The City of Ringgold has successfully completed the Start-Up Program and will receive designation as an official Georgia Main Street. Councilmember Terry Crawford (second from left) and Councilmember Randall Franks (third from left) receive the award from Jessica Reynolds and Billy Peppers, Director of the Office of Downtown Development.
The City of Ringgold was recognized at the Annual Georgia Main Street Luncheon on January 26, as one of 17 communities that are graduating from the Georgia Main Street Start-up Program in 2015 to receive the national designation of a Classic Main Street Community. In the fall of 2013 the City of Ringgold was selected, out of 25 applicants, to participate in the largest Main Street Start-up class in the history of the Georgia Main Street Program.
"Over the following 14 months our community has worked closely with the Office of Downtown Development at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to prepare our community, downtown business owners, volunteers and elected officials for the journey ahead," according to Joseph Brellenthin, Ringgold's Main Street Manager who acts as director of the Downtown Development Authority and the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“Each of the communities recognized here today has worked hard to earn the distinction of calling themselves a Main Street city," said Billy Peppers, Director of the Office of Downtown Development. "They join an expansive statewide network now comprised of over 100 designated Main Street Communities. We know that no matter what challenges lay ahead, each of these cities has worked hard to build a solid foundation upon which a successful Main Street Program can be built.”
"This is a tremendous step forward solidifying our commitment to better enable our main street businesses and property owners to succeed and have greater access to the resources available to Main Street communities," said Randall Franks, Main Street Committee Chairman. "We continue to work to enhance opportunities for greater economic development such as encouraging new business opportunities, supporting expansions or improvements on existing ones, and assisting owners in creating more productive uses for existing spaces," explained Franks. "The hard work behind, and still ahead, brings us together and will help us build a greater sense of community," said Mr. Franks.
"Through downtown development trainings, community visioning sessions and capacity building activities our newly designated Main Street program is now ready to meet and exceed the guidelines for the 10 National Standards for Accreditation, as laid out by the National Main Street Center," explained Mr. Franks.