Winnemucca Main Street establishes board of directors

WINNEMUCCA, Nev. — The Winnemucca Main Street program now has a board of directors in place and held its first meeting last week.

The board of directors includes President Naomi Leahy, Vice President Claire Buchanan, Secretary Abel Del Real-Nava, interim Treasurer Brad Borowski, Wendy Raynor, Michelle Urain and Lily Hangere.

The board will also include a director appointed from the Winnemucca City Council.

The Main Street program focuses on four approaches to helping a community, including design, promotion, economic vitality and organization.

The design includes the look and feel of a community, particularly the downtown area, working on projects to improve the physical condition and aesthetics.

Economic vitality includes targeting vacancy rates and empty buildings, helping establish desirable businesses in appropriate locations and helping businesses be successful.

Organization includes maintaining the nonprofit organization, a working board, committee members, etc. that contribute to the program's success and sustainability.

Promotion includes communicating information about the program to local citizens and businesses to help get people involved in visiting downtown more often, knowing when and where events are happening, promoting downtown opportunities and grant opportunities for businesses when applicable.

The Main Street program can also work in partnership with establishing historical districts and preservation efforts while also enhancing economic development in a community.

Last year the Winnemucca Main Street program secured a grant of over $8,000 to design and order historical downtown walking tour books for Winnemucca in partnership with the Humboldt Museum.

One of the next steps in the process of developing the Winnemucca Main Street program is to establish a 501(c)3, which the board can do now that officers have been established.

Establishing a nonprofit status will allow the program to become eligible for grants and other program benefits.

Last year several members of the community including two city council representatives attended the national Main Street conference and this year at least one person from Winnemucca is scheduled to attend utilizing a scholarship from the Main Street America program.

The Winnemucca Main Street program was established last year and began in the “Exploring” phase of the national Main Street America program and is now at the “Affiliate” level.

Go to facebook.com/WMCAMainStreet to learn more.