what we believed.
Those children are now starting to have their voices heard and the rules are starting to change. Companies in America are starting to succeed because of the good they do, from Anita Roddick at The Body Shop, who assures her customers that her cosmetics are environmentally sound, to Ryka Athletic Footwear, a women’s sneaker manufacturer that donated a portion of every sale to battered women shelters. The hottest and most difficult franchise to obtain is one from Great Harvest Bakery. It turns down 93% of its applicants and wants its franchisees to donate 20% of what they bake to charities in their community. Another example is the price leader of the century, Wal-Mart, whose ads are not just focused on price, but on their contributions to the community.
By now, you’re scratching your head wondering where in the world is this piece going? From strangers to the town, to profits, to socially conscious activities, how do all the pieces fit together?
A few years ago, it didn’t fit in at all, but now our research tells us something different.
Customers care.
They care about their environment, they care about people, and they care about the communities in which they live. No longer is there a separation or a line with business on one side and social responsibility on the other. The two are coming together. Even the term I used a few paragraphs ago, "a good corporate citizen," is relatively new and very much in vogue.
What I am saying is that being good is good business.
Due to the amount of competition we all have today, the differences between stores are fewer than ever before. Did corporate responsibility find us or have retailers discovered it? I believe, as I stated earlier, being a good corporate citizen hasbeen an evolutionary process that is no longer just a nice thing to do—it has become the right thing to do, and a necessary thing to do.
Last year, I helped to start the RAMAE Awards: The Retail Association Awards of Excellence. We had seven winners from these five categories: Rookie of the Year, Advertising and Promotion, Community Service, Display, and Retailer of the Year.
The interesting thing about all of the winners was their contribution to their communities. The other intriguing thing about it was that not one of these stores had any problem finding qualified employees. As a matter of fact, one of the stores had so many people apply for jobs that they started to take volunteers who wanted to donate their time. This is unheard of, especially in these times of low unemployment. If people are willing to work for nothing, do you think the customers are loyal as well?
You bet they are!
It’s not just donating to a charity anymore, it's getting involved in the community in which you do business.
The concept of account-specific promotions is starting to permeate large manufacturers who offer co-op advertising programs.
These promotions are designed for the specific retailer, not some off-the-shelf promotion that is designed for every store which the manufacturer supplies. The manufacturer takes the time to design a program that only their store or stores can use — a program that is in keeping with the values and needs of the account. It works great!
Why? Well, first of all, it makes the account feel special because it was designed just for them. Second, the account can change the program as they see fit. It doesn’t affect anyone but them.
All in all, it is a highly successful program.
What I am proposing is simply taking the concept of account-specific and making it community-specific.
Let’s start to make our stores more responsible to the areas in which they serve.
Let’s make a difference by sponsoring contests that foster community involvement.
Let’s honor our employees who give back to their communities.
Good business is doing good. Customers want it, respect it, and more important than even those two points, they support and shop stores and businesses that care about their communities.
Will there be retailers who will do good for all the wrong reasons?
Probably, but who cares? Do it long enough and the spirit of giving captures you. But be careful: remember it is community-specific that works the best. You might think it is important to save the rain forest in Guatemala, but the best promotion is the one in your own backyard.
Selecting the Mother of the Year for Mother’s Day or the Best Dad is more important.
When a supermarket in a strip center sponsors a beautiful window competition in the center to make their center more attractive, people notice.
Big Y, a supermarket chain in western Massachusetts, recently did a promotion called Education Express. They asked their customers to select a school to which they would like a donation made. Customers earned points for their school by selecting different products that manufacturers would co-op with donations. At the end of the year, they were able to give over $2,000,000 to local school charities. These programs become a Win/Win/Win affair. The charity benefits, or if in the case of a contest, you have a winner. The shoppers win. Yes, of course, the store ends up doing more business while they have done something good.
What a way to do business!
Rick Segal is a nationally known speaker who has spoken over 1,400 times in 44 states, Canada, Puerto Rico, Turkey and Australia.
With over 25 years experience as a women's apparel retailer, Rick Segal delivers high-content, on-target keynotes, seminars and workshops filled with innovative ideas to re-energize, re-strategize and re-think the way you do business.
Rick will be making presentations and conducting one-on-one retail consultations in Harrison and West Memphis, September 27 and 28, 2004.
Special Event Coverage: Gotta Have It
By Andrea Dono, National Trust's National Main Street Center
All year, Main Street programs hold fundraising activities and promotional events, yet too many operate without liability insurance coverage or wrongly assume their events are covered by their general liability policy. It may sound trite, but accidents do happen: a volunteer could fall off a ladder while hanging a banner, or an event participant could trip during a festival. Whether you hold one event a year or a hundred, your program shouldn’t risk not having special event insurance.
