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GET INVOLVED

We’d love for you to be a part of the Owosso Main Street team.

Owosso Main Street/DDA (OMS) is a volunteer-led organization that exists to foster an active and thriving downtown that is the heart of our community by promoting historic preservation and drawing both local residents and visitors to our city.

We use the Main Street Four-Point Approach® process as an opportunity to introduce volunteers into the more traditional, professional-led downtown development historically completed by the Owosso Downtown Development Authority (DDA). This process requires that the program be led by a Board of Directors. The board of Owosso Main Street is the board of the Owosso DDA.

THE BOARD CONSISTS OF:
  • One President
  • One Vice-president
  • One Treasurer
  • One Secretary
  • Five Additional Authority Members
THE OMS BOARD OF DIRECTORS OVERSEES VOLUNTEER WORK IN TWO COMMITTEES:
  1. Promotion & Outreach Committee
  2. Design & Business Vitality Committee
THE PROMOTION & OUTREACH COMMITTEE

Focuses on the Organization and Promotion approaches of the National Main Street 4-Point Approach through regular meetings and Work Plan development/implementation.

Promoting Main Street takes many forms, but the ultimate goal is to position the downtown or commercial district as the center of the community and the hub of economic activity, while creating a positive image that showcases a community’s unique characteristics. This can be done through highlighting cultural traditions, celebrating and preserving important architecture and history, encouraging local businesses to market cooperatively, offering coordinated specials and sales, and hosting special events aimed at changing perceptions of the district and communicating to residents, investors, businesses, and property-owners that this place is special.

A strong organizational foundation is key for a sustainable Main Street revitalization effort. This can take many forms, from a standalone non-profit organization, to a special assessment district, to a program housed in a municipality or existing community development entity. Regardless of the organizational type, the focus is on ensuring that all organizational resources (partners, funding, volunteers, etc.) are mobilized to effectively implement the Community Transformative Strategies.

THE DESIGN & BUSINESS VITALITY COMMITTEE

Focuses on the Design and Economic Vitality approaches through regular meetings and Work Plan development/implementation.

A focus on Design supports a community’s transformation by enhancing the physical elements of downtown while capitalizing on the unique assets that set the commercial district apart.  Main Streets enhance their appeal to residents and visitors alike with attention to public space through the creation of pedestrian friendly streets, inclusion of public art in unexpected areas, visual merchandising, adaptive reuse of older and historic buildings, more efficiently-designed buildings, transit oriented development, and much more.

Revitalizing a downtown or neighborhood commercial district requires focusing on the underlying Economic Vitality of the district.   This work is rooted in a commitment to making the most of a community’s unique sense of place and existing historic assets, harnessing local economic opportunity and creating a supportive business environment for small business owners and the growing scores of entrepreneurs, innovators, and localists alike. With the nation-wide growing interest in living downtown, supporting downtown housing is also a key element of building Economic Vitality.

Get Involved

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us at [email protected] or 989.725.0751