DISPLAY AND MARKETING WORKSHOPS SET APRIL 7 AND 8 IN EUREKA SPRINGS

Mark Miller, Main Street Arkansas small business consultant, and Susan Shaddox, Main Street Arkansas interior design consultant, will hold workshops focusing on downtown marketing and merchandising display in Eureka Springs on April 7 and 8, Main Street Arkansas Director Cary Tyson announced today. Main Street Arkansas is a program area of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

Miller will present “Surviving in the Original Lifestyle Center” beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 7, at the Grand Central Hotel at 37 North Main Street. Shaddox will present “Visual Merchandising Displays: Big Bang, Little Bucks” at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 8, in the Elk Street Church at 17 Elk Street. For additional information about the free workshops, contact Jacqueline Wolven at (479) 244-5074 (director at eurekaspringsdowntown.com) or Glenna Booth at (479) 253-9703 (ACE at cityofeurekasprings.org).

Main Street Arkansas provides technical assistance and design services to help create economic development in the state’s downtown areas. The Main Street approach to downtown revitalization focuses on four areas: design, economic restructuring, organization and promotion.

Among the services and benefits ADN cities receive are access to Main Street Arkansas’s quarterly trainings, organizational assistance, limited technical assistance from Main Street staff members, and access to the Main Street resource center.

Cities currently involved in Main Street Arkansas are Batesville, Blytheville, Dumas, El Dorado, Hardy, Helena, Little Rock’s South Main Street (SoMa), Osceola, Ozark, Paragould, Rogers, Russellville, Searcy, Texarkana and West Memphis. Members of Main Street’s Arkansas Downtown Network are Pine Bluff, Heber Springs, Fort Smith, Eureka Springs, DeWitt, Sheridan, Morrilton, Walnut Ridge, Rector, Jonesboro, Siloam Springs and Crawfordsville. Other sponsors of the Main Street Arkansas program are the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is the agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage responsible for the identification, evaluation, registration and preservation of the state’s cultural resources. Other agencies in the department are the Arkansas Arts Council, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Old State House Museum, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and the Historic Arkansas Museum.

Main Street Arkansas Update - March 29, 2010

Check out the results of the branding work in Paragould www.downtownbranding.com/Paragould

Main Street Arkansas Calendar March 29 – April 2, 2010
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MONDAY Susan – Paragould, Batesville, Searcy (storefront work with merchants); Greg & Mark – El Dorado (meeting with Merchants Association)
TUESDAY Susan – Paragould, Batesville, Searcy (storefront work with merchants);
WEDNESDAY Susan – Paragould, Batesville, Searcy (storefront work with merchants); Greg – off
THURSDAY Greg – out
FRIDAY
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IN THIS ISSUE:

NTHP Pilot Grant Program for Historic Schools
Value of Historic Properties in Arkansas
New White House Urban Affairs Website
Build Your Expertise – Help a Reporter Out
Trying to Revitalize a Small, Dying Town
More Cities Ban Digital Billboards
AR Arts Council Accepting Awards Nominations
Why Your Brand Should Be On Facebook
SE Tourism Society Event Promo Opportunity

NTHP pilot grant program for historic school buildings
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, in partnership with the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation, is currently seeking applications for a new pilot grant program that will fund the stabilization or rehabilitation of historic school buildings by providing funding for construction expenses. Once construction is complete, these buildings must be open to the public for use by the community. Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, government agencies, and school districts/school boards are eligible to apply. Religious organizations are not eligible for funding. The maximum grant amount will be $50,000. Grant applications must be postmarked by April 30. To read the complete guidelines and eligibility requirements, and to download an application form, visit www.preservationnation.org/resources
/find-funding/nonprofit-public-funding.html and scroll down to the section titled "Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation Preservation Fund."