"Over the last few years the cost has gone up dramatically and fewer companies are writing it. All commercial insurance has gone up over the last few years and event insurance is not excluded," says Brian Phoebus of the insurance firm Maury, Donnelly and Parr, Inc." If something goes wrong and a Main Street organization is without special event coverage, the economic viability of the program will be jeopardized. They could get sued because they are hosting the event and then must defend the suit in court. Where would they get the money for that without insurance?As the host, they are liable. And then, of course, there’s the residual bad press, which could further jeopardize the program’s viability."
Bedford Main Street, Inc., in Virginia had only a general commercial liability policy from 1985 until last year, when it had to add special event insurance to its coverage.
"We were originally told our events were covered by the city of Bedford but then found out this wasn’t the case," recalls Scott Smith, executive director of Bedford Main Street." If something did happen, the city would have to deal with liability first but then it would fall on us." The city government informed the Main Street program that it would no longer close streets for Main Street events and risk liability until the organization got its own insurance.
Bedford Main Street was able to insure its biggest event in 2000 for $500 but after the events of September 11, 2001, the insurance company would not renew the policy the following year. When shopping around for another insurer, Smith received quotes that ranged from $5,000 to $10,000 for annual policies.
"We were finding it difficult to get insurance for events within our size bracket," says Smith. "Our largest event attracts about 25,000 people." Determined to get a better rate, Bedford began working with Maury, Donnelly and Parr to find more affordable coverage. As a result, the organization now has a blanket policy with The Hartford insurance company that covers the program’s fiscal year for $2,800, $1,500 of which pays for the insurance policy, and the remainder covers liquor liability. Because alcohol sales are a good revenue generator, Smith feels comfortable paying extra for the additional coverage, saying that "it takes money to make money."
Maury, Donnelly and Parr, Inc., offers a blanket policy that can be customized according to certain criteria for special events. The policy is determined by the number of attendees, the type of events, the controls in place (e. g. policing), the number of events per year, the duration of events, and the availability of liquor. The agency has built some special events, such as farmers’ markets, breakfast meetings, and dinner dances, into the general liability policy. For a fee, other events, such as concerts, antique/car shows, fairs, and parades, can be added. For bigger events or those that serve alcohol, a separate policy is advised and is easy to obtain.
Smith and representatives from other Main Street programs say they do not have event cancellation or weather insurance. Many people have found this extra policy to be very expensive, sometimes costing as much as half of the coverage the program is seeking for the event. In his research, Smith learned that even large event planners do not carry this insurance for their entire events – they often will insure select aspects of an event, such as a nationally recognized headlining band. Bedford Main Street, Inc., however, has found another way of "insuring" its events in case of cancellation: corporate sponsorships, which help cover costs even if it rains.
Phoebus notes that event cancellation insurance "is expensive if you are seeking to insure for the lost revenue of the event." This insurance, he says, "generally costs 12 to 15 percent of the projected revenue. Insuring against lost expenses is a more reasonable option; the cost drops to about 10 percent."
"I have found that Main Street programs and other non-profits in our area believe that their general liability policy for $500,000 or $1 million covers their events, but it actually only covers their office. Sometimes they don’t realize they need the extra event coverage," says Smith. "In other cases, I have heard that people are afraid to tell the insurance company about the extra events they have because they don’t want the rates to go up. But then if something happens, they are not covered, or if the insurance company feels it was misled, it will have recourse to refuse coverage."
Announcing A New Insurance Partner
After more than a year of investigating insurance programs that might meet the specific needs of business district revitalization and management organizations, the National Trust's Main Street Center and several other Trust departments have joined forces with Maury, Donnelly and Parr, Inc. (MDP, Inc. ) to launch a new insurance program, called National Trust Insurance Services.
Based in a historic building in downtown Baltimore, Maury, Donnelly and Parr has extensive experience insuring historic buildings, small businesses and nonprofit organizations. In addition to offering insurance for buildings, businesses, special events and organizations, Maury, Donnelly and Parr also offers a health insurance program for employees of revitalization organizations and Main Street building and business owners.
To qualify for the insurance products, your organization must be an active member of the National Main Street Network. Main Street business and building owners must be National Main Street Network members or members of a local organization that is, in turn, an active member of the Main Street Network.
For more information on specific services available from NTIS, call (866)269-0944, or visit their Web site at www. nationaltrust-insurance. org.
