ATHENS-In a year’s time, the Spirit of Athens Main Street organization has seen the opening of a non-profit art incubator in downtown, the creation of a new event, national accreditation, the opening of new businesses and the hiring of a new director.
On Thursday, March 31, at 11:30 a.m. at the Beasley Center, SOA will hold its annual luncheon to share with the community and members the economic impact and successes for downtown the past year. Executive Director Dana Hickman will present the report. The SOA Board hired Hickman in January after long-time Executive Director Trisha Black took a job with Main Street Alabama.
Hickman plans to highlight High Cotton Arts, the art incubator, which is celebrating its one-year anniversary. She also will highlight events including the new Fridays After Five that evolved from merchant input, and SOA becoming one of only seven Main Street programs in Alabama to be awarded national accreditation from the National Main Street Program.
According to the National Main Street Program, national accreditation status is a prestigious designation. While every designated local Main Street program can work toward accreditation, not every Main Street program receives it. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, securing an operating budget, tracking programmatic progress and actively preserving historic buildings.
In addition, SOA will honor volunteers and organizations for their efforts to enhance downtown Athens.
Awards will be given for:
- Friends of Downtown
- Downtown Revitalization
- Spirit of Giving
- Volunteer of the Year
- Classic. Southern. Character. Honor
Tickets are $25 and are available at the door. Ticket price includes lunch. Curtis Jordan of the band Kush will provide musical entertainment.
