Podcasts about main street america

Coffee Talks, Liberty Bell Sketches, and Designing with PurposeIn this episode, Kurt and Jamie dive into various topics from their morning coffee routines to architectural sketches of the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia. They discuss the importance of site orientation, design interpretation, and the evolving role of architects in preserving heritage while embracing innovation. The duo also reflects on their experiences with students and share insights on meaningful architectural design.00:00 Launching the Rocket00:38 Jamie's Rant01:34 Coffee Talk08:11 Current Events and COAD Zine12:05 Sketch Time: Liberty Bell Center24:09 Architectural Reflections and Preservation30:32 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsSend Feedback :) Support the showBuy some Coffee! Support the Show!https://ko-fi.com/coffeesketchpodcast/shop Our Links Follow Jamie on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/falloutstudio/ Follow Kurt on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kurtneiswender/ Kurt's Practice - https://www.instagram.com/urbancolabarchitecture/ Coffee Sketch on Twitter - https://twitter.com/coffeesketch Jamie on Twitter - https://twitter.com/falloutstudio Kurt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/kurtneiswender

In a recent episode of The Valley Business Today, host Janet Michael along with cohost Niki Foster, President of the Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce had an in-depth conversation with Ellen Aders about the ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown Front Royal. The discussion, recorded at the chamber, delved into the intricacies of the Main Street Program and the significant strides made by Downtown Front Royal Inc. toward achieving Main Street Accreditation. Ellen Aders, the president of Downtown Front Royal Inc., shared her long-standing affection for the area and discussed her organization's progress in the Main Street Program. Since revisiting the program in late 2022, Downtown Front Royal Inc. has advanced through various phases, including 'Exploring Main Street' and 'Mobilizing Main Street.' Ellen explained that, unlike 15-20 years ago, the Main Street certification process has been streamlined, allowing organizations to gradually phase themselves in. With a better understanding of the requirements, including organized bylaws, a clear vision, a strategic plan, and a budget, Ellen and her team applied for and were accepted into the 'Mobilizing Main Street' phase. This phase includes monthly homework assignments, meetings, and continuous community engagement to prepare for full Main Street Accreditation. Janet reiterated that the Main Street Program is deeply rooted in community support and education. It focuses on creating a vibrant downtown area that caters to the community's needs, including cooperative efforts with local businesses. Ellen emphasized that the community's backing is vital to progress through the program and reach Main Street Accreditation. Ellen detailed Main Street America's four-point approach: organization, economic vitality, design, and promotion. These pillars ensure a strong foundation for supporting local businesses, preserving historic downtown areas, and promoting community activities. Downtown Front Royal Inc. has already initiated several projects, including an expanded farmers' market and plans for a permanent welcome sign at the Commerce/Main Street gateway. With plans to enhance the downtown experience further, Ellen discussed the upcoming Garden of Dreams fundraiser. This event, sponsored by Marlow Motor Company, aims to raise funds for continued downtown development projects. The fundraiser will offer a night of dinner, music, live and silent auctions, and community engagement. Ellen and Janet discussed the essential resources provided by the Main Street organization, including access to various grants and preservation support. The affiliation with Main Street offers substantial benefits to potential investors and local businesses, supporting the overall goal of a thriving downtown community. Niki shares updates on the Wine & Craft Festival. She highlighted the importance of committee involvement to ensure the success of local events and programs. The episode wrapped up with a call to action for the community to get involved, either through volunteering, attending events, or sponsoring projects. Janet, Ellen, and Niki underscored that the continued support and active participation of the community are crucial for the ongoing revitalization efforts of downtown Front Royal. 

How can we take advantage of Trump's tax plan? Mark J Kohler is here to explain several key tactics, and it's not what you think.

How can we take advantage of Trump's tax plan? Mark J Kohler is here to explain several key tactics, and it's not what you think.

On the radio show this week we cover Trump's attack on federal workers, the critical services they provide and the disproportionate impact on women and people of color. We dive into how we can win at the state level, even in red states, with bipartisan support for issues like maternal health.  We hear about Trump's dangerously unqualified pick for Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, and why you should call your Senators to oppose her nomination. Finally, we discuss the negative impacts that trade wars and tariffs are having on Main Street America, and how you can help in your own community.      SPECIAL GUESTS:  Judy Conti, National Employment Law Project, @nelpnews, @nelp.org; Tina Sherman, MomsRising, @MomsRising, @momsrising.org; Ruthanne Buck, SquadBuck; Richard Trent, Main Street Alliance, @mainstreetweets

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: What is the mission of the Maine Downtown Center? What led leaders in Ellsworth and Belfast to work with the Maine Downtown Center and what was the process for connecting? With leadership from Heart of Ellsworth, that city recently became an accredited Main Street America community. What does that mean and what was involved in getting there? How does Our Town Belfast support new and existing downtown businesses? How does a downtown organization work with local government, Chambers of Commerce, tourism organizations or other groups? Guest/s: Cara Romano, Executive Director, Heart of Ellsworth. Amanda Cunningham, Our Town Belfast. Sylvie Piquet, Program Director, Maine Downtown Center, Maine Development Foundation. FMI: www.mdf.org/program-partnerships/maine-downtown-center/ www.heartofellsworth.org ourtownbelfast.org About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor. The post Talk of the Towns 1/8/25: Helping Maine Downtowns Thrive first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Revitalizing Main Street: Boulder City's Historic Preservation and Community Development.Welcome to "The Best Dam Podcast," In today's episode, our host, Jill Lagan, dives into the heart of Boulder City's historic downtown with the Main Street Boulder City program, now in its exciting second year. This initiative, part of the national Main Street America network, emphasizes historic preservation, community development, and economic growth.Joining us are three remarkable consultants driving this program forward: Michelle Caven, Amber Cunningham, and Danielle Stemmer. Michelle, a 20-year resident of Boulder City, brings a wealth of historical knowledge and passion for the city's legacy. Amber, with her rich background in economics and public administration, is enhancing our community's economic landscape, organizing fantastic events like the New Year's Eve block party. Danielle, whose varied career spans sociology, healthcare, and event management, focuses on understanding community needs and enhancing quality of life.DISCUSSION  POINTSDiscovering Local History — Michelle [00:03:22 → 00:03:28]The Hidden Charm of Boulder City — Michelle [00:03:58 → 00:04:09]Passion for Helping People — Danielle [00:07:35 → 00:07:37]Revitalizing Boulder City — Danielle [00:07:47 → 00:08:01]Discover the Hidden Gems Near the Hoover Dam — Danielle [00:08:23 → 00:08:31]Finding Fulfillment in Helping Others — Danielle [00:09:23 → 00:09:26]Excitement for the Future — Michelle [00:13:17 → 00:13:41]Promoting Community and Business Growth — Amber [00:04:41 → 00:04:55]Creating Special Memories — Amber [00:10:42 → 00:11:28]"Connecting Communities through Volunteer Fairs — Amber [00:12:12 → 00:12:25]Exciting Developments in Boulder City — Michelle [00:16:47 → 00:17:03]Community Cleanup Initiative — Amber [00:18:53 → 00:19:04]Great Gatsby-Themed New Year's Eve Block Party — Amber [00:22:05 → 00:22:17]Family-Friendly New Year's Eve Celebration — Danielle [00:23:23 → 00:23:48]Engaging Youth in Historic Preservation — Michelle  [00:27:27 → 00:27:34]Viral Topic - The Importance of Dams in Boulder City — Amber [00:37:20 → 00:37:24]Community Impact through Car Shows — Michelle [00:39:09 → 00:39:30]Growing Events Through Community Partnerships — Michelle [00:39:55 → 00:39:59]The Power of AI in Marketing — Amber [00:47:09 → 00:47:14]LEARN MOREClick here to learn more about Main Street Boulder City on their website, or visit their Facebook page.KEYWORDSMain Street Boulder City, Main Street America, Jill Lagan, Boulder City Chamber of Commerce, The Best Dam Podcast, Podcast Interview#MainStreetBoulderCity #MainStreetAmerica #BoulderCity #JillLagan #BCNVChamber2024 #TheBestDamPodcast #PodcastInterviewCREDITSThe Best Dam Podcast is a Boulder City Chamber of Commerce podcast production. This episode is sponsored by the  i & i Podcast & Music Studio. Be Heard.   Music for the Best Dam Podcast was created by ZakharValaha from Pixabay. 

Keyanna Ortiz-Cedeno chats with Danielle Zoe Rivera, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at the University of California Berkeley. Rivera's research examines policy and design for environmental and climate justice. Her work uses community-based research methods to address the impacts of climate-induced disasters affecting low-income communities. Her current work deeply engages rural and unincorporated communities of color reeling from disasters, challenging government agencies to recognize these communities and alter outdated policy and programmatic frameworks. Rivera teaches environmental planning and design, community engagement, and environmental justice. Rivera holds a PhD in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan, a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Architecture from the Pennsylvania State University. ⁠Learn more about her work and research.⁠ -------------- Plan Dulce is a podcast by the ⁠Latinos and Planning Division⁠ of the American Planning Association. --------------- ⁠Register for LUGARES!⁠ LAP's 5th Annual Conference November 7-8, 2024 at 10AM-5PM Central Time. This year's conference theme is “Nuestras Historias” centering on the shared collective knowledge that is embedded within our histories and storytelling for shaping greater community resilience. ⁠Dr. Lydia Otero⁠, professor emeritus from the University of Arizona will be our keynote speaker. This year's LUGARES will also feature a variety of resources for implementation in your local communities from partners such as ⁠UnidosUS⁠, ⁠Main Street America⁠, and ⁠Latinos in Heritage Conservation⁠.

Keyanna Ortiz-Cedeno chats with Danielle Zoe Rivera, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at the University of California Berkeley. Rivera's research examines policy and design for environmental and climate justice. Her work uses community-based research methods to address the impacts of climate-induced disasters affecting low-income communities. Her current work deeply engages rural and unincorporated communities of color reeling from disasters, challenging government agencies to recognize these communities and alter outdated policy and programmatic frameworks. Rivera teaches environmental planning and design, community engagement, and environmental justice. Rivera holds a PhD in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan, a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Architecture from the Pennsylvania State University. Learn more about her work and research. -------------- Plan Dulce is a podcast by the Latinos and Planning Division of the American Planning Association. --------------- Register for LUGARES! LAP's 5th Annual Conference November 7-8, 2024 at 10AM-5PM Central Time. This year's conference theme is “Nuestras Historias” centering on the shared collective knowledge that is embedded within our histories and storytelling for shaping greater community resilience. Dr. Lydia Otero, professor emeritus from the University of Arizona will be our keynote speaker. This year's LUGARES will also feature a variety of resources for implementation in your local communities from partners such as UnidosUS, Main Street America, and Latinos in Heritage Conservation.

Revolutionizing MSP Operations with Mobile-First Quoting, AI Integration, and Bleeding-Edge VoIP Infrastructure at Viirtue, Part of 2 of 3 “Your typical, you know, a small business on Main Street America doesn't really understand how AI works or how it gets put together and integrated into their daily tools,” says Dan Rosenrauch of Viirtue. “We think that just positioning our partners to be the trusted expert on AI, could be a pretty special thing growing.” In this second part of a three-part series on Viirtue, we take on infrastructure and Viirtue's work with their clients in this space. In this podcast we learn how Viirtue is positioning their partners for success by opening a new data center, with a very considerable investment. AI requires state of the art infrastructure. “We have a commitment to ensure that our partners can deliver AI tools, we feel like MSPs and telcos are in a unique position to be the consultants for AI.” "SIP trunking is still a huge business, and we've just invested over six figures into our SIP trunking network, which is cool. We did the opposite of what you think. With our investment, we can lower our overall costs and we're looking to push those savings onto our partners. With this big investment into our SIP trunking network and some of the configurations we've done by optimizing our costs, we're able to optimize our partners' costs and therefore they can deliver a more affordable solution to their partners, or they can just take advantage of the better margins. Whatever works best for their business.” About Viirtue, Inc. Viirtue is an award-winning wholesale voice & UCaaS provider. Viirtue's ViiBE platform transforms MSPs, VARs, ITSPs, Telcos and agents into digitized business communications providers. Visit www.viirtue.com

Mark Kohler, M.PR.A., C.P.A., J.D., is a highly respected Founding and Senior Partner at KKOS Lawyers, specializing in tax, legal, wealth, estate, and asset protection planning. With a reputation as a YouTube personality, best-selling author, and national speaker, Kohler is dedicated to guiding clients through complex legal and financial landscapes to achieve their American Dream. He also serves as the co-founder and Board Member of the Directed IRA Trust Company and has launched the Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Program to train CPAs and Enrolled Agents nationwide. As the co-host of The Main Street Business Podcast and The Directed IRA Podcast, he simplifies intricate topics like legal and tax strategy, asset protection, retirement, investing, and wealth growth. Mark Kohler's commitment to helping entrepreneurs and small business owners attain success and financial security has made him a trusted expert in the field, benefiting countless individuals and businesses in navigating the financial and business world with confidence. Listen to this insightful RIA episode with Mark Kohler about revolutionizing tax and legal advice. Here is what to expect on this week's show: - How small business owners need to take an active role in their financial and legal planning. - Why business owners shouldn't overly rely on passive advice from accountants and lawyers. - How regular, proactive engagement between clients and their financial advisors optimizes business planning. - How there is a lack of proactive strategic advice from traditional financial advisors. - Why financial literacy and proactive management among small business owners is vital. Connect with Mark: Links Mentioned: markjkohler.com X @markkohler Instagram @markjkohler Facebook facebook.com/markkohler LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/markjkohler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Kohler, M.PR.A., C.P.A., J.D., is a highly respected Founding and Senior Partner at KKOS Lawyers, specializing in tax, legal, wealth, estate, and asset protection planning. With a reputation as a YouTube personality, best-selling author, and national speaker, Kohler is dedicated to guiding clients through complex legal and financial landscapes to achieve their American Dream. He also serves as the co-founder and Board Member of the Directed IRA Trust Company and has launched the Main Street Certified Tax Advisor Program to train CPAs and Enrolled Agents nationwide. As the co-host of The Main Street Business Podcast and The Directed IRA Podcast, he simplifies intricate topics like legal and tax strategy, asset protection, retirement, investing, and wealth growth. Mark Kohler's commitment to helping entrepreneurs and small business owners attain success and financial security has made him a trusted expert in the field, benefiting countless individuals and businesses in navigating the financial and business world with confidence.   Listen to this informative Sharkpreneur episode with Mark Kohler about revolutionizing tax and legal advice. Here are some of the beneficial topics covered on this week's show: - How small business owners need to take an active role in their financial and legal planning. - Why business owners shouldn't overly rely on passive advice from accountants and lawyers. - How regular, proactive engagement between clients and their financial advisors optimizes business planning. - How there is a lack of proactive strategic advice from traditional financial advisors. - Why financial literacy and proactive management among small business owners is vital.   Connect with Mark: Guest Contact Info X @markkohler Instagram @markjkohler Facebook facebook.com/markkohler LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/markjkohler   Links Mentioned: markjkohler.com   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Finding Your Path in Economic Development  Dennis is joined by Develop This! contributing correspondents Joi Cuartero Austin CEcd, Senior Program Officer, Economic Vitality with Main Street America, and Sean M. Maguire, AICP CEcD Economic Development and Planning Executive. Together, they discuss finding Your Path in Economic Development. Economic development is a broad career track. How do you find your niche? A career in economic development can take you in so many different directions, and many people do not start out to be an economic development professional. How can you best prepare for the ever-changing landscape of the economic development world? Is it better to be a generalist or a specialist? Should you follow your passion? What are some considerations you would look for in a position?  

