A Postcard From TulsaJeremy Franklin, Executive DirectorLast week, over 1,800 Main Streeters – staff and board members from local Main Street organizations, state agency personnel, and other folks affiliated with the program – descended upon Tulsa for the annual Main Street Now! conference presented by Main Street America. (That’s a lot of “Main Street” in one sentence, I know…) I had the good fortune to be one of them, and here are some insights from my experiences in Oklahoma. VIRGINIA IS FOR MAIN STREET LOVERS
Photo 1: Official badge! (I described my ribbons as “pieces of flair” multiple times, but no one seemed to get the “Office Space” reference. I’m getting old...) Photo 2: The opening plenary at the Tulsa Theater felt like a political convention, but in all the right ways. Virginia delegation in the house! While this was my first MSA event, I’ve attended several Virginia Main Street regional Rev Up workshops both as a staff member and as the ED – shameless plug: we’re hosting one at the Gin Hotel on Tuesday, May 12; come join us! – as well as our statewide directors’ retreat in Luray back in February. While I’ve certainly benefited from some excellent programming during these gatherings, I’ve found the informal networking and information sharing opportunities to be just as valuable. Virginia was very well represented in Tulsa, from dozens of program managers to most of our state agency staff. Congratulations to our friends in Wytheville for winning the Great American Main Street Award! Check out this beautiful video from MSA about the outstanding work that Todd and his team have been doing just down the road from us. We all root for each other here in the Commonwealth – I wish I had a video of the ovation that we gave the Wytheville team when their GAMSA was announced at the opening plenary – and we had plenty of chances to connect with each other throughout the week. Thanks to Paige and the Commonwealth Preservation Group team for treating us to some great food at Elote on Monday evening! CONNECTING THE DOTS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT  Jen Carpenter, who started as director of Main Street BV around the same time that I took over at MSL, has become a good friend. We don’t usually have to travel over 1,000 miles to interact – but when we do, we make sure to get a selfie with VMS program manager Courtney Mailey. Building and maintaining connections is one of the most important parts of a Main Street director’s job. Just think about all of the different folks whom we work with: our city government and staff, business and property owners, partner organizations like the Chamber and the Tourism office, our local colleges, the general public, visitors to downtown – the list could go on and on. Out of all the great sessions that I attended during MSA Now!, the most impactful for me was titled, quite fittingly, “Cultivating Connections: The Real Work of Main Street.” During this workshop, I learned some important tools for authentic engagement and shared decision making that I hope to reinforce with MSL. (I say “reinforce” because we’re already connecting regularly with nearly everyone on the list above.) My biggest takeaway is that we are doing things with the community, and not for it. Our organization is at its best when we collaborate, rather than try to go it alone. We started the final day of our conference by hearing from Nathan Ohle, president and CEO of the International Economic Development Council. He informed us that the field of economic development is transitioning from deal-making into systems stewardship, reinforcing (buzz word alert!) the importance of community-wide collaboration that includes Main Streets, local governments, Chambers, economic development offices, and other stakeholders. And the IEDC truly recognizes and values the role of Main Street organizations in this process, to the point where an MSA staff member now sits on the council’s board. More positive news from the local perspective: we’re already communicating and collaborating at a very high level. Our Chamber and Tourism offices both host regular networking and information sharing sessions – including the Chamber’s Economic Development committee, which brings together a notable cross-section of folks from Lexington, Buena Vista, and Rockbridge County. Hearing the significance of this from a broader perspective only reinforced the value of these endeavors. My other key takeaway from Nathan Ohle’s talk was the importance of placemaking within the realm of economic development. Attractive downtown districts feature thriving small businesses that help drive the local economy – but they also serve as a lure to get larger businesses and industries to open their doors (or to keep them open) in your community. One day earlier, I had seen this up close and personal in Cherokee Nation. PLACEMAKING IN TAHLEQUAH
Photo 1: The view down Muskogee Avenue in the heart of downtown Tahlequah. Try the strawberry shortcake at Vidalia’s – you won’t be disappointed! Photo 2: Public art in Tahlequah. MSA Now! featured a combination of speakers and workshop sessions at the Arvest Convention Center downtown, along with “mobile trips” that took smaller groups to different neighborhoods and downtown districts in and around Tulsa. On Tuesday, I boarded a bus for Tahlequah, the capital of Cherokee Nation in northeastern Oklahoma. We spent the morning touring the Cherokee National History Museum, a community maker space, and a public art walk, where we heard from Keli Gonzales, the Cherokee artist whose works were on display. Later in the day, we had free time to explore (and shop!) Tahlequah’s beautiful downtown. Our lunch, which was catered by two downtown restaurants, featured brief speeches from local civic and business leaders, who talked about the success story of landing a major business (Provalus) that has brought hundreds of jobs to downtown Tahlequah. The endeavor involved collaboration among the city government, the Tahlequah Main Street Association, the regional development authority, and Northeastern State University (which is adjacent to the downtown district). Provalus didn’t want to set up their office out by the highway; they wanted to be in the heart of downtown, where their employees would have access to local shops and restaurants and could connect with the community. Lexington isn’t searching for a large industry to plop into our downtown. However, how fortunate are we that two colleges border our historic district – bringing faculty, staff, students, and visitors into downtown – and that other large employers (like Carilion) are nearby? FROM ROUTE 66 TO ROUTE 11
Photo 1: Patio seating at Mother Road Market in the Tulsa Market District. Photo 2: The “Big Bash” took over the entire downtown of Sapulpa, and it quickly evolved into small pocket parties in the different businesses. James Calley Brewing Co. is located in a renovated 1915 livery stable. Historic preservation at its finest! In addition to Tahlequah, I had a chance to visit two other spots outside of downtown Tulsa, both of which are located on historic U.S. Route 66. (We were reminded frequently throughout the week that 2026 is the 100th anniversary of the “Mother Road,” which ran from Chicago to Los Angeles while cutting right through Tulsa and a broad swath of Oklahoma.)
The Welcome Reception was held at Mother Road Market, a snazzy incubator space with a vibrant food court and other specialty retail locations located in the Tulsa Market District. For the “Big Bash” that closed out our conference, we hopped on a bus for a 20-minute ride to downtown Sapulpa (also on Route 66). Main Streeters enjoy good food and beverage, too! I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention that, in true Oklahoma springtime fashion, I heard tornado sirens for the first time in my life. Nothing like scrambling around the hotel after 10:00 at night searching for the right stairwell to take us to the ground floor. (Fortunately, the worst part of the storm didn’t hit downtown Tulsa – but what an experience!) Tornado warnings aside, the whole week felt like a celebration, from inspirational speeches at the opening plenary to frequent interactions with fellow Main Street folks from around the country. It’s infectious to hear from others who love their communities and want to see them thrive just like I do – and to learn from each other in the process. I’m encouraged to bring this energy, along with some tangible ideas, back to Lexington to continue building off of the great work that MSL is already doing with our wonderful community.
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W&L's Rockbridge Report Learns more about Local Main street organizationsMSL executive director Jeremy Franklin and his counterpart from Main Street Buena Vista, Jen Carpenter, recently sat down with Kaden Buss from the Rockbridge Report at Washington and Lee University to discuss the work of our two local Main Street organizations. Check out the full interview! |
