Main Street Cedartown gets national accreditation
Program meets benchmarks for prestigious recognition
The Cedartown Main Street Program recently received prestigious accreditation from both the National Main Street Center and Georgia Main Street for meeting 2014 benchmark standards.
The National Main Street Program Accreditation Process evaluated the Cedartown Main Street program according to 10 performance standards.
The standards, developed by the National Trust Main Street Center (NTMSC), in cooperation with the Georgia Main Street coordinating program, provide benchmarks and guidelines on how a Main Street revitalization program should optimally function, and serves as an incentive for programs to operate more effectively.
While every designated local Main Street program can work toward accreditation, not every Main Street program receives it.
Main Street coordinating programs evaluate their local programs every year and submit their eligible programs to the Main Street Center. Cedartown’s Main Street program is headed up by Ramona Ruark.
“Kudos to Main Street Director Ramona Ruark for her diligent efforts in accumulating the necessary documentation to achieve this goal,” said Cedartown City Manager Bill Fann.
“This accreditation is the result of the hard work of many, but special thanks has to go to the Downtown Cedartown Association and the Downtown Renaissance Project committee that support our efforts.”
The 10 performance standards by which a Main Street Program is measured includes: broad-based community support for the commercial district revitalization process from both public and private sectors; the development of vision and mission statements relevant to community conditions; having a comprehensive Main Street work plan; possessing a historic preservation ethic; having an active board of directors and committees, and having an adequate operating budget.
Other standards include the reporting of key statistics, offering training for staff and volunteers, employment of a paid professional program manager, and membership in the National Trust Main Street Network.