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is Friday, Feb. 23 Three more WV communities join ON TRAC, the precursor to Main Street certified communities. Volunteers are needed for WV's Make It Shine cleanup in April. And find out who has the top-rated tamales in the Mountain State…on today's daily304.  #1 – From WV ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – Three new communities have been selected as 2024 West Virginia ON TRAC Communities. They are: Moundsville, Marshall County; Ravenswood, Jackson County; and Weston, Lewis County. ON TRAC is the precursor to becoming a fully designated Main Street Community. ON TRAC communities will participate in mentoring from certified Main Street programs. West Virginia Main Street is a West Virginia Department of Economic Development program. It focuses on the economic development of historic downtown and neighborhood commercial districts by providing technical services, design assistance, and continuous training of board and committee members and program managers using Main Street America's Four-Point Approach. There are 11 accredited Main Street Communities and 14 ON TRAC Communities in West Virginia.  Read more: https://westvirginia.gov/three-west-virginia-towns-named-as-on-trac-communities/   #2 – From MY BUCKHANNON – Volunteers, we need your help to keep West Virginia clean! Applications are now available for the 2024 West Virginia Make It Shine Statewide Spring Cleanup. This annual event is sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan Program. This year's cleanup will take place during the first two weeks of April. The Make It Shine program will provide resources such as cleanup materials, waste hauling, and landfill fees to community groups volunteering to conduct litter cleanups in state streams or on public lands. Applications are due by Friday, March. Applications are available online. For more information, contact Chris Cartwright at DEPwvmis@wv.gov or by phone at 1-800-322-5530. Read more: https://www.mybuckhannon.com/wvdep-now-accepting-applications-for-2024-make-it-shine-spring-cleanup/   #3 – From WBOY-TV – Tamales are a popular and delicious dish that can be found all around the world, but where can you find the best one in the Mountain State? A staple in many Mexican restaurants, this delicious dish consists of corn-based dough filled with a variety of fillings, then wrapped in banana leaf or corn husk and steamed. According to reviewers on Yelp the best tamales in the state can be found at Pupuseria Emerita in the Hardy County town of Moorefield.  With an average of 4.7/5 with 35 ratings, this Salvadoran and Honduran restaurant in the Eastern Panhandle has high praise from people traveling through the Mountain State and people who live there. “The food tastes just like if you set up your favorite grandma with a restaurant to cook for people,” wrote Brian N. from Arlington, Virginia, who gave the restaurant 5 stars. Read more: https://www.wboy.com/news/west-virginia/this-is-where-you-can-find-the-best-tamale-in-west-virginia-according-to-yelp/   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.  

Dive into the transformative world of private equity in this insightful episode of the Karma School of Business Podcast, featuring Kevin McAllister, the visionary Founder and Managing Partner at Access Holdings. Honored as BluWave's 2024 Private Equity Innovator of the Year, Kevin discusses the innovative strategies that propel Access Holdings to industry leadership. Episode Highlights: [00:01:22] - Exploring the Access Acceleration Center - Kevin provides a glimpse into their high-tech private equity office, where technology and data analytics drive value creation. [00:10:28] - Evolution from Fundless Sponsor to Market Leader - Learn about the growth trajectory of Access Holdings and the strategic vision that guided their rise to prominence. [00:20:38] - Commitment to Corporate Citizenship - Kevin delves into how Access Holdings embeds social responsibility into their ethos, aligning business success with community impact. [00:30:01] - Fueling Growth and Employment - A conversation on the targeted growth strategies Access Holdings employs to support their portfolio companies and stimulate job creation. [00:37:53] - The Culture of Learning and Innovation - Kevin speaks on the importance of nurturing a learning environment that encourages innovation and keeps the firm agile in a competitive landscape. To learn more about Access Holdings, go to www.accessholdings.com To learn more about BluWave's 2024 Top Private Equity Innovator Awards, and Access Holdings as our Innovator of the Year, go to www.bluwave.net/awards To learn more about Kevin McAllister, go to https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-mcallister-5979347 To learn more about BluWave and this podcast, go to www.bluwave.net/podcast Key Insights & Takeaways: In this episode, Kevin McAllister shares a wealth of knowledge on how Access Holdings' commitment to research, technology, and data analytics has redefined their approach to private equity. Listeners will learn about the importance of selecting markets with persistent tailwinds and the strategic deployment of resources to build competitive advantages within portfolio companies. Kevin also emphasizes the significance of corporate social responsibility, not just as a mandate, but as a core component of building a sustainable and successful business. By focusing on job creation and supporting Main Street America, Access Holdings exemplifies how private equity can be a force for positive economic change. Furthermore, Kevin's insights into fostering a culture of continuous learning underscore the firm's ability to remain at the cutting edge of private equity innovation. Enjoy!

In this episode, contributing correspondent Joi Cuartero Austin is joined by Jackie Swihart, Program Officer with Main Street America. Joi and Jackie discuss Leadership and board burnout  Economic development is challenging, with a lot of responsibility in building community prosperity, which is why you need a strong vision, good planning, and even better leadership at the helm of economic development and other partner organizations. Furthermore, if we weren't already having trouble keeping good staff and board members, the pandemic really highlighted challenges with recruitment and retention. So, what can organizations do to help with leadership burnout and cultivate a strong pipeline? Staff: Great Resignation or Turnover Tsunami: Do you think it's slowing down? What do you think expectations are now when hiring for leadership staff roles? Board: Difficulty in recruiting and retaining volunteers. What has changed in volunteerism in general? General: Our work usually takes us into disinvested communities, whether rural or neighborhood commercial districts, where nonprofit/community organizations often operate with limited resources. How do you navigate resource constraints while still striving for meaningful impact? With the communities you have worked with, are there any trends you have been seeing with staff and board members as it pertains to burnout? Economic development work can be demanding. How do you balance the need for ambitious goals with the well-being of your team members to prevent burnout? How important is collaboration with local partners, businesses, and government entities in the success of economic development initiatives in these communities in avoiding burnout? How do you recognize and address signs of burnout among your team members? What should organizations be prioritizing to help keep staff and build better boards?  

It's all about Holiday Celebrations, Shopping, and Festive Fun on this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Jefferson Highway" Show! FEATURED GUESTS:- ROGER BELL - President of the Jefferson Highway Association which originally founded the Jefferson Highway in 1915. This international highway is also known as "The Pines to the Palms Highway," that runs from Winnipeg, Canada to New Orleans, Louisiana. https://jeffersonhighway.org/ - LACY BURSON - Mainstreet Director of Marshall, Texas. Marshall was first designated an official Texas Main Street City in 1982 and is currently affiliated with Main Street America. More: https://www.facebook.com/MainStreetMarshallTX/ SPECIAL THANK YOU to the Natchitoches Convention & Visitors Bureau! Natchitoches is the oldest city in the state of Louisiana and a popular destination on the Jefferson Highway. Play your visit: https://natchitoches.com/ The Big Blend Radio "Jefferson Highway" Podcast airs every 4th Thursday at 6pm CT. Follow the show here: https://tinyurl.com/yc2ur6mr Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's all about Holiday Celebrations, Shopping, and Festive Fun on this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Jefferson Highway" Show!  FEATURED GUESTS: - ROGER BELL - President of the Jefferson Highway Association which originally founded the Jefferson Highway in 1915. This international highway is also known as "The Pines to the Palms Highway," that runs from Winnipeg, Canada to New Orleans, Louisiana. https://jeffersonhighway.org/   - LACY BURSON - Mainstreet Director of Marshall, Texas. Marshall was first designated an official Texas Main Street City in 1982 and is currently affiliated with Main Street America. More: https://www.facebook.com/MainStreetMarshallTX/  SPECIAL THANK YOU to the Natchitoches Convention & Visitors Bureau! Natchitoches is the oldest city in the state of Louisiana and a popular destination on the Jefferson Highway. Play your visit: https://natchitoches.com/   The Big Blend Radio "Jefferson Highway" Podcast airs every 4th Thursday at 6pm CT. Follow the show here: https://tinyurl.com/yc2ur6mr 

Truliant is helping Main Street America do business in innovative ways. Also in this dialogue, the impact of AI on financial services and how the economy is affecting business development in the region.

One of the most impactful business organizations in Fort Worth in the past 50 years is the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (FWHCC). And the president who is leading that charge through innovation and intentional community programs is Anette Landeros. The FWHCC has developed new programs to better serve their membership and the Historic Northside with revitalization and activation planning. With the announcement of the Main Street America pilot program, accessible pitch competitions, Lanzar Fort Worth featuring the Kauffman Foundation's Fast Trac program, the Hecho en Fort Worth initiative, and much more, Anette is rapidly improving Hispanic business community in Fort Worth.   To learn more about the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, visit them at https://fwhcc.org To learn more about Innovate Fort Worth, visit https://innovatefortworthpodcast.com

TRANSCRIPT  http://peternavarro.substack.com The Republican Party must immediately unite around Donald J. Trump as its presidential candidate.  Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel must voluntarily pass the torch of leadership to a new RNC Chair capable of running a competent campaign in 2024.  Absent these two mid-course corrections, the Republican Party will squander a platinum opportunity to take back both the White House and Congress from a Democrat Party destroying everything Main Street America holds dear. Trump has an insurmountable lead in the polls and a rock-solid base no other candidate can shake.  He WILL be the nominee. As we saw last week, there is no one left on the debate stage either capable of being president or likely to be Trump's VP choice.  The Pillsbury Doughboy of Venom Chris Christie has self-immolated as spoiler hit man.  Loudmouth Ramaswamy is, at best, a Deputy Cabinet appointee.  As for Nikki Haley, yond lean and hungry Cassius has bitten the Trump hand that fed her so many times that she will have NO place in a Trump administration (other than perhaps as ambassador to Botswana).  Ron DeSanctimonious blew his VP chance not just when he swung for Trump's head.  Shrinking Ron has little national appeal to justify a place on the Trump ticket. What, then, is the purpose of continuing with a contested primary season that serves only to drain political funds from the General Election?  Why have a debate schedule that allows the Keebler Elf candidates to throw mud at Trump as they make fools of themselves?  In fact, we saw a similar movie and mud fest in 2020 with all of the usual suspects now hanging around the 2024 fringes.  These Never-Trumpers range from the Koch network's dark money and Rupert Murdoch's propagandist Fox to the Romney-McConnell-Ryan-Noonan RINO sappers and nasty PAC men like George Conway and John Bolton.  In 2020, their dark money and negative ads and attacks most certainly shaved points off the final Trump tally in what was a highly contested race.   And let's not forget the 2020 fragging of Trump from the likes of endless warmongers like George W. Bush, Mad Dog Mattis, and the late Colin Powell, and the passive-aggressive shots at Trump by Mitch McConnell in a Senate that has become nothing short of a Uniparty RINO embarrassment.  As splintered as the Democrat Party is supposed to be, their leaders and big donors wouldn't be doing anything like what the Republican Party is doing.  Now, it's either “here we go again” and the Republican Party hands over an eminently winnable election to the Democrat Party of economic mayhem, open borders, and foreign policy chaos.  Alternatively, it can unite around “The Donald” as the only clear path to victory in 2024. Even if Trump quickly becomes the presumptive nominee, there still is the matter of a Republican National Committee.  As last week's election once again demonstrated, the RNC fat cats know far better how to hold plush fundraisers at posh resorts than win down and dirty elections against a brass-knuckled, grassroots Democrat Party willing to lie, cheat, and lawfare its way to victory. Here's several obvious post-election takeaways.  First, the RNC must develop a far better ground game behind them.  It's not just about getting folks to vote early.  It's also about getting more folks to the polls.  Second, if the RNC allows the Democrat Party to turn the 2024 presidential and congressional races into a referendum on social issues, particularly abortion, Republicans will lose in RECORD numbers.  Just how many times do Republican strategists and leadership have to make this same stupid mistake?  Obama did social issued the feckless Mitt Romney in 2008 when Romney was all but a lock to win on economic issues and Communist China raid on our factories.  Obama did it again to the clueless and ever-cranky, now dear departed John McCain in 2012.  And what about that 2022 Republican tsunami that was supposed to result in a record House victory?  It never materialized for all manner of RNC-induced reasons, not the least of which was a failure to properly message on the abortion issue. Dukakis had it right with his Greek proverb that the fish rots from the head down.  The RNC is a rotten political machine sputtering on every single cylinder, and its head, Ronna McDaniel, must hold her own self accountable for last week's carnage.  So, Ronna, end the debates, endorse Trump, and then step aside so we can, in the words of the immortal Al Davis, “win, baby, win.”  I'm Peter Navarro, and thanks for listening.  Be sure and check out my substatck at peternavarro.substack. com  That's peternavarro.substack.com.  And it will help me get the word out if you write up a review of this podcast.  I'd love to know what you think. Peter Navarro, Out.