Thanks to Boyd Maher for this one
Value of Historic Properties – Arkansas Realtor Online Magazine
http://positiverealestateprofessionals.com/ara/2010/01/20/the-value-of-historic-properties/

White House Office of Urban Affairs New Website
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/oua

thanks to the HALO Group for this one
Build Your Expertise – Help a Reporter Out
http://helpareporter.com/

Trying to Revitalize a Small, Dying Town
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1960314,00.html

More Cities Ban Digital Billboards
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-22-visual-soup_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Arkansas Arts Council Accepting Awards Nominations
The Arts Council is now accepting nominations for a 2010 Governor's Arts Award. Click here to download a nomination form. Deadline to nominate a person or corporation is May 7, 2010.
http://www.arkansasarts.org/programs/governor.aspx

Why Your Brand Should Be on Facebook
http://mashable.com/2010/03/24/brand-facebook-now/

Festival & Event Producers –

Since 1985, the Southeast Tourism Society has published the Top 20 Events publication. Through a nomination process, the society chooses the Top 20 events going on in the Southeast for each month of the year, and publishes this list of winners quarterly. This publication is sent to over 300 newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, and others, as well as 125 AAA publications. The combined circulation runs into the millions. Current Top 20 Events are listed online.

Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism is a member of the Southeast Tourism Society. As a result, festivals and events in Arkansas may be submitted for the Top 20 Events publication, if they meet the following requirements set forth by the Southeast Tourism Society:

• 1,000 in attendance
• 3rd year in existence
• Payment of $10 nomination fee per event

Top 20 Events strongly encourages you to strengthen your nomination by providing supporting material such as:

• Photos
• Posters
• Brochures
• Press Releases
• News Clippings
• Volunteer Programs

If you would like to nominate your event, contact the Tourism Development Section at (501) 682-5240 or e-mail kristine.puckett at arkansas.gov.

Deadlines for Applications:

Event Occurring In: Submit by:
October/November/December 2010 April 9, 2010
January/February/March 2011 July 9, 2010
April/May/June 2011 October 8, 2010
July/August/September 2011 January 7, 2011
October/November/December 2011 April 8, 2011
January/February/March 2012 July 8, 2011
April/May/June 2012 October 7, 2011
July/August/September 2012 January 6, 2012

Main Street Arkansas Update - March 22, 2010

Main Street Arkansas Calendar March 22 – 26, 2010
**********************************************************************************
MONDAY
TUESDAY Caroline – Paragould Branding
WEDNESDAY Caroline – Paragould Branding; Nancy – out a.m.
THURSDAY Cary & Caroline Paragould – Branding; Susan – Paragould, Branding & Window Display Workshop
FRIDAY Cary, Caroline & Susan – Paragould – half day
*********************************************************************************

IN THIS ISSUE:

More MSWM Your Town Press
Small Donations in Large Numbers with Online Help
Nonprofits Can Save the Cost of Payroll Taxes Through 2010
Please take the 2010 Non Profit Survey
The Secret Language of Signs
Downtown Retail as an Economic Engine
The Oracle of Urban Policy
How Trying Too Hard Messes Up Main Street
What Makes a City Entrepreneurial?
USDA Farmer’s Market Grant Open

More Main Street West Memphis Your Town Press
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010/mar/14/west-memphis-scores-nea-grant-20100314/

Small Donations in Large Numbers with Online Help
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/arts/artsspecial/18CROWD.html

Nonprofits can save the cost of payroll taxes through 2010
http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/node/6162

Please take the 2010 Non Profit Salary & Benefits Survey
http://www.nptimes.com/survey.html?tr=y&auid=6077636

The Secret Language of Signs: The Most Useful Thing You Pay No Attention To
http://www.slate.com/id/2245644/

Downtown Retail as an Economic Engine
http://www.michiganmainstreetcenter.com/SocialMedia/tabid/61/ID/121/Downtown-Retail-as-an-Economic-Engine.aspx

The Oracle of Urban Policy
http://americancity.org/magazine/article/the-oracle-of-urban-policy/

How Trying Too Hard Messes Up Main Street

Why do Main St. redevelopments get it wrong so much of the time? Scott Doyon of Placemakers says there is a ton of environmental behavior research that is going unheeded, and developers need to stop trying so hard and let individual expression flourish. Read more: http://www.planetizen.com/node/43284

What Makes a City Entrepreneurial?

http://www.ceosforcities.org/blog

USDA Farmer’s Market Grant Period Open: Applications due April 15

The Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) announces the opportunity to submit applications under FMPP for FY-2010. Approximately $5 million is allocated for FMPP for Fiscal Year 2010. The maximum amount awarded for any one proposal cannot exceed $100,000; the minimum amount is $2,500. Entities eligible to apply include agricultural cooperatives, producer networks, producer associations, local governments, nonprofit corporations, public benefit corporations, economic development corporations, regional farmers market authorities and Tribal governments. Individuals are not eligible under FMPP. Applications must be postmarked by April 15, 2010.

