We are in the home stretch of finishing Year End Evaluations for our Michigan Main Street Communities. A related theme that has come up across the board with all our Main Street communities is that they are not telling their story often and to enough people.

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It’s winter and we all know what that means…daily complaints about the lack of people shoveling snow off the sidewalks. For a downtown, this complaint runs rampant from customers and residents, to business and property owners, and to local governments and downtown organizations. Everybody is quick to point fingers and say “They” are responsible for snow removal while ju...

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Ah, I can hear the groans from the readership, ‘another dry monologue from that ER fool’. Yes, and No. While this post is intended to be dry like only the best wine, it’s still from that ER guy from Michigan. The philosophy below is part of the holistic reason Michigan's Main Street comm...

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We’re coming up on one of the most sacred holidays in the retail world…Black Friday. Shopping centers everywhere will be swarming with deal hunters. I’d like to take just a minute to say something to both shoppers and downtown retailers before the blitz of holiday shopping begins: Shoppers, be responsible. Downtown retailers, be worthy. What do I mean by this? This is what I mean…

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It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving and the holiday season is only a week away. It seems that as I get older, time seems to pass quicker every year. Which means, the hours in a day are even more precious than what they were before and, I seem to find myself being spread relatively thin. I’m a firm believer that this is the case with most people today. So, when you find a...

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I digress in this blog, away from my series on defining Economic Restructuring to a subject both overdue and yet timely. Equating, for a moment, that a continuity plan is to small-business like a will is to my life, then this is a subject I know all too well. With each life event the conversation arose; from marriage and the birth of kids, to cancer and numerous ‘young’ deaths this year. Yet…the will has not been written.

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Editor's Note: We are very fortunate to have the 2009 Michigan Main Street Manager of the Year, Marshall's Diane Larkin, as our guest blogger this week. When given the opportunity to say anything to the Main Street universe, Diane's post (we named the post) can most aptly be described as a genuine love letter to her community. Enjoy!

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Editor's Note: This week's entry is a re-post from Sean Mann's recent contribution to letssavemichigan.com on the importance of shopping local. To see the original version (including photos), click here.

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Last week, the National Trust for Historic Preservation held its annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee. As a part of the many sessions was one entitled, “Don’t Stop Fundraising Now!” The session featured the National Trust’s David Cooper, Vice President of Resources Development. While the presentation was geared toward traditional historic preservation entities, there is a lot of applicability for Main Streets. Below are David’s top bullets for fundraising. 

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Editor's Note: Two weeks ago, the Michigan Main Street Center @ MSHDA released the "Buy Main Street" video. The response nationwide has been astounding. Last week, STARS Director Joe Borgstrom was asked to write a guest blog for the National Trust for Historic Preservation's website, PreservationNation.org. Below is his blog. 

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