EPISODE SUMMARY: Discover a world where financial education reigns supreme and product sales take a back seat, as we are joined by Bernard Reisz, CPA and chief education officer at Resurer Financial. Promise yourself a future where you are not just another number in the system, but an empowered individual making informed financial decisions. Through our conversation with Bernard, we shatter the illusion of financial products masquerading as advice and shed light on the transformational power of real estate, an avenue often underexplored by Main Street America. Venture into the realm of retirement accounts with us as Bernard demystifies their true potential. Understand how your IRAs and 401ks can be your secret weapon in breaking into real estate, steering clear from the lottery-like mentality prevalent in the market. Get ready to uncover the latent power of self-directed retirement accounts and the role financial institutions play in creating restrictions, urging you to assert control over your financial future. Closing our enlightening chat with Bernard, we tackle the vital role of financial education and knowledge. Pledge to take control and ownership of your investments, while acknowledging the necessary due diligence. Explore the idea of giving back through one's vocation and access the plethora of resources offered by Resure Financial. Finally, Bernard reveals a unique personal fact, teaching us a lesson in humility and commitment. Tune in, say goodbye to financial confusion and embrace the path to financial empowerment today. BERNARD'S BIO: Bernard Reisz CPA is Chief Education Officer at ReSure Financial, curating https://members.resurefinancial.com/ to help real estate investors understand how real estate title and tax tools - 1031 Exchange, Cost Segregation, 401k/IRA - can be used to turbocharge ROI and wealth growth. ReSure Financial caters to the tax needs of real estate investors, delivering Cost Segregation, 1031 Exchange, and SDIRA & 401k services. ReSure takes an education first approach, so that investors maximize the benefits of real estate tax tools. As a financial nerd that's guested on countless financial, tax, real estate, and legal forums Bernard delivers straight-talk and unique insight on nearly every aspect of real estate tax topics, including life insurance, real estate professional tax status, asset protection, financial planning, business entity selection, S-Corp, C-Corp, partnerships, 1031 Exchange, 453 Installment Sales, UBIT, UBTI, UDFI and advanced tax mitigation strategies. GET IN TOUCH WITH BERNARD:  https://www.resurefinancial.com/ https://members.resurefinancial.com/ EPISODE CHAPTERS: (0:00:01) - The Importance of Financial Education Financial products, guidance, incentives, disincentives, and education are discussed to understand how real estate can transform financial profiles. (0:12:30) - Financial Advisors and Self-Directed Retirement Accounts Retirement accounts can be used to leverage other people's money for real estate investments, emphasizing the importance of effort. (0:16:20) - Retirement Accounts and Self-Directed Investing We examine 401k plans, non-discrimination testing, safe harbor plans, and financial institution restrictions to help those unable to access their money. (0:33:31) - Education and Financial Knowledge Importance Access to education and knowledge is essential for informed financial decisions, taking control and ownership of investments, and understanding Bernard's mission. (0:38:37) - Importance of Giving Back in Vocation We discuss how to give back through vocation, access services at Reshore Financial, and a unique personal fact. (0:50:32) - Exploring the 'Why' Behind Success Retirement accounts, 401k plans, education, and knowledge are discussed for financial decision-making. If you want to know more about Dr. Jason Balara and the Know your Why Podcast: https://linktr.ee/jasonbalara Audio Track: Back To The Wood by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/  

In this episode, host David Ponraj speaks with Matt Wagner, Ph.D, Chief Program Officer at National Main Street Center, about the vital role small businesses play in communities across America. They discuss how local businesses are the heart and soul of Main Street, serving as hubs for social connection and economic growth. Matt also speaks about his new podcast, Main Street Business Insights, and its inspiration to uplift the stories of small business owners who invest in their neighborhoods and towns, providing a platform for peers to learn from each other and highlight the convergence of social and economic impact.Matt was a previous guest on Breaking Down Barriers in 2021. Check out that episode here: https://economicimpactcatalyst.com/matt-wagner-on-breaking-down-barriers/About Main Street Business Insights podcastEach week, join host Matt Wagner, Ph.D., as he travels the country and takes a deep dive into the personal journeys of downtown and neighborhood entrepreneurs. The stories that far too often go unheard. Learn about the innovative ways that these Main Street businesses have overcome adversity, whether it's starting a new enterprise or keeping a multi-generation business alive, and the advice they have for others on how to keep their businesses on track. Available where you get your podcasts. Subscribe today and get inspired, get informed, and get in motion. Learn more and listen here: https://www.mainstreet.org/howwecanhelp/mainstreetbusinessinsightspodcastAbout National Main Street CenterMain Street was established as a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1980 as a way to address the myriad issues facing older and historic downtowns during that time. Working with a nationwide network of coordinating programs and local communities, Main Street has helped over 2,000 communities across the country bring economic vitality back downtown, while celebrating their historic character, and bringing communities together.An exciting new chapter for the organization began on July 1, 2013, when the Main Street program launched as an independent subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This transition enables Main Street to build on its three-decade record of success, with new leadership and new resources that will help communities respond to evolving needs and opportunities in the commercial district revitalization field.In 2015, the Center launched a new program brand for the network of Main Street programs—Main Street America™—to reinvigorate our collective look, feel, and strategy to position Main Street as a leader locally, regionally, and nationally. Main Street America is based in Chicago, Illinois, with an office in Washington, DC, and field staff located throughout the country.

In this powerful episode of the Main Street Business podcast, host Mark J Kohler sits down with former NFL player, Devon Kennard, to discuss his transition from professional football to becoming an entrepreneurial figure in Main Street America. Former NFL player, Devon Kennard, shares his journey into the world of real estate investment while maintaining a professional sports career.Devon elaborates on the significance of financial literacy and how it played a crucial role in his success both on and off the football field.Mark J Kohler and Devon discuss the concept of "flipping the bag," which involves wisely investing and multiplying your assets, regardless of the initial quantity.Devon presents his strategy for generating passive income, highlighting the importance of having a core team of a broker, a property manager, a lender, and a contractor.He details his first real estate investment in Beach Grove, Indiana, emphasizing the value of starting small and learning from each step.Devon expresses his preference for investing in smaller, turnkey properties before progressing to larger, value-add deals.He shares his future plans to bootstrap his portfolio, aiming to solely own his properties instead of moving into larger syndicated deals.Mark and Devon explore the potential of the Phoenix market for short-term and midterm rentals, with Devon revealing his own experiences and strategies in this area.Devon discusses his book, "It All Adds Up," which encapsulates his experiences and aims to guide others on their financial journey.He underlines the importance of making small, consistent decisions that compound over time, leading to significant personal and financial growth.For more game-changing financial strategies, be sure to like and subscribe to the podcast, and sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more FREE education every week: https://markjkohler.com/contact-us/For more opportunities to learn from Devon Kennard, follow the link below to his website and stay connected: https://www.devonkennard.com/Tax Professionals You NEED This: https://markjkohler.com/become-a-certified-tax-advisor/Save THOUSANDS With My Ultimate Tax Strategy Guide: https://markjkohler.com/youtube/To Get Started With Any One of My Teams: https://linktr.ee/MJKYoutubeCheck Out My YOUTUBE LIVE'S Here: https://www.youtube.com/markjkohler

Imagine a world where private ownership is obsolete and your happiness is not only promised, but guaranteed. Sound like a dystopian novel? Well, according to the World Economic Forum's predictions for 2030, this could be our reality. Join us as we dissect this alarming forecast with our guest, Carol Roth, an entrepreneur, recovered investment banker, and author of the thought-provoking book, "You Will Own Nothing and Be Happy". We delve into a myriad of topics that are interconnected - from social credit and ESG to Wall Street's competition with everyday people to purchase homes.Navigating the murky waters of financial stimulus, we discuss governmental influence and the dangers of taking money without fully understanding the implications. It's a firm belief that financial literacy is the key to preserving the American Dream. And what happens when people have nothing left to lose? We contemplate potential uprisings and how to equip our listeners with the knowledge that can help to avert such a scenario. The conversation ventures into the prospects of a digital dollar and the weaponization of the dollar by the US government, revealing unsettling truths and potential outcomes.In the final act, we scrutinize the ripple effect of the Fed's interventions in the housing market, the entry of institutional money into single-family markets, and the concerning shift of wealth from Main Street America to Wall Street. Drawing parallels to the Twilight Zone, we caution listeners on the unforeseen consequences of good intentions gone awry. With the looming resistance of central banks and governments to decentralization, it's imperative to arm ourselves with knowledge and awareness, as Carol Roth's research underlines. This episode is a powerful call to action to push back against central planning dictates and mandates, and to remain vigilant and informed in these turbulent times.The Canadian Money RoadmapDiscover strategies to save, invest, and grow your money effectively.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifyFoodies unite…with HowUdish!It's social media with a secret sauce: FOOD! The world's first network for food enthusiasts. HowUdish connects foodies across the world!Share kitchen tips and recipe hacks. Discover hidden gem food joints and street food. Find foodies like you, connect, chat and organize meet-ups!HowUdish makes it simple to connect through food anywhere in the world.So, how do YOU dish? Download HowUdish on the Apple App Store today:

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is SATURDAY, June 17  Wheeling is rewarded for its revitalization efforts…plan your WV State Parks fishing adventure… and Blenko Glass pays homage to the state's coal history with its 2023 WV Day piece…on today's daily304. #1 – From WTRF Wheeling –  You can see it in all of the hard hats and orange cones—Wheeling is in the middle of a makeover. Much of that investment is thanks to a small but committed group that just received national recognition for their work. For the fifth time, Wheeling Heritage has been accredited by Main Street America. The non-profit recognizes efforts to preserve and revitalize downtowns across the country…specifically with historic sites and new business. Read more: https://www.wtrf.com/wheeling/preserving-history-and-boosting-small-business-gives-wheeling-heritage-national-accreditation/   #2 – From WV STATE PARKS –  Get your family hooked on fishing by taking them to a West Virginia state park or forest. Our lakes and streams are stocked with trout, bass, bluegill and other sport fish. State parks and forests are some of the best places for new anglers to catch a fish, and many of our top spots are easily accessible for people of all skill sets. But before you head out on your trip, make sure you have a current license and stamps. If you don't have one, purchase one today at www.wvfish.com. Learn more -- and book your trip -- at www.wvstateparks.com. Read more: https://wvstateparks.com/things-to-do/fishing/   #3 – From THE HERALD-DISPATCH – Blenko Glass is launching its West Virginia Day pieces. This year's items draw inspiration from the coal industry. New for 2023, “Specimen” is the first multimedia West Virginia Day Blenko piece. It is a deep purple piece of glass, made in a dump mold to resemble a lump of coal, sitting on a wooden plinth under  a vivid tangerine specimen jar dome lid with a turquoise flame knob. A companion piece, “If It Ain't Broke,” resembles an oversized lightbulb made in crystal crackle glass with a turquoise spiral thread as its opening. “Specimen” will be available today at noon. It is expected to sell out quickly. Those interested in purchasing are encouraged to create an account on the Blenko website and pre-fill purchase information. Read more: https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/blenkos-west-virginia-day-pieces-rich-with-symbolism-celebrate-history-of-coal/article_287d04f1-0441-5e99-a0e6-0fad3065bbf3.html   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.

The chief executive officer of the State Financial Officers Foundation says "we never really saw the [environmental, social, and governance] movement weaponized in a way that this White House and administration [have] weaponized it.""Certainly, fund managers like BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard have weaponized it, and so it's really just been in the last two years that we've seen them use funds, like pension retirement funds, in a way that leverages those dollars to push these social agendas," Derek Kreifels says of the so-called ESG movement."And so, our simple premise and argument has been, if most Americans knew how their pension fund dollars were being invested, they would probably be appalled and shocked," Kreifels says. "And so, we launched a campaign called 'Our Money, Our Values.'"Kreifels adds: It's available at our website OurMoneyOurValues.com, where we're trying to educate Main Street America on the dangers of ESG investing and what they can do specifically at the retail level to go to their neighborhood financial adviser and ask certain questions about the kind of fund managers that are managing their dollars and how to change that if there are companies that are managing dollars that they don't necessarily agree with their actions.Kreifels joins today's episode of "The Daily Signal Podcast" to further discuss environmental, social, and governance policies, some of the ways that the State Financial Officers Foundation is helping states navigate the ESG issues and what resources are available to them, and what the media are missing in its coverage of ESG. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Downtowns are often described as the "heartbeats" of their respective communities. When a downtown thrives - the community as a whole is successful. Two experts helping main streets thrive, in the State of Indiana, and the United States, join us on Episode 118 of the #LovinLebanon Podcast. Jackie Swihart is the Program Officer for Revitalization Services for Main Street America and Andrea Kern is the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA).  Andrea and Jackie spent three days in Lebanon, meeting with various downtown Lebanon stakeholders. Their visit culminated on Friday, May 5th, with a Community Exchange, hosted by the City's Main Street organization, The Heart of Lebanon. The pair shares why downtown's are so important, and what makes the heartbeat of the Lebanon Community so special.

Happy April Fool's...but it's no April fools here...today, we're 100% introducing you to two boss women doing dope work with Main Street America revitalizing urban main streets across America: Dionne Baux, the Vice President of Urban Development, and Amanda Elliot, Senior Program Officer and Director of California Programs. We met Dionne and Amanda last year at HAANDS —  the Historic African American Neighborhood and District Summit — and this episode concludes our series with HAANDS attendees. BUT don't fear, we will still be introducing you to more all-star practitioners in equitable preservation-based development in some upcoming bonus episodes. Stay tuned!  Mentioned in This Episode:  Sweet Auburn Works Betty Reid Soskin, Park Ranger Richmond, California / Richmond Main Street The East Oakland Black Cultural Zone Destination Crenshaw in LA  Credits: Thank you to Dionne Baux and Amanda. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk. This episode was edited by Vanessa Quirk and Connor Lynch and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

