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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By Dace Koenigsknecht
Economic Restructuring Specialist
Michigan Main Street Center
Michigan State Housing Development Authority

As promised, this blog continues defining the amorphous cloud of Economic Restructuring. Below I will finish describing the first cog in the wheel, Downtown Monitoring, by detailing what’s involved in Monitoring & Reporting Current Economic Performance.

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By Jamie Schriner-Hooper
Organization Specialist
Michigan State Housing Development Authority

It’s that time of year. Kids are heading back to school, clubs are starting and Michigan Main Street Communities are starting to make plans for their upcoming years. Just like a teacher puts together a syllabus, strong communities have a plan for their Main Street program.

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By Joe Borgstrom, Director
Specialized Technical Assistance
& Revitalization Strategy Division
Michigan State Housing Development Authority

This past spring, our team was fortunate enough to go to the National Main Streets Conference in Chicago. In the two and half days prior to the conference, the numerous coordinating program managers meet to talk about our specific issues. I was extremely fortunate on the first night to sit next to Thom Guzman at dinner. Thom oversees Iowa’s Main Street program and is a legend in our business. Iowa’s program has been active for more than 30 years. Needles to say, Thom and his team have seen and done it all.

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We are forgoing our regular blog this week to invite all attendees of next week’s Michigan Downtown Conference to participate by sharing your experience with your social media networks. There will be free Wi-Fi availability at the Lansing Center for this year’s conference. Those not fortunate enough to attend next week’s conference can also follow along in the following ways:

Twitter: @MIDowntownConf & @MichiganMainSt for broadcast tweets. Attendees can hash tag #MIDowntownConf to share their thoughts.

Facebook: Michigan Downtown Conference and Michigan Main Street Center pages

We'll also be sharing some more in-depth thoughts (read as: "More than 140 Characters") here on our blog. We hope you can join us in person next week (walk up registration is available) and join the conversation online too!

See you next week!

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Editor's Note: We're fortunate enough to have the manager of one of our local Michigan Main Street communities, Travis Alden of Manistee Main Street DDA, as our guest blogger this week. Prior to moving back to Michigan, Travis spent several years doing community/downtown development work in Iowa. We haven't done the word count, but we think he might have beat Portland's Patrick Reagan for longest post. It's a good read. Enjoy!

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Editor's Note: We're very fortunate this week to have as a guest blogger our partner and good friend Brian McGrain from the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM). By day, Brian is CEDAM's Associate Director & Chief Operating Officer and serves as CEDAM's representative on the Michigan Main Street Advisory Committee and Michigan Downtown Conference Planning Partners Committee. By night, Brian is an Ingham County Commissioner and active member of the Grand River Connection, a Lansing-based Young Professionals Network.

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