economic development
They put a restaurant in a roofless building
I created the Tour of Empty Buildings ten years ago, in 2013. There have been many towns that ran with the idea and host tours too. Natchez, MS, Danville, KY, Jefferson, IA, Oglesby,Il are just a few of them. The Texas Historical Commission has been hosting Imagine The Possibilities Tour in small towns state wide…
Read MoreFishbone Alley Gulfport Mississippi
Hurricane Katrina damaged downtown Gulfport, Mississippi in 2005. During restoration they found brick pavers under the asphalt. These were used in 1908 to build their streets. In 2016 those pavers were used in an economic development project called Fishbone Alley. Local artists have created a visual delight as you walk down the alley. This is…
Read MoreArt and empty buildings
SaveYour.Town received an email with a story about art and an empty building we want to share today. Deb Land, the Mural Coordinator for Sayre Revitalization in Athens, PA sent this. You have all been so helpful to our small town of Sayre, PA. I read your newsletter faithfully! We have had two successful Pop Up…
Read MoreSteal these ideas
I went on vacation at Navarre Beach in Florida this year. We found some pretty cool ideas that any small town could steal. My great nephew Steve and his friend Eddie were along for the trip. They were excited to sit in this oversized chair and have their picture taken. Who do you know in…
Read MorePlant some trees
You’d think planting trees in your small town would be a huge deal and take a ton of time, wouldn’t you? Chad from Lake Francis Case Economic Development in Chamberlain, South Dakota didn’t know that. He found a grant for $2,500 to be used for planting trees. It required a 50/50 match. Chad simply asked…
Read MoreWhat if you held your meetings outside?
You’ve sat through plenty of board meetings and a few city council meetings. They are held in the ‘official’ locations, with assigned seating (real or imagined) and there’s a course of action you must follow. What if you moved your meeting outside? Send the previous minutes and financials out by email ahead of time and…
Read MoreWhat can you do to help create young entrepreneurs?
We complain that our young people don’t want to stay here, or come back here. In fact, in our survey of rural challenges this complaint is always in the top 5. Let’s take a look at how we’ve created this monster and what we can do about it. Why is it they don’t want to…
Read MoreWhat Happened One Day in LA
The Western Association of Chamber Executives came together in LA and for the first time ever, they spent an entire day with the opportunity for small chambers to learn things that related specifically to them. Small Chambers: A League of Their Own. I started the breakout session as a speaker and shared ways to update…
Read More5 Reasons to Join the Chamber
Becky McCray and I co-hosted a webinar on June 8 and it went so well. We had a lot of questions that we answered and I was really excited about the progress of our webinars and the direction we are going with SaveYour.Town. Well, there was one thing that did bother me about the webinar.…
Read MoreSaturday at JunqueFest
This is the 3rd year for JunqueFest in Webster City. 84 Vendors are in Wilson Brewer Park through Sunday – rain or shine. No admission, junque, repurposed, antiques, barn wood, rustique, signs, yard art – you name, it’s here. Live music and fair food too – we’ve got a little bit of everything. I’ll let…
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