Ralph welcomes William Kleinnecht, author of “States of Neglect: How Red-State Leaders Have Failed Their Citizens and Undermined America” about how red state governors and legislatures fight culture wars while starving education and health care, empowering polluters, engaging in voter suppression, and neglecting their citizens' well-being in the interest of cutting taxes for their wealthy donors. Plus, Oliver Hall, founder of the Center for Competitive Democracy tells us all about how ordinary people can use an extremely underused legal forum, Small Claims Court.William Kleinknecht is a longtime newspaper reporter who covered politics, government, criminal justice, and the environment for the Detroit Free Press, New York Daily News, and Newark Star-Ledger. He is the author of The Man Who Sold the World: Ronald Reagan and the Betrayal of Main Street America and States of Neglect: How Red-State Leaders Have Failed Their Citizens and Undermined America.I wrote the book because when national news organizations talk about the red states, the focus is always on hot-button issues like abortion, immigration, election subversion, and even Critical Race Theory. And that's by the design of the Republicans who run those states— that's what they want people to be talking about because that fires up their base. What has gotten very little attention is just how damaging Republican leadership in those states has been for a longer period of time and across a much broader range of issues.William Kleinknecht, author of States of Neglect: How Red-State Leaders Have Failed Their Citizens and Undermined AmericaI found that when I went to where the poorest people were— and the people who were suffering from environmental degradation or poor healthcare— I think they got it. I think it's a different segment of their population that is the MAGA Republicans. And I didn't spend as much time around them because I was looking for where the damage was.William Kleinknecht, author of States of Neglect: How Red-State Leaders Have Failed Their Citizens and Undermined AmericaOliver Hall is a public interest attorney in Washington, DC. He is founder of and legal counsel to the Center for Competitive Democracy, which aims to strengthen American democracy by increasing electoral competition.The fact is, in our increasingly corporatized world where transactions are automated, contracts are one-sided (contracts that corporations create with so much fine print you couldn't possibly read it all, and ostensibly require you to sign away your rights), I think people get intimidated. Or they assume that they don't have the right to pursue a claim in small claims court. And the fact is they do have that right. It can be done. And there's no reason more people shouldn't do it, especially given the level and pervasiveness of corporate abuses, just in terms of everyday normal transactions that we all engage in.Oliver Hall on Small Claims CourtI've been listening to Elon Musk speak out against government subsidies of corporations over the months— and talking about himself as a great capitalist entrepreneur— when, in reality, he takes all kinds of corporate welfare… Anytime he opens up a plant or starts a company like Starlink, he demands all kinds of subsidies, handouts, giveaways, grants, and especially a tax referral or tax holidays or tax breaks.Ralph Nader on his Twitter exchange with Elon Musk Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Taylor Lot and Ashley Tison dive into the world of Opportunity Zones and discuss the advantages of investing in these areas. From tax reductions to a step up in basis to fair market value, Opportunity Zones provide an incredible opportunity for real estate investors. We also hear Ashley's story of how his investment in a mobile home park allowed him to launch a gun company and pursue impact investing, as well as gain valuable education from it. They provide advice for those wanting to get involved with Opportunity Zones and offer helpful tips on how to get started. Tune in now to learn more about this amazing program and how you can benefit from investing in Opportunity Zones.   [00:01 - 08:14] Opening Segment Opportunity Zones was created by the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 If invested for a certain period, investors can reduce taxes paid on those gains in 2026 Step up and basis to fair market value eliminates capital gains and depreciation recapture Tax-free compound interest coupled with cost segregation and bonus depreciation is the ninth wonder of the world   [08:15 - 17:18] Invest in Main Street America with Generational Wealth Through Opportunity Zones Opportunity Zones is still in effect until December 31st, 2026. Legislation is pending to extend the program out for two years till December 31st, 2028 Investors can avail themselves of a 15% reduction in taxes if they invest for seven years before the expiration date Step up and basis to fair market value can be availed of up till December 31st, 2026 Investors have 25 years from now to hold onto these assets and let them grow tax-free To get the step up and basis, investors need to transact with a third party or sell   [17:19 - 27:38] Salvaging Failed 1031 Exchanges with Opportunity Zones: A Powerful Distinguisher for Estate Planning Opportunity Zones do not require identifying opportunities before selling Investment can be in real estate, operating businesses, startups, or businesses outside of the zone Exchanges must identify opportunities before selling and applies toward a lifetime exemption amount Opportunity Zones apply whatever amount initially invested against the lifetime exemption amount Opportunity Zone Funds allow for the purchase of 95% of complete investment property Tax benefits include a step into original use and no depreciation recapture on the sale [27:39 - 34:10] Closing Segment How Ashley learned the cyclicality of the gun business and what not to do Riches are in the niches - niche down and focus on the main thing Stay focused on the main thing and don't get distracted by shiny objects Connect with Ashley Tison: Email: ashley@ozpros.com Website: www.OZPros.com/taylor/    Invest passively in multiple commercial real estate assets such as apartments, self-storage, medical facilities, hotels, and more through https://www.passivewealthstrategy.com/crowdstreet/ Participate directly in real estate investment loans on a fractional basis. Go to www.passivewealthstrategy.com/groundfloor/ and get ready to invest on your own terms. Join our Passive Investor Club for access to passive commercial real estate investment opportunities. LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who wants to explode their business growth by sharing this episode or click here to listen to our previous episodes           Quotes:   "Tax-free compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. But cap coupling that in with cost  segregation and bonus depreciation is the ninth wonder of the world." - Ashley Tison   "It's not about the capital gain that you have now. It's about the capital gain that you anticipate having in the future." - Ashley Tison

Pictured above: fearless Michael Bautsch, working to make his country a better place to live and his fellow citizens healther and safer. Donate   Transcript in the works.   Video, Audio podcast (download at the bottom of this page),   To see all our shows: https://chinarising.puntopress.com/search/?q=JB   We've got your back, JB West and JB...

Dennis is joined by Joi Cuatero Austin, Senior Program Officer, Economic  Vitality - Main Street America. Dennis and Joi discuss the Transformation Strategy of Main Street America. Main Street America Four Points Approach What is a transformation strategy? Measurable outcomes 

Elon takes a sledgehammer to Twitter, woke advertisers bail. New details emerge in Paul Pelosi case. The View's Sunny Hostin praises Fetterman's bravery, calls Oz a "bully." Journalist Salena Zito joins Clay and Buck to share what's she's picking up about the midterms and 2024 on Main Street America. C&B's midterm predictions. Is it rude to recline an airline seat in economy?Follow Clay & Buck on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuckSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Announcing a grant program that is intended to support improvements to small towns in America. T-Mobile has partnered with Smart Growth America and Main Street America, looking for elected leaders, town managers, employees, or nonprofit leaders to submit the details for their project request on behalf of the small towns to be eligible.

On this episode of The Author Factor Podcast I am having a conversation with business consultants and authors, Julie Trexler and Corey Harris.Julie and Corey are the founders of SB PACE, a consulting firm with a passion for Main Street America. Together they wrote the best-selling book Seriously? Now What?! A Small Business Guide to Disaster Preparedness.  They also co-host a top-rated business podcast, co-host a weekly live radio show, and have been listed on the Brainz Magazine Global 500 list which recognizes entrepreneurial success and dedication to helping others. Learn more about them by visiting SBPace.com.

If you've been around Southern Maine for a few years, you've probably seen the transformation happening in downtown Biddeford. We had a chance to talk with Delilah Poupore about how Heart of Biddeford has been helping in revitalizing the city, how her experiences in different parts of the country have prepared her for her current role, what's coming up, and much more!   ABOUT OUR GUEST: Delilah has been the Executive Director of Heart of Biddeford since January of 2011 -- engaging the community in an effort to foster a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable downtown. Delilah grew up in the post-industrial city of Duluth Minnesota, attended college and grad school in Vermont, and worked in higher education primarily in Southern California for 16 years before moving to Maine with her husband. Heart of Biddeford recently received the Great American Main Street Award, which is Main Street America's highest award for historic preservation, community engagement, and inclusive development. Learn more about what Heart Of Biddeford is doing at www.heartofbiddeford.org and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Also, be sure to save August 19 & 20 for RiverJam Festival in Mechanics Park! Check out the full line-up of bands and activities at www.riverjamfest.com and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates.   ABOUT KEEP IT LOCAL MAINE: We are a way for local businesses to promote themselves to thousands of people in and around their communities - letting them know what great services and products they offer right here in Maine! We currently publish four issues in areas around Southern Maine in addition to our podcast. To learn more about us, visit keepitlocalmaine.com or follow us on social media - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eQvGhSEgImI This Week's Guests are Small Business Consulting Experts, Julie Traxler and Corey Harris Together, Corey Harris and Julie Traxler co-founded SB PACE, a consulting firm with a passion for Main Street America. Together they co-wrote the best-selling book Seriously? Now What?! A Small Business Guide to Disaster Preparedness, co-host a […]

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eQvGhSEgImI This Week's Guests are Small Business Consulting Experts, Julie Traxler and Corey Harris Together, Corey Harris and Julie Traxler co-founded SB PACE, a consulting firm with a passion for Main Street America. Together they co-wrote the best-selling book Seriously? Now What?! A Small Business Guide to Disaster Preparedness, co-host a top-rated business podcast, and have been listed on the Brainz Magazine Global 500 list which recognizes entrepreneurial success, achievements, and dedication to helping others. They have published over 200 blogs and articles helping entrepreneurs, and have released multiple digital courses designed to help entrepreneurs build strong businesses. Corey is SB PACE's process expert, delivering operational improvements through process work to over 100 companies. Corey's passion for process improvement began while he was working on his under-grad. It was during that time that he helped implement changes that led to efficiency improvements and ultimately revenue growth at the restaurant he was managing. But it's not just process work that Corey brings expertise to the table. He's also an expert at planning, execution, and disaster preparedness. With over 20 years of experience helping business owners achieve success, Corey knows exactly how to guide clients through the essentials of business ownership. Corey completed his undergraduate degree at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and completed his masters at Virginia Commonwealth University. Julie is SB PACE's mergers & acquisitions and change management expert, having helped over 75 companies through significant change events, including acquisitions and large scale integrations. Julie's passion for mergers & acquisition work began when she was working for a small start-up that had a growth through acquisition strategy. She played a major role on the integration team and fell in love with the work. With over 20 years experience working as a coach and consultant and holding various leadership positions within Fortune 500 companies, Julie is also an expert at project management, sales, marketing, and branding. Julie went to school at Drexel University, is certified in project management, change management, leadership development, mergers & acquisitions, and coaching. You can learn more at sbpace.com. More Data Leadership: Data Leadership Training – https://DataLeadershipTraining.com Subscribe to Our Newsletter – http://eepurl.com/gv49Yr Follow Anthony Algmin on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyjalgmin Make an impact with a review on Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/data-leadership-lessons/id1505108710z

President and CEO of Job Creators Network for the past eight years, Alfredo Ortiz is an expert on policy impact on small businesses. Not only that, but he was a small business owner himself, so he understands first-hand the impact that overtaxation and regulation can have on the small business community. He joined RSLC's podcast to talk about the dangers of the Biden administration's America last policies and how they are affecting Main Street America.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Ari Rabin-Havt, deputy campaign manager for Bernie Sanders's 2020 presidential campaign, joins me for a brief 20 minute about his new campaign memoir The Fighting Soul: On the Road With Bernie Sanders. Rabin-Havt provides not only a behind-the-scenes look at the Sanders campaign but also a rare glimpse into the passionate Vermont Senator himself that gets beyond what one saw from him in televised appearances, town halls, and Presidential debates. Most of this conversation focuses on how Bernie developed a greater confidence in his foreign policy views and detailing his fight to pass the Yemen War Powers Act/Resolution alongside seemingly unlikely allies Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). We also discuss Bernie's 2018 lunch with then Iranian foreign minister Javad Zaraf, an anecdote about Bernie Sanders and America's most prominent Israel lobby AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), Bernie's love of mo-town, an exchange between Barack Obama and Bernie that illustrates Bernie's principles, and an amusing story involving Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus. Be sure to pick of The Fighting Soul: On the Road With Bernie Sanders as this only covers a small slice of a book that is a fast-paced, rollicking read throughout. In the second segment of the show, former Senior Federal Reserve official Thomas M. Hoenig joins me to discuss the aftermath of the global financial crisis and his opposition to Quantitative Easing, "Too Big To Fail Banks", and support for a new, modernized Glass-Steagall Act to break up mega-banks. As listeners of Parallax Views may recall, Hoenig was recently featured as the main protagonist of recent guest Christopher Leonard's The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Broke the American Economy. In the second segment of the show, former Senior Federal Reserve official Thomas M. Hoenig joins me to discuss the aftermath of the global financial crisis and his opposition to Quantitative Easing, "Too Big To Fail Banks", and support for a new, modernized Glass-Steagall Act to break up mega-banks. As listeners of Parallax Views may recall, Hoenig was recently featured as the main protagonist of recent guest Christopher Leonard's The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Broke the American Economy. In Leonard's book, which covers the Federal Reserve's policies in the years following the 2008 financial crisis, Hoenig is the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City who consistently (and in opposition to other Federal Reserve officials) votes "No" on proposed policies. Although painted as being merely an "anti-inflation hawk", Leonard says this is a misrepresentation and that Hoenig saw how Quantitative Easing was hurting rather than helping the ordinary citizens of Main Street America. In this conversation, Hoenig explains exactly how he saw policies like Quantitative Easing and the belief in "Too Big To Fail Banks" as having negative consequences for ordinary America. Hoenig is unfiltered in the course of our discussion and expresses his pro-market views, small "c" conservative views while also noting the ways in which some of his views have overlapped with liberal and left-wing figures like Bernie Sanders and Sherrod Brown. This conversation doesn't get into a debate about politics, but rather allows Hoenig to express his views. All in all it is hope by Parallax Views that this is seen as a fascinating discussion with a former major figure from the Federal Reserve who now serves as a Distinguished Fellow for the Mercatus Center.

Friday night was another volatile one on global markets with the bearish news of the Russian attack on the power plant and the conflicting news of the US NFP employment figures showing a much stronger than expected surge in new jobs of 678K (v 423K expected) but also unexpectedly weak wage growth of just 0.5% amid the rampant inflation reinforcing Main Street America is going backwards. This sets the scene for Bloomberg's Spot Commodity Index printing its biggest jump since the stagflation crisis of 1974.

Corey Harris and Julie Traxler co-founded SB PACE, a boutique firm with a passion for Main Street America. SB PACE significantly increases value in small businesses. They also co-host the top rated BizQuik Podcast, a twice weekly show dedicated to helping entrepreneurs. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stockshowdown/message

On this week's episode of the Practical Preservation Podcast, Danielle spoke with Mike O'Neill about Barry Gfeller's photography and how it helped preserve images of Main Street America. From the National Building Museum's website, " Gfeller Collection: Main Street USA portrays roughly 250,000 buildings and 3,750 communities in 44 states and six Canadian provinces. Taken together, the images are a rare snapshot of late 20th-century North America."Mike also discussed his role in the preservation and donation of this important collection.You can find more information about the collection at www.gfellercollection.org, or at the National Building Museum.

American Express has partnered with Main Street America to launch s $1.65-million grant program called Inclusive Backing.

Charles Mizrahi rose from being a Wall Street floor trader at the age of 20 to being listed as Barron's top stock picker by the age of 35! Now he wants to share key real-world insights every investor should consider. If we can keep politicians and mandates out of the free markets, the stock market is one of the greatest opportunities to create wealth. Charles explains that his newsletter was created to help the average Main Street investor be on a level playing field with the best research that Wall Street has to offer. Kevin Freeman talks to Charles about his Alpha investor strategy and what happens to America if the command economy takes over. We are in an economic war, but there is still time for Main Street America to win!

As we wrap up this series, we focus on the entrepreneurial and sustainability aspects that vibrant and healthy main street districts provide to their local communities. Lynnae Marty Hentzen is joined by Dr. Matt Wagner, chief program officer for Main Street America. With an extensive resume of experience in the global corporate realm as well as 30 years in the non-profit management and teaching arena, it is a treat to have Dr. Wagner join our discussion.

Ben Napier is a woodworker and entrepreneur with a degree in history, founder of Scotsman Co. and co-owner of Laurel Mercantile Co. He is a past president of Laurel's Main Street America chapter dedicated to promoting the rebirth of their historic downtown district. Together with his wife Erin, they host the popular HGTV show Home Town. Home Town was the highest rated pilot in HGTV history, becoming the #1 show on HGTV in its 4th season, as well as one of the most-watched shows on all of cable television.

