DOWNTOWN EMPORIA, INC.
RECEIVES NATIONAL MAIN STREET ACCREDITATION
This year, the efforts of Downtown Emporia, Inc. earned it recognition for commercial district revitalization by meeting
standards for performance set by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center. Downtown
Emporia, Inc. joins 593 other Main Street revitalization programs nationally recognized as 2005 Accredited National
Main Street Programs.
The National Accreditation means the Main Street program is meeting our national standards of performance for what a Main
Street program should be doing, said Doug Loescher, director of the National Trust’s Main Street program. The organizations
we name each year as National Main Street Programs are those that have demonstrated the skills needed to succeed in
Main Street revitalization.
The annual accreditation process evaluates commercial district revitalization programs based on criteria ranging from
having an active board of directors and paid professional manager to tracking economic progress and preserving historic
Main Street buildings.
Rebuilding a district’s economic health and maintaining that success requires broad-based community involvement, active
support from both the public and private sectors, and sound management, said Loescher. Having a solid organization at the
foundation of the revitalization effort is so important to long term success.
The organization’s performance was evaluated by the Kansas Department of Commerce, Kansas Main Street Program,
which is the coordinating organization for Main Street programs in Kansas.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, non-profit membership organization dedicated to protecting the
irreplaceable. Recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the Trust was founded in 149 and provides leadership, education
and advocacy to save America’s diverse historic places and revitalize communities. Its Washington, DC headquarters staff,
regional offices and 25 historic sites work with the Trust’s 200,000 members and thousands of local community groups in
all 50 states. For more information, visit the Trust’s web site at www.nationaltrust.org
