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This week

This week is certainly the busiest week I’ve had in a long time, if the busiest ever.

Last night, we held our first quarterly Downtown Springfield Main Street meetings. It was the first after officially gaining designation as a Main Street community and since the four committees have formed under the Main Street Approach. It took quite a bit of preparation on my part over the past few weeks, making sure committee members were going to show up and be able to share updates.

So, the meeting went amazingly. Exceeded my expectations by miles. We also had the six business owners who participated in a 50-50 match storefront assessment program back in October, report back with their actions, and whether the implemented recommendations proved successful. Most all positive feedback and results including a $300 sale directly from a new window display in one of the shops!

There were updates from the city on their downtown plan and the progress happening with that. Also, some great door prizes including a free storefront assessment from the retail consultant to one of our Main Street merchants!

In addition to this important meeting, I wrote an article for the upcoming issue of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department’s Cultural Heritage Courier. I have another big meeting tomorrow concerning the other Main Street district I am managing (my neighborhood). Also, the Art Walk is this Friday, and it will certainly be one for the books, including a ribbon cutting for a new Main Street business, live music, wine, and even a LIVE photoshoot happening at the new studio gallery on Main Street during the Art Walk!

Also, a friend from Atlanta is coming tomorrow, and we’re headed to Portland on Saturday via Amtrak Cascades. We’ll be volunteering at the Worst Day of the Year Ride on Sunday, rain or shine, and will be concert going that evening, along with visiting all of the planning nerd type things to see in Portland.

Should be fun!

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An update:

I apologize for not keeping this updated lately. I will do my best to continue it from now until I am done with my job out here.

Here are some important things that have been happening all the way out here in Oregon!

I have been asked to serve on the board of the Eugene Storefront Art Project. They realize that I do not know if I will still be out here after August, but it is exciting to have a neat little opportunity to serve, whether it ends up happening or not!

We are having our first Quarterly Meeting for Downtown Springfield Main Street. In February, all four committees will join together to network, give updates on their progress, and talk about how they can work together. Should be fun!

I attended a private opening for a new photography studio gallery on Main Street last night. It is exciting to have a new studio in Downtown Springfield. It is different from the art center and museum that are currently there, which is great for the cultural and art diversity for Springfield.

I went snowboarding two weekends ago for the first time on the west coast! It was amazing, and way different from anywhere I have been back east. So powdery!

That’s a basic update of the major things that have been happening over here. More to come!

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An update on the job:

This past week has been the busiest week yet. Every day I have had to be at work or a meeting at 7 o’ clock or before and stayed later than usual, usually around 8, for other meetings or just to get things done.

This week, I met with the Washburne Neighborhood Association, which is the historic neighborhood adjacent to the Downtown District where I am working. It was a really great gathering of homeowners who live in the district that were meeting to plan a Christmas Parlour Tour. They each introduced themselves with their name and which home they lived in. “I’m so and so, and I live at 123 C St in the Woodward House.” It was kind of neat.

They were expecting me to give a presentation on what NEDCO does and what is going on in Downtown Springfield. I had not planned to do a full on presentation but was able to provide what they wanted to hear and answer some questions. They were a great group and I was so happy to be able to get some contacts for future committee members for our Main Street!

Another big thing that happened this week was a retail consultant came to visit to offer assessments for individual businesses on Main Street on how they can improve their aesthetic appeal to customers. So window treatments, facades, signage, product displays, etc were all discussed. The consultant held a morning workshop for any interested business owners followed by six individual assessments, which the business owners paid for up front! That was huge! To get several to sign on and participate was so encouraging for me. It took some persuading, but I was so incredibly happy to have several on board, and I think they received some really good advice.

Here’s a few photos that I’ve taken of Downtown Springfield, just for kicks:

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An update on the fun:

This Friday I joined the rest of our VISTA crew in Tillamook, Oregon for a service day. We spent a few hours working in gardens at one of the VISTA sites assisting in harvesting veggies, building a compost container, patching a greenhouse, building an irrigation system, and more. It was great fun!

That evening, we camped in the Nahalem Bay State Park in a yurt!

We walked to the beach in the evening. It was super misty and just a serene place totally different from where I went to Oregon coast a few weeks ago, and a complete opposite of any beach I’ve experienced on the east coast.

We east coasters even saw kelp for the first time!

It was a nice little weekend getaway. I still might take Monday off since I worked so much this past week and am super tired. Also, the rain has begun. It is wet, dark, and this is the forecast for the foreseeable future.

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Ahh! We got Main Street officially!

It’s official! I just got the word that we are officially a “Transforming Main Street” in Springfield!

This is so exciting!