1. Facebook Announces $1 Billion Funding for Content Creators - Facebook has launched its latest offensive in the escalating digital creator war, with the announcement that it will invest more than $1 billion in programs for creators over the next 18 months, with a prime focus on providing more ways for creators to earn money for the content that they share on Facebook and Instagram.2. Facebook Pay is Now Available as a Payment Option on Third Party Websites - "Starting this August, businesses in the US who use participating platforms will have the ability to enable Facebook Pay as a payment option directly on their websites, giving their customers the ability to speed through checkout without having to re-enter their payment information. We're starting the rollout with Shopify merchants and expect to expand availability with more platforms and payment service providers over time." 3.

The Above-Ground Underground – Episode 33 - After 245 years, America is Still the Last Best Hope of HumankindThis is Dr Steve's LIVE show from Tuesday, July 6, 2021Our Hosts' viewpoints don't always reflect what EA TRUTH Media believes as a whole! Thank you for tuning in! Please join us chatting on social media about our shows using hashtag #EATruthRadio HAPPY 245th BIRTHDAY AMERICA! Today, I am in Main-Street America, in the Great State of Indiana and giving you the real Pulse of America and the American People's heartfelt opinions of America and letting them express their opinions about America's future, Donald J. Trump and the Biden Administration. It is so wonderful to see all the First Responders and our powerful and patriotic members of our military. It is a wonderful day on Main Street USA! God Bless America! Celebrate America with the Above-Ground Underground Podcast!*** Visit our Media Site at www.EternalAffairsMedia.com & Please Consider Planting A SEED IN OUR MINISTRY! Sign up and become a Monthly Patron for EXCLUSIVE PERKS! & stand for your Christian, Conservative values with every call you make with www.PatriotMobile.com (tell them Curtis R Bizelli sent you) Grab Your FREE MONTH of Virtual Shield VPN!!! You can also send Bitcoin to: 3MrcjvjkVUyP5dDmELDZkqD5JT5TTYyQHnTHE TRUTH SHALL PREVAIL ~ WE ARE THE STORM! Our Independent Media Operation & End Times Ministry has been online for 10 years now since Curtis "Ray Biselliano" Bizelli FOUNDED EternalAffairsMedia.com in 2010 as a simple survivalist site after he woke up and became a pioneer preaching the truth powered by The TRUTH!!! We are on the frontlines leading the fight against the Fake News Mockingbird Media! Check out our Online Store and get some COOL GEAR! If there is anything you'd like to see that isn't there, message us! We wish to hear from you! The SILENT MAJORITY isn't going back to sleep! Corrupt, Sleepy, Pedo Joe & The Hoe STOLE this election! He will NEVER be our President! He's an enemy to the People! People are waking up! This is THE GREAT AWAKENING! God bless you & your loved ones! GOD BLESS THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA! Support the show (https://donate.eamedia.online)

Earlier this year, Downtown Florence received accreditation as a Main Street America program for meeting the rigorous performance standards of the National Main Street Center. Main Street South Carolina Manager Jenny Boulware talks with Florence's Development Manager Hannah Davis and Development Coordinator Rachel Baggett about what the accreditation means to Florence's downtown program, and what's next for Downtown Florence.

