Friend's of Downtown Collinsville, Inc. - http://www.downtowncollinsville.com Downtown Collinsville, Inc. Is a Winner Again! More than 350 volunteers and business and city government leaders from Illinois Main Street communities around the state attended the 6th Annual Spring Conference from May 5-7 in Rock Island, IL. At the Awards Dinner hosted by Lt. Governor Corinne Wood, six representatives from Collinsville learned that Downtown Collinsville Main Street program won two major awards. Illinois Main Street recognized Collinsville for outstanding achievement in their 1st annual Membership Drive and for their Downtown Quarterly newsletter. Judy DeMoisy, Downtown Manager, and Michael Gassmann of Collinsville accepted the awards for Collinsville. Also in attendance from Collinsville were Arvil and Betty Wrigley and Doc and Sherry Hatton. While there, they had the opportunity to choose from 39 workshops designed to promote further growth and revitalization in Illinois communities. They also attended general sessions addressed by Donovan Rypkema and Norman Mintz (author of Cities Back from the Edge), both nationally recognized downtown revitalization consultants. In her keynote address, Lt. Gov. Wood praised the Main Street program for recognizing that “Development is not just helping business leaders. It is encouraged by vibrant, lively communities. That is what Main Street gives us.” She stated “Main Street shows what people can achieve at the grassroots level with the support of government resources…Illinois plans continued support and expansion of the program.” Lt. Gov. Wood announced two new initiatives for the Main Street Program. The Illinois Main Street Homecoming 2000 is a statewide observation planned on July 4 as Main Street’s millennium celebration. In addition, a statewide Junior Main Street effort will become part of the official Illinois Main Street program. Illinois Main Street began in the Lt. Governor’s Office in 1993 under current Gov. George Ryan to assist communities revitalize their downtown districts. The program was expanded in 1995 to include Chicago and again in 1998 to include larger cities. Illinois Main Street follows the model established by the National Trust Main Street Center and operates in cooperation with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. For more information on the Illinois Main Street call Valecia Crisafulli, coordinator of the statewide program, at 217-524-6869. For more information about the program at work in Collinsville call Judy DeMoisy, Downtown Manager, at 618-345-5598. Take care, Yvonne in Burke, VA Madison County, IL Coordinator and Lisowner ************************** Viva la USGenWeb Project! Viva la USGenWeb Archives! Freely accessible and searchable! http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ ************************** USGenWeb National Advisory Board Member SE/Mid-Atlantic Member of VAGenWeb, MOGenWeb, KSGenWeb, ILGenWeb, OKGenWeb KYGenWeb & NCGenWeb