By: Caroline Alex/Main Street Williamston Executive Director
As we approach the latter half of 2014, I wanted to give the community a full update on all that has been happening here at Main Street Williamston since our last article. As many of you know, successful things take time, and that is exactly the path Main Street Williamston is on. While there may not be as many visible and tangible signs of that doesn’t mean we aren’t busy little bees behind the doors making progress towards a successful sustainable future here in Historic Williamston. So with that, I would like to enlighten you on all that has been going on!
We have made great progress distributing and implementing the new logos from April 2014 Branding Charrette throughout the town and with other partner organizations like G.W.B.A, Palmetto Farmers Market, and the Palmetto Area Cultural Arts Center. Our big project right now is our Banner Program. We will have a total of 39 new banners that will feature the new Historic Williamston Logo and be placed up and down Main Street; with these 39 new banners, 19 are new locations. The banners will provide a pleasant welcome to visitors and residents as they come into town from Greenville and Anderson. Currently, we have received all the hardware from the production company, and the banners will be shipped to us within the next week. Installation of hardware has already begun! So, keep your eyes peeled for the exciting debut of our new banners!
Our Main Street Williamston Four Committees are hard at work with their projects. At this time, our four committees are each working on a handful of projects, but we wanted to update the town with a highlight on a few of their projects! The Organization Committee is working on a Main Street Williamston Volunteer Drive and crafting a presentation for speaking engagements that shares all the splendid things Main Street has already done, is currently doing, and has planned for the future. The presentation also shares how anyone (and everyone!) can be involved in Main Street Williamston through our various volunteer opportunities. This committee is also working on a fundraising campaign. Our Promotions Committee is working on a Historic Williamston Events Calendar and marketing projects with all of our new logos! Our Design Committee is working on a plan to beautify our gateway entrances with the help of our volunteers and local Master Gardeners. They are also teaming up with the PACAC, Mr. Thomas Addison, and local art students to fill vacant storefront windows with local student artwork that celebrates Williamston and all the wonderful things about our town. Our Economic Restructuring Committee is working on a Main St. property inventory while also researching and planning the first steps of creating a Master Plan.
The Main Street Williamston Advisory Board has recently adopted by-laws and we are in the beginning stages of applying for our 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status. Our Board is currently working on a project that will allow them to better introduce themselves to the community and share why they believe in Main Street Williamston and are passionate about our mission, vision, and purpose.
Lastly, Main Street Williamston has recorded 25.5 Hours of volunteer time for the month of July 2014. In South Carolina, one volunteer hour is valued at $20.15 (1 hour=$20.15), according to Independent Sector (https://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time). Thus, our 25.5 hours of volunteer time is valued at the in-kind total $513.83. We would like to thank our volunteers this past month for their dedication to our program and the sacrifices they made! Since January 2014 to July 2014, Main Street Williamston has recorded 345 hours of volunteer time; the in-kind monetary value of this time is worth $6,951.75. What an incredible amount of time given by our great volunteers in just 7 months! Thank you for all you do. We look forward to having more community members join us and be a part of our volunteer team. Please feel free to get in contact with me if you would like to learn more about how you can be a part of Main Street Williamston.
We are still selling Historic Williamston T-Shirts at Town Hall and the various events in town. They are $10 each and go to support Main Street Williamston’s mission and projects. Come get one today before we sell out! Look for us at the Spring Water Festival on Saturday August 23rd in our historic Mineral Spring Park! We will have a booth and will be selling t-shirts along with talking about our amazing program. Keep up the support and good work, Historic Williamston. There is such a bright bright future ahead for us!