Faith Conquers the Curses of the Old Man (Audio) David Eells - 6/20/21   A lot of what we got in our morning prayer meeting, recently, amounted to obey the word or be judged. By faith that we are dead to self and no longer live but Christ lives in us, grace comes to enable us to do this. Our number one duty is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and then Jesus said every other need will be met.  Winnie got Jer 17:21-22  Thus saith Jehovah, Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;  22  neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work: but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.  So we see that self works are not to be brought into the Bride… or "out of our houses", wherein the blood keeps us safe from the destroyer. The Sabbath was to cease from our own works and that is so we can do His works, which Jesus told the Pharisees was legal on the Sabbath.  When our own works, even “good" works, interfere with His works according to His commands we are disqualifying ourselves from the Bride. Even works of the law or religion are not legal in the New Testament Sabatismos. meaning continual rest, the only Sabbath that was given to Christians. So seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and obey His will.   Distractions Hinder the Crucified Life David Timoshchuk - 5/16/21 (David's notes in red) After Thursday's fellowship me and my wife were praying. I was praying in tongues and then, all of a sudden, my language changed and I started seeing a vision.  In the vision, I saw myself standing in our backyard and I looked up into the sky and it was dark. Then, all of the sudden, the heavens started opening and a light came down and hit the top of my head and worked its way down to my feet, and when it was done, I was glowing white. Then that vision ended. As my wife and I continued praying and I saw another vision. In this vision, I looked up and saw the cross on the hill which I have never seen before and it was a pretty good distance away, so I started praying harder and it was getting closer but, as soon as I looked down at my phone then looked back up the cross became small and farther away again. End of the visions. (There are many distractions in life that will hinder our relationship with the Lord, but the cell phones seem to be one of the biggest. Heb 12:1-3, Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls.)   Do Warfare; Do not Get Distracted or Wrestling with Flesh Witchcraft/Curse Testimony Garrett Crawford - 5/21/21 (David's notes in red) I dreamed It was night time in Bethel (meaning: house of God), the town where my dad lives and where I grew up.  My dad (who represents the Heavenly Father in this dream) took me to Frisch's Big Boy, a local casual dining place. (In other parts of the country they are called Bob's Big Boy.) (The surname Frisch is derived from the Old German personal name Friedrich, which is composed of the elements "fridu" meaning "peace" or "safety", and "rihhi," meaning "powerful.” When we eat the Word of God it is powerful in our lives and we have peace and safety from our enemies through faith and rest in the promises of God's Word.)  As we pulled up to the drive-thru, I saw that it was no longer Frisch's Big Boy, but it had been bought by another company and the sign on the menu now said “Bob's Bible.” (This represents that those with rest and peace of faith will come to Great Awakening and revival. The name ‘Bob' is short for Robert which means: "bright fame.” God's Word has been powerful and provided His people with peace and safety through faith but, we are coming to a time when the “bright fame” of His Gospel will go forth in all the earth as a great revival and we will see miracles like we have never seen before and the fame of Jesus in the Man-child will spread all over the world.) All of the items on the menu were high protein meat entrees. There were no sugary or fried items on the menu. Everything was meat, but healthy meat like Salmon and other fish dishes. (The Man-child ministries will provide the meat of God's Word to His elect so that they can get off of the milk of religion and grow up and bear the fruit of Christ in their lives. Our meat is to do the will of our Father like it was with Jesus.) My dad urged me to order from the menu. I could tell it was really important to him for me to eat this food. (The Spirit food in the Bible)  Even though I looked at the menu and knew everything was healthy and good for me, I actually felt a little reluctant. I don't know why; maybe it was double mindedness or I was used to unhealthy fast food.  (The spiritual fast food restaurants are the dead denominations of false Christianity).  But, as I recall, right when I was about to order a combo with salmon and beans a great disturbance occurred. (The old man of the flesh and the demonic entities that rule them do not want our spiritual man to eat the Word to become sons of God. He also wants us to fight the people and situations around us in the strength of our flesh. He is our worst enemy and will do everything he can to distract us from feeding on the Word of God and having close fellowship with our Heavenly Father.  Gal 5:16-26, But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these : fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, 21 envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. 24 And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. 25 If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk. 26 Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.) All of a sudden, a black truck appeared driving recklessly down Main Street, and it caused panic in the whole town. Everyone knew this truck was evil and inside of it was a very evil man that was intent on harming people. (This black truck driving recklessly down Main Street could represent the evil plans of the DS faction to harm the people of ‘Main Street America.' And in parallel the other faction in religion that rebels against all laws of God and man.) Even a cop in the restaurant parking lot was aware of this great evil and yelled over to the driver of the vehicle to stop but it was to no avail. (The police in this country recognize the evil intentions of the DS to harm our society through their funding of Leftist, Marxist, Communist front organizations that are demanding the de-funding of the police and the total take down of the structure and laws of our society.) Someone else cried out “It's a mass shooter!” I continued to watch as the truck sped by me. Another driver in a separate vehicle tried a pit maneuver and caused the black truck to crash into the Speedway Gas station a few hundred feet down the road. (The people of America have been waking up to all the evils of the DS cabal and have been increasingly standing up in resistance to them. But this has caused the DS to retaliate as in the Colonial Pipeline shut down that they blamed on Russian hackers. This created a gas shortage and drove up the prices on gasoline which hurt all the ‘little guys' on Main Street.) When the black truck crashed into the gas pumps the armed assailant jumped out and started to run in my direction. He was dressed in all black and had the largest black assault rifle I have ever seen.  At this moment I thought to myself, "I can continue ordering this food that my dad so lovingly and urgently desires for me to eat or I can do something extremely risky and tackle this potential mass shooter and disarm him before he hurts anyone.” (Spiritually speaking, we must stay in the Word and in prayer and do spiritual warfare and not try to fight things in our flesh by our own strength. Eph 6:12, For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.) I realized I could get killed by approaching this man (It is dangerous to leave our kingdom and fight in theirs), I was unarmed and I only had the element of surprise as my advantage. So I made the decision to turn away from the drive-thru menu and run towards the mass shooter dressed in black and I tackled him. He was surprised and I caught him off guard and actually wrestled the large black gun out of his hand. We were still wrestling when I heard my phone ringing. (Cell phones represent the Holy Spirit trying to get his attention. The Spirit was calling Garrett to stop wrestling in the flesh with the flesh nature in others. WWJD?) Then very quickly I began to wake up. I was in my bed and my phone was actually ringing in real life. It was 7 am on a Saturday. A very strange time for someone to call me. (The number 7 represents completion. Jesus already finished the work at the cross. Heb 4:3  For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.  We too must live the crucified life entering into the rest, walking by faith in the promises of God and turning the other cheek; not wrestling with flesh and blood.) I was wide awake with the encounter fresh on my mind. I wanted to go back in the dream and find out what happened next but the dream was over. As I lay there I began to get really convicted. "Convicted about what?" you might ask. You were the hero, you stopped the evil mass shooter and saved everyone!  But no, I was convicted that I hesitated to order the meal off the Bob's Bible drive-thru menu and got distracted by the evil man. I decided to go attack the evil man instead of obeying my Father and eating the food he wanted me to eat. You know, there is always evil out there to distract us from God's word. There is always a new threat that we feel we have to attack head on, but that distracts us from what God wants us focused on and partaking of. (Remember Jesus when attacked passed through their midst unharmed and he cast the legion of demons out of the madman through Son of God methods.).  These are just a few of the things the Holy Spirit spoke to me.  So about 10am, a few hours after my dream, my dad called me in real life. I asked him what he was doing. He said, “Eating breakfast." I heard the distant clatter of plates and silverware and people talking. I asked him if he was at Big Boy's in Bethel and he said, “Yes." He asked me how I knew that.... Well I think we know the answer. God was confirming the dream. (LOL, yes He was.) The dream, on its own, means a lot and can speak to anyone, but I know God was speaking to me about a trial I have been going thru for the last year.  Last year, around this time, I had a dream that the old woman across the street was performing witchcraft against me and my family. I clearly saw her trying to put curses on us. Her name is, oddly enough, Mrs. Black. (Representing the factious that walk in darkness.) That same night, as I was having the dream, my wife couldn't sleep and was led to watch a sermon on witchcraft and the occult. When I woke up and told her the strange dream and she confirmed that she was led to watch the sermon on the same thing I dreamt about.  We had never had any suspicion of our neighbor before. But, ever since that dream, weird things have been happening to our family, strange attacks against us.  Snakes began appearing all the time to try and attack us.   Curses against our unborn son tried to manifest. The doctor told us he likely had Down's Syndrome (By God's grace he was born without Down's Syndrome but, it was a trial of our faith).  My wife had developed gestational diabetes to boot.  During this time the neighbor, Mrs. Black, would always see us coming back from the store or running errands and yell over at us “Hey, is everything OK over there?” It was so strange. Almost like she was checking to see if we had actually succumbed to some tragic occurrence. (Here is where binding the spirits of hatred and witchcraft come in which we have experienced from the faction.) We kept our distance; never confessed any curse and told her how blessed we were. Without her knowing the internal trials we were facing concerning my wife and the unborn child, she would see me in the yard and yell in a concerned manner “How is your wife and the baby?” It was almost like she was expecting me to say, “It appears we are all under a curse Mrs. Black!” But I never told her any bad news and just told her how we are blessed and doing well. Then, the other day, a neighbor's dog got loose and ran into my yard and picked up my little terrier and almost chewed him to death. It was so strange. The dog just came and attacked my dog and then ran off. It was almost like an assassination attempt. My dog was badly hurt and could have died. I had to take him to the hospital for surgery, It cost me $4,600.00. It is no coincidence that Mrs. Black hates my dog. I never spoke to Mrs. Black about what happened. But after a few days she saw me walking in my yard and yelled over to me, “Hey, where's Scrappy? I haven't seen him around lately.”  I thought to myself, “You have got to be kidding me!" I said “You haven't heard what happened?”  She said “No, no I haven't heard anything.” (This is amazing. Mrs. Black reminds me of a black woman who throws curses at us.  She and the others tried to kill Sandy with witchcraft and she was running around asking if she died and so we knew she was in on it.  Also God warned us ahead of time they would try it.  He also showed us in dreams she would die before she fell away. We have been praying for her to be saved.) I knew that she knew what had happened to the dog but I played the little game and explained to her the whole event as if she didn't know. She was clearly playing dumb.  The dog that had gotten out and attacked my dog was from another Christian couple up the street. It could have turned very contentious between us but I had no hard feelings towards them. We worked it out and now I think our friendship has gotten stronger. That's definitely not what Satan had planned. He thought he would divide brethren and cause anger and unforgiveness to grow but the opposite happened. We have a lot of mutual respect for each other now.  I knew this was all a continuation of the enemy trying to attack us, but everyone of his plan's have failed. But this morning, when I had the dream about the black assassin with the large black gun; I realized it was about Mrs. Black (or the spirit working in her) and how God didn't want me trying to fight this in the flesh or even acknowledging the threat like I had been doing, at least not to the extent that it distracts me from where my Heavenly Father wants my attention.   I knew that I couldn't keep talking about it and focusing on this witchcraft attack against us and giving it more life and power. I had to direct my focus to only the Bible and eating the meat of God's word. (And the meat shows us we have authority over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall harm us.) Today, just few hours ago, my daughter almost died twice within 30 minutes! She almost drowned and then almost choked. I cried out to God about these constant attacks but he had reminded me that they can not harm us and every plan of the enemy will fail.  I realized that I really don't need to be preoccupied with what is going on across the street and who's cursing me. I just need to put all my focus back on God. Sounds simple enough. Right? Psalm 91:7-10, A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.   Beware of the Old Man of the Flesh Deb Horton - 6/1/21 (David's notes in red) All of last night I kept hearing "Mowgli." I would even tell myself in every dream to remember the name and look it up in the morning. It repeated all night, over and over, when I would wake up and when I fell back asleep. (In the stories, the name Mowgli is said to mean "frog", describing his lack of fur. Kipling, his creator, made up the name. In a revelation that Howard Pitman had he saw spirits of lust as frogs going into people.) I knew it was some Disney thing, but I thought it was from the Lion King.  Here is what I found: "Mowgli (also known as the Man-Cub) is the protagonist of Disney's 1967 animated feature film, The Jungle Book. A young orphaned boy with an adventurous spirit, Mowgli had been raised by a pack of wolves in the jungles of India since infancy." "Mowgli is a handsome preteen slender boy with dusky skin, brown eyes, thick black eyebrows and wild untidy black hair that covers his forehead, ears and reaches his neck. In both films he is half-naked, wearing only a red langot made of cotton.” (I also saw exactly how it was spelled. Doesn't sound very good, does it?) (I believe that the Lord was giving Deb a warning for us to beware of the old man of the flesh represented by “Mowgli” who is raised by the wolves and if I remember correctly was charmed by a snake. The Mowgli's out there remind us of this:  Gal 5:19-21, 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these : fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, 21 envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.)   The Old Man is Waiting Outside Claire Pienaar - 6/3/21 (David's notes in red) I dreamed it was late in the night, and I saw an old man lurking outside our house. His silver/grey hair was reflecting the moonlight. He was wearing black so I couldn't see his body clearly. He kept on walking between our van and the front door and then walked around the van. (The old man wearing black represents the old man of the flesh that walks in darkness and is submitted to rebellion and self will. He wants into our vehicle and house representing this life.) I ran into my bedroom, with the intention to tell my husband, Riaan. But my dad (representing the Father) and my mom (Representing the ancient church in scripture) were in my bedroom, sleeping. I was a bit confused by this but continued to wake them up, saying, “He's right outside! He's right outside!” I don't know if I was fearful or vigilant or concerned, but I knew I needed to tell them. (Awakening the Father and the ancient scripture promises against the old man is a protection and deliverance.) I was happy they were there. I felt secure that they, and Riaan, could protect me or my house from this old man. (We are protected from our old nature when we stay in close communication with our Heavenly Father and the wisdom of the ancient church doctrines found in the Word of God. Through obedience to the Word we put to death the old man of our flesh.) My dad looked at me very lovingly and said, “Do not let him back in. You've already chased him out. Don't invite him back in”. (The old man, as well as spirits that operate through him can be let back in to our house or our vehicle when we open the door through disobedience and giving into temptations.) In the dream, I then ran into the learning room and told Riaan. He said, “It's all taken care of. He can't come in unless you open the door. So don't open the door”. Then I woke up. (So don't open the door saints by listening to the old man.) (I had this dream early in the night I think, and I tossed and turned all night remembering this old man outside and remembering the joy I've had in the Lord recently and not wanting to open a door to the old man again.)  I asked the Lord for a verse by faith at random as soon as I woke up, and received Job 16:7 “But now he hath made me weary: Thou hast made desolate all my company.” (Immediately, I thought that the Lord has made desolate all my company, spiritually, in that He has conquered all my demons and chased them away and now I must keep my body and soul clean. I am walking in victory and authority over the old man.) (Riaan: The enemy is no longer inside the house. He has been cast out and is weak, old and dark. He is trying to come back in though, and will try for a little while longer, but we need to remain in the house and rest like the elders rest. Praise the Lord!) (Remember only inside the house did they have a Passover of the destruction on the old man.)   Don't Get Out Ahead of God Alenna Timoshchuk - 6/6/21 (David's note in red) I dreamt that we were in the tribulation period or right before the tribulation (I'm not quite sure) and my family was getting ready because we knew the Lord would be leading us out, and moving us somewhere else. I kept wondering when this would happen; when we'd finally leave. (This represents the people of God leaving Egypt, after the Passover of destruction on the old man, to go into the coming wilderness tribulation. The Red Sea destruction of Pharaoh's army [the factious chasers of the DS and Church faction] is coming just before the wilderness tribulation.) My husband and I were going to sleep and our bed was up against a window on my side. As we were laying there, I prayed and asked the Lord for a sign for when we will leave. After I finished praying this, I turned to my left, and looked out the window. (Sometimes we may have an idol represented by the turning to the left. Temptation and sin comes from the left.  Eze 14:7, For every one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that separateth himself from me, and taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet to inquire for himself of me; I Jehovah will answer him by myself:) The sky was still light, but the sun was set. I saw a dark cloud in the shape of a hand. The fingers were really crooked and pointy at the ends and it started moving in a motion, as if telling me to come. (This represents the old man of the flesh or the enemy outside of the house, as in Claire's revelation above, trying to tempt us to come out from under our covering (the blood of the Lamb) so that they can destroy us with the curse of sin and death.) My first thought was that the Lord was saying it's time, but then, instantly, a fear came over me and I felt that it was the enemy attacking and not the Lord. (We may be in a hurry to leave our current situations but we must be patient and wait on the Lord; abiding under our covering until He moves and then we can move.) I turned away from the window and thought perhaps I imagined it, but when I looked back again, it was still there doing the same thing, so I looked away again. Then I woke up. (I believe the enemy is inviting us to come out of our house on which the blood of the Lamb was placed for a Passover but, there is no Passover for us if walk out from underneath the blood through rebellion to the Word and self will. Read Exodus 12.)   Overcoming Condemnation From the Old Man Winnie Osegueda - 6/6/21 (David's notes in red) A couple days ago Angelica and I were speaking about some things that the enemy has tried to plague us with, particularly condemnation. (It seems we both have come from that kind of background, something we have battled, but despising it). I was on my front porch and I said to my daughter Zoé, while opening David's book, "Faith for all Things” that whatever I opened it to is what God wants to say to me and the book opened to chapter 11 titled, "Hindrances to Faith, Beware of Condemnation" lol. (Yes, this demon is a robber of faith.) So I told Angelica and she thought it would be good to get together and go over the chapter and talk about it and pray. And I agreed. The following evening, which was the day of the pot-blessing, I went to bed a little earlier than I normally do and fell asleep and had a dream right away, which doesn't usually happen.  I dreamed there was a young, darker-skinned, Indian looking woman with a long, baby blue flowing skirt. She seemed full of joy and was twirling in the street even though I could see people were unkind to her. As we were watching her, Angelica said to me in the dream, “Isn't she beautiful?” (This woman represents our spiritual man who is a foreigner in this world because she is dressed in heavenly garments and is set free by Jesus and the grace of God. She is beautiful because she is dressed up with the works of Jesus and has His nature.) The scene changed and it was like I was in this woman's body experiencing and feeling what she was experiencing and feeling. She/I was in a white room with large glass sliding doors. We had a baby and our husband wanted to and was trying to kill us. (The 'old man' wants to kill our spiritual fruit, of Christ in us, by taking away our faith through condemnation.) At first, I felt extreme fear trying to come upon me and I grabbed my phone and began to write an update on Facebook sharing my situation, and asking someone to call 911. But then, I decided against it and deleted it for fear that our husband would see the post and it would just escalate the situation. He also had a gun and wanted to use it to kill us. I knew I had nowhere to turn, but to the Lord. (When the devil condemns us through the 'old man', we lose justification by faith and then fear is able to come in and torment us.) All of a sudden, we were on the floor and the husband began choking us. I said, within myself, "I can only trust in what God promised me." We yelled out, “Jesus, I believe what you promised me!" and the husband got off and fell back. (Confessing faith in the promises will conquer the demons in the old man.) He looked like a little boy at the point when I realized I had to trust in God. (The enemy always tries to bluff us and trick us into thinking that they are bigger than what they really are.) I then began to cast the demon out of him and away from me. Then I woke up and in real life I was trying to cough something that I could feel was in my throat. (The demons of condemnation and fear were coming out of the old man, the flesh.) Today Angelica and I got together, talked about some of the chapter and some verses with my husband Chuc as well, and the dream came to me as we were speaking and I shared it with her and we thought it would be good to share with the body as well. (Let us pray and believe the Lord for this deliverance from condemnation, fear, rejection, fear of rejection, and that we all will be filled with more faith.)   Overcoming Doubt, Unbelief, and Witchcraft Curses Deb Horton - 5/18/21 (David's notes in red) On this particular night I was in a lot of pain from what I believed to be a kidney stone. It was just awful and I literally got next-to-no sleep from thrashing about and trying to find a position that didn't hurt. I did manage to have a super-short dream though.     In the dream, I was in a dark place; a large room that seemed to be a museum of some sort but, with minimal lighting so everything was shadowy. (A museum is a place where many items from the past are stored and put on display to remind us of past events and times. It represents where the old man of the flesh and his fruit dwell. The flesh nature loves to live in the past dwelling on negative things and memories that keep a person bound in bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, self-pity and condemnation. Php 3:12-16, Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, 14 I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye are otherwise minded, this also shall God reveal unto you: 16 only, whereunto we have attained, by that same rule let us walk.) There were two other people there, a man and a boy who, I assumed, was his son. He was maybe 7 to 9 years old based on his behavior. The boy was being bratty and obnoxious as he tossed around a bowling ball. (This man and his son represents the old man of the flesh and his son is the fruit of the flesh and the demonic spirits that are attached to them. The bowling ball that they toss around is the weight of the curse that people live under because of the fear, doubt and unbelief that they cause by reminding us constantly of our past. 2 Co. 10:3-5, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh 4 (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds), 5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;) I could see cracks in the ball but it was still holding together. The "father" didn't say anything to his son and I was concerned that the ball could shatter and do damage to other things in the room, so I went over to the boy. (The enemy would like us to think that their weapons and devices against us are bigger and stronger than the power that Christ gave us over them.) He was tossing/flipping the bowling ball from one hand to the other. I told him something like, "That's a very special resin in the bowling ball. You need to be careful because it could shatter and break something.” (If we focus too much on the enemy and the fears that they cause then it will break our faith. Php 4:4-9, Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you.) As I woke up, I was hurting and thinking, "Why would I dream about a bowling ball?” Now it's okay if you want to laugh, but two days later, I finally realized the bowling ball represented the kidney stone. (The Lord uses extreme symbolism to get our attention sometimes.) Then Debbie Fenske received a Word from the Lord that the kidney stone wasn't real! At first it cheered me up, but if it wasn't real, then why was I experiencing all the pains/spasms? I doubted the Lord to my own hurt.  Until the broadcast, I didn't connect this dream with the witchcraft attacks of the factious enemies. The Lord was showing me exactly what was going on in the dream and exactly what was being sent against me.  (The “father" represented the leader of the faction, who knows I work on the books. And the "son" with the "bowling ball" was the witchcraft spirit being sent against me. The Lord was even revealing the exact nature of the attack but apparently I was slow to make the connection. Hindsight is always 20/20. And so it goes... I fully manifested my healing today at 11:30. Praise the Lord!) (When I prayed for her I prayed against a witchcraft attack from the faction and it left. It wasn't real.   Renounce the Lies; Believe the Promises Gabe Watson - 5/29/21 (David's notes in red) I was listening to this testimony of a woman who had been in severe pain for a number of years and had many, many surgeries. She finally went to a healing conference and the guy that came to pray for her said, "You need to renounce all the lies that you have believed about yourself and God." She had all kinds of different lies that she was believing about herself. After she renounced these, he prayed for her and she immediately received her healing and never had pain again. (If we believe the lies of the enemy rather than the promises of God it will keep us in bondage to the curse. Heb 3:12-19, Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God: 13 but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called To-day; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin: 14 for we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end:  15 while it is said, To-day if ye shall hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 16 For who, when they heard, did provoke? nay, did not all they that came out of Egypt by Moses? 17 And with whom was he displeased forty years? was it not with them that sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that were disobedient? 19 And we see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief. Mark 6:5-6, And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages teaching.)  As I was listening to this testimony, I started to tear up and cry because I could relate to some of the things that she had experienced. I felt like I was also believing certain lies about myself and about God. I then began praying and renouncing these lies about myself not knowing how many there actually were.  I then began to ask God what I needed to do to keep the lies out of my mind. I just felt like He spoke the word “Promises” to me. As I was meditating on that, I looked up and I saw a rainbow right in front of me signifying the promise that was made in the Old Testament to Noah.  I was amazed that there was a rainbow right in front of me because it hadn't rained in weeks and there were no clouds to the right of me or the left of me, only right in front of me. I was really amazed at this and then I heard in my spirit, “Look at where the rainbow is going." I looked around and I couldn't understand what the Lord was saying and then I looked at the water and noticed the rainbow was coming right towards me and went into my legs in the reflection of the water! (We must stand on the promises of God given to us in His Word in order to have the miraculous life of an overcomer. Eph. 6:10-17, Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.) I enclosed a picture below.   The ‘Key' of the Word Leads to Freedom Marie Kelton - 4/9/21 (David's notes in red) The Lord gave me several open visions during one of our evening meetings.  In the first one, Jesus came and sat by me, He took off a black satchel bag that He was wearing. Jesus sat it down between Him and I. I looked down at it and there were cream colored objects in it. Jesus looked at me and smiled and pulled out the first object and laid it on His lap. It was a cream and white colored marble sword. (Jesus is revealing to us the secret of deliverance by removing the ‘black satchel bag' and uncovering all the instruments of spiritual warfare and weapons of praise that He has empowered us with to fight against our enemies.)  After that Jesus pulled out a little harp and laid it on His lap. It was the same color and texture as the sword. (What came to me was that worshipping the Lord is a sword against my enemies!)  The verse that came to me was, 1 Sa 16:23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. (The enemy hates praying in tongues and praise and worship because it weakens his grip and his power over us.) Then, when Lakeisha was singing “Break every chain”, I saw that I had chains on my wrists and on my feet. As Lakeisa was singing, an angel came and cut the chains by using his sword. Then I saw they were no longer on my wrists and feet. (The song that came to me as I was typing this was, “Shackles" by MaryMary. The part that was playing in my head was, “Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance. I just wanna praise you".) In the second vision, I felt like I was sitting in a clear glass box with a metal handle on the door and there was darkness all around me. I was wearing a white outfit with a white head covering (representing my spiritual man). I was screaming, “Let me out!" and banging on the glass because I felt trapped. Then, I touched the handle and pushed it down and the door opened. (The spiritual man set free to lead our lives by the Spirit of God.) Again, I was in a clear box and screaming to be let out. The Lord told me to use the key (Representing the key of David). I was asking the Lord, “What key?" as I was frantically looking for it. Then, I noticed that it was on my lap, so I grabbed it and used it on the metal handle to open the door. (What came to me was to use the key of the Word to get out of the clear box that I put myself in to protect myself from being hurt.) (There is a saying that if you build a wall around yourself to keep all the bad stuff out, it will also keep anything good from coming in. So it's a catch 22 scenario and a lie of the enemy in order to keep you isolated and alone so that the enemy wolves can devour you.)  The verse that came to me was Rev 3:7-8: And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth: I know thy works (behold, I have set before thee a door opened, which none can shut), that thou hast a little power, and didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name. In the third vision, as I was sitting in the meeting, I felt a heaviness and a dread. I was looking up at the ceiling and I asked the Lord, "What is this feeling." I then saw a dementor hovering over me; really close to my face, and I knew it was sucking the life out of me.  I asked the Lord, “What should I do?" The Lord gave me the idea to start quoting scripture. So I began saying, “There's no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" over and over. Then I saw a big angel come and rush at the ‘dementor' like a linebacker at a football game and push it towards the left. After a while the dementor tried to get back up to attack me again, but the angel rushed it and pushed it back down on the floor. (Yes. The Word of God is a sharp two edged sword.) Praise the Lord for His mercy and deliverance for me and all my brethren!    Generational Curses Are No Match for Faith Claire Pienaar - 6/11/21 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was in a white room, and it had a white bed and white curtains. It may have been a hospital room. I was talking to someone that I think might have been Jesus. A voice said, “She's dead and gone”. I looked at my Nana (my grandmother) who was lying in the bed and she became as a vapor and then she disappeared. (Yes, by faith, the flesh inherited from the past is dead and gone.) In my dream I was saying something like “Yes, since 2017” (In real life my grandmother passed away in 2019. However, I remember the Lord giving me faith to rebuke and command certain demons, and all related lying symptoms out of me in Jesus' Name around that time in 2017. I've been confessing this deliverance since then and standing in faith. I've also had to train myself to refrain from speaking the bad report, and to cast down the condemnation the enemy threw at me whenever I failed and gave into my flesh.) In the dream, my Nana just disappeared, and she was gone. I cried audibly and woke myself up in real life. But I found it so odd because, in reality, I am not sad for my Nana's passing at all, and I was so relieved when she went to be with the Lord. So those tears must be spiritual.  I asked God for a word by faith at random and received Acts 22:16-17 with these two phrases “calling on his name”  and “And it came to pass”. In context here are the full verses: And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name. And it came to pass, that, when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance. I think the Lord has just confirmed that I have been delivered from all of that; that it came from my flesh nature, and that it really is no longer part of who I am. My flesh cried because it lived with that demon or group of demons for so long. But through faith and God's grace those are truly gone. I have had the same test daily now for 5 days. In not one instance did my flesh win, and not through any work of myself, but through the growing of my spirit man to more maturity through the power of the Holy Spirit. Self-control, joy, peace and patience are only works of the Spirit. There cannot be a self-willed way to achieve these states as they are from God. I want more cleaning up! I want more perfection! I want to be spotless before my King. Amen!    My Footstool is Almost Ready Claire Pienaar - 5/29/21 (David's notes in red) Recently, I've been away spending time with the Lord. I asked Him if He had a Word or something for the brethren and this is what I received: “Pray for your brethren. Strengthen them with prayers of purity of heart. There is no place for selfish ambition in My Bride. This is a warning to the body of believers. Pray with thanksgiving and blessing. Do not curse. Give so that you may receive manifold blessings in Christ. Indeed, this will be evident in the fruit of the joyful givers. I love them! Knit yourselves together. Trust that all members are coming into the glory that David refers to so often. It is happening! The angels rejoice! I love you all. You are My Joy because I see My Son in you. Be encouraged. The end is not the end, it is the beginning of our new lives together. I am excited. The old must pass away but the new… Oh the new! Pure Joy! Hold on for yet a little while. I am with you always. My footstool is almost ready.”  Praise be to God! That He would use me to give His Bride a message like this! Oh God, I am not worthy but I rejoice in Your goodness and graciousness! I love you Father!   