To read more about the grant: http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=R9H0Lh6QJg29JfgLvdD4sjWXQYDQyGw5Jsvb0hvJ27VqkLd2w91V!-1975395688?oppId=52645&mode=VIEW

Main Street Arkansas Update - March 1, 2010

Take the Main Street Trends Survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2010Trends

Main Street Arkansas Calendar March 1 – 5, 2010
**********************************************************************************
MONDAY
TUESDAY Greg, Caroline: Rogers- Resource Team; Nancy – Batesville (merchant visits); Cary – out
WEDNESDAY Greg, Caroline: Rogers – Resource Team
THURSDAY Greg, Caroline: Rogers – Resource Team; Cary, Susan, Nancy, Mark – Siloam Springs (merchant & board visit) & Rogers – Resource Team presentation
FRIDAY Greg, Caroline, Susan, Cary – Rogers
**********************************************************************************

IN THIS ISSUE:

Downtowns Critical to Economic Development
CA LEED Laws & Preservation at Conflict
Good MSA Press
Main Street Ozark in Talk Business Quarterly
List Your Heritage Month Event
Main Street Paragould Press
Input Requested for Press on “Arkansas Institutions”
Smart Growth Assistance – Letters of Interest Accepted

Downtowns Critical to Economic Development
http://www.talkbusiness.net/Weblogs/WeblogItemDetail.aspx?WebLogItemID=26aed39b-9437-4df4-8468-8b5d354c790f&WeblogID=2c1ca2ae-06e6-4883-9e3a-554f31d9db55

California LEED Laws & Historic Preservation at Conflict
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123861278

More Great Press from Rex Nelson
http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com/?p=709

Main Street Ozark in Talk Business Quarterly
http://mainstreetarkansas.blogspot.com/2010/02/downtown-ozark-in-talk-business.html

List Your Heritage Month Events for Extra Publicity
Folks, if you have any activities scheduled for May, be sure and enter them at http://www.arkansasheritage.com/heritage_month/addevents2010.asp.

Main Street Paragould Press
http://www.paragoulddailypress.com/articles/2010/02/23/local_news/doc4b841588bd2a7568466088.txt

Input Requested for Arkansas Institutions
http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com/?p=688
Roby Brock of Talk Business Quarterly charged Rex Nelson with writing about “things, people, places that make Arkansas what it is — things you need to do or experience to really get your Arkansas bona fides.” Rex wants your input. Click on the link above if you have something you want to brag about.

Request for Letters of Interest: Smart Growth Implementation Assistance

Free technical assistance available!

The Development, Community, and Environment Division in EPA’s Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation is seeking applications for technical assistance from communities that want to incorporate smart growth in their future development to meet environmental and other community goals. This request is being coordinated under the interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities. Staff from HUD and DOT will assist in the provision of this technical assistance.

Eligible entities are tribal, local, regional, and state governments, and nonprofit organizations that have a demonstrated partnership with a governmental entity. Letters of interest are due at 3:00 pm EST, April 9, 2010.

EPA has identified some key topics in which communities are likely to benefit from technical assistance:

- climate change
- equitable development
- financing and planning infrastructure investments
- hazard mitigation plans
- removing local barriers to implementing LEED-ND
- suburban retrofit
- transportation solutions for rural communities and places without rail
- cities in transition (significant population loss, poverty, or economic deterioration)

Proposals are not limited to requests for technical assistance in only these thematic areas; other topics for assistance are welcome and encouraged, provided they demonstrate cutting-edge challenges and the possibility of replicable solutions. The type of work may incorporate policy analysis and review, planning and visioning processes, scorecard/ranking criteria development and assessment, and/or other elements pertinent to the role of the applicant.

Selected communities or states will receive assistance in the form of a multi-day visit from a team of experts organized by EPA, HUD and DOT and other national partners to work with local leaders. EPA plans to assist three to four communities over a period of twelve months. The Agency anticipates announcing the selected communities in fall of 2010.

For more information and application materials, visit http://epa.gov/smartgrowth/2010_0128_rfli.html.