In this episode of News Too Real, producer host Julia Dudley Najieb reviews the crisis for ethnic, small businesses after the pandemic caused a shutdown of the entire economy; 41 percent of Black businesses nationwide have shut down since the beginning of the pandemic until now.The U.S. is home to more than four million minority-owned companies in the United States, with annual sales totaling close to $700 billion. As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many small enterprises had to rapidly reshuffle their business models; 200,000 businesses permanently shut down. How will mom-and-pop Main Street America emerge from this crisis; will small businesses catch the wave of the expected economic boom, or continue to tread water to stay afloat? Three experts address this problem head-on: Lendistry CEO Everett Sands; historic Washington D.C. business owner, Virginia Ali and Congressman Ro Khanna.

Host David Ponraj is joined by Matt Wagner, Chief Program Officer at Main Street America, a network of more than 1,200 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, that share a commitment to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Wagner shares their work to promote entrepreneurial Main Streets across the country. Learn more about Matt's work at: https://www.mainstreet.org/home (www.mainstreet.org/home) Learn more about the Main Street Online tool at: https://mainstreetonlinetool.org/ (https://mainstreetonlinetool.org) Find ecosystem resources discussed in this episode at: https://www.mainstreet.org/howwecanhelp/resourcecenter/entrepreneurialecosystems (www.mainstreet.org/howwecanhelp/resourcecenter/entrepreneurialecosystems) You can find out more about Startup Space here: https://www.startupspace.us/ (https://www.startupspace.us)

You are tuning into a special series, The Tidbit Takes the Road. In October 2020 Kim Bryden, CEO of Cureate and Host of The Tidbit, decided to hit the road on a cross-country listening tour to learn more about how non-coastal small businesses and small towns had been faring in 2020. How were they adapting and innovating? What new ways were people thinking about the economy? On this episode of The Tidbit Takes the Road, we sit down with Kitty Dougoud, the Kentucky State Main Street Coordinator, who oversees more than 35 designated "Main Street" programs throughout the state of Kentucky. Colloquially known as "two degrees from Dougoud", Kitty is tapped into a vast network of entrepreneurs and business leaders that inform her programming and future visioning for how small business could and should grow throughout the State. We chat at a local restaurant on Georgetown KY's Main Street about collaboration over competition and fostering small business talent from within over local beers from Country Boy Brewing. Cheers!

The why behind Leadership and Main is to inspire a generation of community leaders to make the turn from ordinary to extraordinary. When leaders arrive at that intersection, we want to provide the original and shared content to map his/her turn towards extraordinary. We define community leadership as the ability and willingness to use your influence to better others and the world you live in. Leaders at the community level wield the greatest ability and awesome responsibility to positively influence Main Street America. Leadership and Main is not intended for those who settle for the status quo, the resistors, the self-seeking, bureaucratic minded, or those that feel the future of their community is decided by anyone other than the leaders who comprise it. It is solely intended for leaders in local communities who want to selflessly serve and simply make their community a better place to live, work, and play.Leadership and Main is inspired by the incredible leaders in the community of Acworth, Georgia, a special community located in Northwest Georgia. Acworth is a community comprised of dynamic public servants, elected officials, entrepreneurs, pastors, educators, coaches, civic leaders, and volunteers working tirelessly towards a common vision to build, maintain and improve the standard of quality of life for its people. Readers should expect original and sometimes shared content delivered to your inbox on Mondays that include strategies for becoming a leader in your community, lessons in community leadership, and stories of the characters that make Acworth such a special place. Follow our social media platforms for shared content from leaders at the local, national and global level through blogs, articles, podcasts, and videos. https://leadershipandmain.org/https://twitter.com/LeadershipMain

Chief Wilmot is in studio as we talk about me throwing Brent under the bus with is sister - who works at Sugar River Pharmacy, the change of Main Street America thanks to the internet, George Washington the 6 star General, kids drinking coffee, adult / kid cereal, milk drinking, change in ordinances in NEwport for heavy trucks on roads, and more

Mary Means is an award-winning community planner and innovator who has led the movement in Main Street Revitalization for more than four decades. She has been dubbed the Queen of Main Street by her colleagues and industry leaders. Today, Mary is a popular conference speaker and continues to help public interest clients envision and build consensus to make their communities better places to live and work.When discussing Mary Means, The American Planning Association identified her as a “Planning Pioneer” and described her this way:“An award-winning community planner and innovator, Mary Means sparked and has led the movement in main street revitalization for nearly four decades.While working at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the 1970s as shopping centers were emptying downtowns, Means could see small towns needed tools to bring life back to historic town centers. She conceived of a three-town pilot project, then led the team that took it to scale nationally. Now known as Main Street America, the program provides an integrated framework to help communities transform their economies, leverage local leadership, and improve residents' quality of life.”Through Means's efforts over nearly four decades, the Main Street movement has proved that downtowns are the heart of communities, and communities are only as strong as their core. The program she spearheaded laid the foundation for improving and revitalizing small towns and older town centers for many years to come.”

In a report from Main Street America, “Streets as Places,” it notes “Streets are our most fundamental public places. They often represent the largest area of public space in a community and provide the overarching framework by which our cities physically expand and develop over time.” In advancing the concept of “Streets as Places” everyone is challenged to view streets not just providing the function of transporting people, but to also acknowledge the “vital role they play in energizing social and economic life in communities” and “positions communities as the owners of their streets, with a right and a responsibility to directly impact how their public spaces look, function and feel.”   As the second largest city in the U.S., Los Angeles is home to nearly 4 million residents living in a land area of roughly 470 square miles with over 7,500 miles of streets!!! Join us as we discuss the importance of streets to a community; efforts by City of LA leadership to re-imagine and reclaim its streets (in a city notoriously known for its automobile culture); and lessons learned from the frontline, with Kevin James, most recently the President of the Board of Public Works Commission for the City of LA. (https://dpw.lacity.org/about-kevin-james)   For seven years, James served as President of the Board, the longest consecutively serving board president in history, overseeing the Department of Public Works, with over 5,000 employees responsible for “the design construction, renovation, and operation of public projects….and the maintenance of streets, sidewalks, sewers, streetlights and street trees.” During that time, the City, under Mayor Eric Garcetti, launched the “Great Streets initiative”(https://ladot.lacity.org/sites/default/files/documents/diy-great-streets-manual-lrg-1.pdf) aimed at targeting resources to communities to strengthen key corridors.   And, since the COVID 19 pandemic, the City has undertaken a number of initiatives – whether the LA Al Fresco Initiative (https://corona-virus.la/laalfresco) or the Slow Streets Initiative (https://ladot.lacity.org/coronavirus/apply-slow-street-your-neighborhood) – which seeks to reimage and repurpose streets in a way that prioritizes pedestrians over cars, while supporting businesses, creating more space for outdoor recreation, and providing new ways for citizens to come together   For more information, please visit www.CivitasLA.com and we hope you’ll rate and review our show; and connect with us on Facebook (@CivitasLA), Instagram (@Civitas_LA) and Twitter (@Civitas_LA).

BE SURE TO SEE THE SHOWNOTES AND LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE HERE. Eve Picker: [00:00:10] Hi there. Thanks, so much for joining me today for the latest episode of Impact Real Estate Investing.   Eve: [00:00:18] My guest today is Patrice Frey, the president and CEO of the National Main Street Center. Through the Center, Patrice and her team offer programs and guidance on placemaking, local entrepreneurship, facade improvements, crowdfunding and green habs, all in service of revitalizing commercial main streets in both big cities and small towns alike. Their network is very big with eighteen hundred members. If you want to hear why main streets matter, listen into our conversation.   Eve: [00:01:04] Be sure to go to evepicker.com to find out more about Patrice on the show notes page for this episode. And be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can access information about impact real estate investing and get the latest news about the exciting projects on my crowdfunding platform, Small change.   Eve: [00:01:35] Good morning, Patrice. I'm really looking forward to our conversation today.   Patrice Frey: [00:01:39] Hi, Eve. Thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to it.   Eve: [00:01:42] Good. You have a pretty big job. The National Main Street Center now has eighteen hundred members. Is that right?   Patrice: [00:01:50] It is, yeah. Eighteen hundred members all across the country. Every state in the union, I think, except maybe saving Hawaii.   Eve: [00:01:59] Ok. That's pretty big. How has it grown under your watch? You've been there since 2013, is that right?   Patrice: [00:02:09] Yeah, I have. We launched as a subsidiary of the National Trust in 2013. Before then, we had been a program embedded at the National Trust for Historic Preservation and we have been very fortunate to see a strong membership growth in the last, in the last seven years or so. You know, those 18 hundred members are located all across the country. It's a really good mix of rural programs and more mid-sized and then quite a bit of representation in some larger cities as well. When we took over in 2013, the team had a real focus on reaching out to folks that had been members in the past and maybe they had lapsed. And we've also just put a tremendous focus on developing new content and new resources that have helped to, I think, attract people, attract people to the organization. Yeah. So, it's been really gratifying. We're so proud to have such a large and strong membership.   Eve: [00:03:10] So I have to ask, I suppose the main question is why Main Streets?   Patrice: [00:03:16] Well, great question. You know, Main Street is important, I think, in at least two ways. The first is they truly are in the heart of a community and people tend to feel about their town, the way they feel about their downtown, which is to say you've got a healthy, vibrant, thriving downtown. I think that's a real sense of pride, provides a real sense of pride and helps shape the identity, a positive identity for a community. And the reverse is true as well, where if you look at downtown and there's nothing happening, I think that can help sort of create a sense of distress and incredibly challenged. So, psychologically, we know main streets are extraordinarily important. They're really important for the quality of life factor, you know, providing restaurants, dynamic shopping experiences, all of that good stuff. But we also know that they're key to economic competitiveness, right? Because as the economy, we've seen these seismic changes in the economy in the last 10, 20 years, we know that people are more mobile and they're often picking where they live and then choosing a job. And that means for those employers, for local leaders, it's extraordinarily important that there are high quality places in those communities and downtowns have those qualities in abundance.   Eve: [00:04:40] So that's what's going to be my next question. Why is it important to save them? So, one reason is that it offers an option for people. But what if they didn't have that option? Why is it really important to save main streets?   Patrice: [00:04:54] A couple of reasons come to mind. The first is that often if you're looking in some of our more stressed areas, cross country, whether that's in rural or urban areas, other than the people, that commercial quarter is often the single greatest asset that that community has, right? It tends to be affordable, stay flexible, it's adaptable, it's walkable and we know more and more people are really appreciating the benefits of walkability. So, it really is an approach to asset based economic development that leverages what you already have. The other thing is main streets, particularly those, you know, those truly that were built like before the 1950s, you have just such a beautiful sense of character. They really reflect the local culture. They were built in a human scale. They're super, and I've already talked about adaptability, but that is extremely important, 5the fact that you can adapt these places, you know, you can do like light manufacturing, you can do a restaurant, you can do standard office. You can, you know, turn upstairs into apartments or condos. So, it's important and for many communities, this is the single biggest asset they've got.   Eve: [00:06:13] Yeah, I always find when I go to a small town or borough with a charming main street, I feel very comfortable with the scale. It's kind of very easy to relate to, which is a bit of a relief sometimes, I think.   Patrice: [00:06:28] It is, it is. And it's so funny because, you know, with Covid I've been spending a lot of time at home and I have a four-year-old son and we had checked out a book from the library on Roman design, Roman construction. And it's just, you know, looking at the sketches was just reminded that, you know, this is an urban form that has existed for millennia. And I think it's existed for a reason. It's certainly existed for purposes of transacting commerce, but it's also been a place that people go to connect with each other. And I think Covid is making us realize how much we appreciate having places to go.   Eve: [00:07:09] Yeah, and how much we miss it, right?   Patrice: [00:07:11] Yeah.   Eve: [00:07:12] So a hard question. How do we bring equity to small towns? This is the other pandemic, right?   Patrice: [00:07:21] Yeah, no, no, no. And yes, equally as concerning, if not more so. I think the first thing is acknowledging the problem for what it is and speaking openly about it. You know, in many communities, there is a legacy of African Americans being excluded that dates back to Jim Crow where African Americans were really only allowed downtown on certain days, during certain times to complete their shopping. So, I think some of it is really just acknowledging that in many ways main streets were, just have extraordinary histories of exclusion. And my own thinking is you only fix that by a truly intensive community engagement process where you are committed to reaching audiences and meeting members that you haven't had traditionally part of downtown and then programming in a way in which those communities, particularly African-American community, feels supported. We, at the Center, do a lot of work on entrepreneurial ecosystems, and we're taking a fresh look at that in terms of really understanding and helping communities embed within their work practices that really create for more diverse representation downtown.   Eve: [00:08:53] Yeah, I think exciting time about this moment is everyone I am talking to is really thinking about this issue very constructively. And I'm not sure that's ever happened before. It's going to be really wonderful to see, you know, what a year of thinking brings, right?   Patrice: [00:09:11] Yeah, it will. And I think now we've got to do the work, right? It's getting past the talking and acknowledging that, yeah, that we have a problem. And, you know, we're certainly, I personally am really committed to it, and then the organization, Main Street America, are very committed to it as well. You know, I think we're going to have more tools and resources, support our communities in this conversation in the coming months and I would also say, you know, we're eager to intensively engage in places where they're ready to have this conversation and, you know, they want to make some changes.   Eve: [00:09:50] Yeah. Yeah. What are the primary activities of the Main Street Center? How do you help communities?   Patrice: [00:09:57] So, we're the leading national revitalization organization nationally. So that means we can provide training, technical assistance, grants, networking opportunities. All of that good stuff. But we're probably best known for something called the Main Street approach, or the four point approach, which is a revitalization strategy that's been used now by about 2000 communities to help them really identify their values, identify their vision for downtown, and then program in a way to really make that happen. It's a very comprehensive approach. A lot of times what we see in economic development is, you know, kind of the  one-shot wonder where you build the stadium, or you build the museum or a baseball park, and expect that that will automatically transform an area. That is very rarely the case. Instead, what we know makes a big change, big differences, is small steps, incremental change over time in a way that really takes into consideration the design of the place, economic vitality, the strategies, how you're, what kind of place you're actually trying to create and how you are attractor helping those businesses. And of course, promoting it, marketing, marketing it, all that good stuff.   Eve: [00:11:19] Right now, what communities have you been working on?   Patrice: [00:11:24] Well, we do a lot of work in communities. Up until Covid, right?   Eve: [00:11:28] Yes. Yeah, yeah.   Patrice: [00:11:29] We have our field services team that I think was in 200 communities...   Eve: [00:11:35] You know, Covid19, I'm just astonished at the trickle-down effect. Every time I talk to someone there's another impact I haven't thought about.   Patrice: [00:11:45] Yeah, yeah. So, our field services typically visits, will visit at least 200 communities a year. And we have transitioned a lot of those services online. But particularly when you're talking about place, it's really tough work to do. Place and relationship building. It's really tough to do.   Eve: [00:12:11] Impossible remotely, right?   Patrice: [00:12:13] I won't say it's all impossible. I will say a lot of it is extremely difficult. Yeah.   Eve: [00:12:19] Yeah. I mean, you can only go so far.   Patrice: [00:12:22] Yeah. Exactly. So, you know, it's hard for me to pick a place where we're doing work, but, we're in so many places, but Ohio, we're doing some really exciting work there in a few of the heavily coal-impacted areas in terms of supporting the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems in that place. And I would say that work is almost certainly shifting off, because of Covid, to be focused on recovery as well.   Eve: [00:12:54] I suppose the question is, you know, how are you shifting your thinking because of this pandemic?   Patrice: [00:13:01] Well, yeah. So, I actually have great hope for main streets on the other side of all of this. I think the reason I'm so hopeful is because I think they, you know, like we talked about, they're so adaptable. And even though I think we're going to see the marketplace change a little bit, I think the space to sort of inherently, you know, we can do it, right Eve?   Eve: [00:13:33] Well, you know, I think main streets have a future because I think there are going to be a lot of people who want the calm, peace and space in places that have small main streets. Unfortunately, I think we're going to go through a period of time where downtowns in larger cities might be scary for some people. And that could be to the advantage of smaller communities.   Patrice: [00:13:59] Well, I think that's right. And I think we are also seeing where so many of our big cities were reaching peak unaffordability.   Eve: [00:14:07] Oh, yeah, there that too.   Patrice: [00:14:09] Yeah, that combined with the dynamic of, you know, people wanting a little bit more space and realizing that they can work from anywhere. I do think that bodes well for rural towns. I just feel like Americans have reconnected with the value of walkability in recent years. And, you know, I think that persists on the other side of this as well. Even though the economic impacts are going to be severe, we're going to have vacancies, storefront vacancies that we're, you know, going to be challenged by, overall, I think, we come out for the better.   Eve: [00:14:44] Yeah. So, storefront vacancies were happening before the pandemic, right? Because retail was really shifting dramatically.   Patrice: [00:14:52] Yeah. Because we're so massively overbuilt in terms of commercial space especially.   Eve: [00:14:57] And I think because retail activities have changed so much in the last few years.   Patrice: [00:15:02] Absolutely.   Eve: [00:15:02] So, what does that mean for main streets? I mean, hasn't it changed so much in small places? I mean, I like having my groceries delivered from Whole Foods or Costco or somewhere, but I don't know if that's possible in a small town, so...   Patrice: [00:15:17] Yeah, yeah. From what I've seen, probably not. I guess maybe there have been some changes. Maybe there will be some changes. We are seeing where, particularly larger retailer vacancies, were really starting to be a problem. My impression is that those tended to be in places, maybe central business district downtown, the malls, the lifestyle centers, et cetera. But I don't tend to see those national retailers concentrated quite so heavily on our main streets, at least in the type of communities that we're working with. So, I'm a little bit, you know, less concerned about that dynamic there, because we were seeing, people were really being extraordinarily creative in creating an experience at customers. And whether that was a restaurant or retail. Yeah. And so, again, I think, you know, none of the fundamentals have changed. And so, I see that continuing on the other side.   Eve: [00:16:18] Yeah. So, it's maybe a shift towards slightly different retail types. Which is kind of exciting to think about.   Patrice: [00:16:26] Yes, it is, it is. I mean, I don't know about you, but I, I am sick of like trying to online shop for clothes.   Eve: [00:16:34] Oh, I hate it.   Patrice: [00:16:36] I want somewhere I can look at them, you know, like touch them, feel them, like, you know that sort of human want, you know. I think that it's real and doesn't go away.   Eve: [00:16:48] So, I'd love to hear about, like, an accomplishment you're really proud of or a project that you thought sort of exemplified what you do at the Main Street Center, something that's, that you love.   Patrice: [00:17:01] Yeah. Well, I love that you ask that question, thank you. We are working on an advocacy campaign right now to ask for congressional support for, I mean through organizations, and so, I have been so heartened and just thrilled to see the way that our network has really rallied behind this cause. Unfortunately, state and local Main Street Programs are in peril. We know fiscal budgets, which are a big source of funding for these programs, are badly endangered. And so, we have been rallying and approaching Congress about what sounds like a large number to me, but I'm told is actually a small number. We've been rallying around a 100 million dollar ask to ensure that we can sustain these main street programs when small businesses need them most. You know, these Main Street Programs, the leaders of these programs are the folks on the ground who are helping the small businesses with their PPP application or they're directing them to local community foundations for grants or making sure they understand what might be available through the state. They're also sometimes in the room negotiating with landlords for rent forgiveness or forbearance. In this moment, what I'm most excited about, most proud of, is the way that folks have rallied to Main Street's defence. And I'm pleased that Congress seems to be listening. We have a long way to go yet, but I'm feeling good about it.   Eve: [00:18:44] Awesome, that sounds fantastic. So, I'm just shifting a little bit to you. What's your background and how did you, what led you to this role?   Patrice: [00:18:54] Well, it was a meandering path. So   Eve: [00:18:57] They're always the good ones.   Patrice: [00:19:00] Well, you know, some people, some people know. Like my husband, you know, knew in third grade what he wanted to do and he's doing it today. So, I, to make a long story short, I ended up at Brookings Institution. That was the Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy at that point. And right after, soon after college, because I just love cities and, you know, I was sort of leaning towards the idea of a planning degree. And then I ended up on a tour in downtown Tacoma, Washington, with my dad. And, you know, we had this tour guide. Michael Sullivan, very well known locally, who captured my ardent attention. He just took us down, through downtown, telling the stories of the buildings. And I thought, OK, well, this is what I want to do. So, from there I, because I had really been interested in policy and really interested in architecture, and so I figured, OK, this is preservation is really a melding of those two things. So, from there, I took my time, but I ended up in grad school at Penn for preservation in the Design School. And I did my thesis actually on the greening of older historic buildings and ended up at the National Trust working as their research director. And then it's it was a lot, I had so much fun in that job working on sustainability and older buildings. And then Main Street came along and I thought, well, you know, there are a lot of parallels between, a lot of threads, between sustainability and main streets. And so, I threw my name in the hat and here I am.   Eve: [00:20:50] That's fabulous. So, you get to run this really pretty unique organization.   Patrice: [00:20:56] I love it.   Eve: [00:20:57] And spend time on main streets.   Patrice: [00:20:59] When times are normal, I get to see some of the most beautiful, most special places that I think people often never see. So, I am really grateful for that.   Eve: [00:21:11] So what's one of the most beautiful, most special places you've seen?   Patrice: [00:21:17] So, a couple come to mind immediately. One is Emporia, Kansas. And I wouldn't say it's like beautiful in the way that, you know, you might think about a landscape or something. But it's a city of, I think it's twenty-five thousand, it's near nothing, right, which is to say, I think Kansas City is a good two and a half, three hours away. And they have done such an extraordinary job of nurturing entrepreneurship there and have had just like success story after success story. I want to say that the Main Street Program has helped to support something like 70 or 80 new business starts there. They will allow good stuff with housing downtown. Just extraordinarily dynamic leadership. Great community. Yeah, just, just...   Eve: [00:22:11] In an unexpected place, right?   Patrice: [00:22:13] Yeah. Yeah. And then, you know, the other thing that I realize is, well the other, to one of the other key lessons I've learned, it's from place called Edenton, North Carolina, and it's an absolutely charming downtown. But sometimes with the preservation lens you can look at a place and say like, "oh, that facade isn't", you know, "that facade isn't quite right", "those windows...", etc., etc.. And there's a lot of what I would describe as imperfect preservation there, but I say that with no judgment. The thing I realized is, you know, it's really not about the way it looks, it's about what's happening at 2:00 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon, which is: Is this vibrant? Are people using this space? Are they getting what they need? And, you know, Edenton is absolutely just incredible.   Eve: [00:23:06] Oh, I'm going to have to put them on my bucket list.   Patrice: [00:23:08] Yeah, it is right on the water. It's a beautiful, beautiful place. I'm probably getting my history wrong, but I think it was very briefly the capital of North Carolina.   Eve: [00:23:18] Fabulous. So, do you think socially responsible real estate is necessary in today's development landscape?   Patrice: [00:23:26] I think it's absolutely essential. I'm pleased to see that, you know, there is a bit more attention on it than perhaps in the past. My two big concerns when it comes to real estate are, well really three, building in a way that truly supports the community, is in line with the community's vision. The second is building with time in mind. Meaning, I think so much of what gets constructed today is just utter crap.   Eve: [00:23:57] Oh, yeah, I agree.   Patrice: [00:23:58] And it will, it will not stand the stand the test of time either design wise or, you know, the fundamentals, the physical structures are so poorly constructed. And then the third thing that is, again, just kind of how I look at the world, is the reuse factor. You know, I tend to really gravitate to projects, you know appreciate projects, that are making use of an old building in some form or some fashion because they, the research I did early on in my career regarding the carbon impacts associated with new construction, was kind of formative in my thinking about this. I mean, there are just massive, massive impacts associated with constructing new buildings and tearing down old ones. And it's just critically important that we're giving that our full attention as we're designing these places.   Eve: [00:24:52] Yeah, and, you know, I've done a lot of reuse projects and I find people really love the idea that they're living in or occupying something that has a history. So, it's a shame to eradicate it. It's useful today.   Patrice: [00:25:09] Yeah. And Eve, you are a hero, a true champion among the development community for the work you've done on.   Eve: [00:25:19] Oh, thank you.   Patrice: [00:25:19] Yeah, and reuse. I think you're right. I mean, I do think there's an element of the human psyche that finds it very important to connect to elements of the past. And that's what building reuse allows us to do. I mean, unfortunately, so much of what is being constructed today, you know, has so little value that, yeah, it's hard to imagine 50 years from now that people are going to be fighting to save those places.   Eve: [00:25:46] Yes. Yep. Shifting gears again, what community engagement tools have you seen that have worked best? I know you talked about going further with them in the future, but I'm just wondering what works?   Patrice: [00:26:02] Yeah. So, I mean, there's certainly the you hold a meeting and you see who shows up and you create the space for them to, for everyone to have a voice and to talk. And that's very important. But there are two engagement tools in particular that we've had some success within recent years. One are surveys. I mean, obviously, that's a little bit different and limited because you're not having a dynamic conversation with someone. But that can be extraordinarily helpful in reaching a larger community group about and engaging them in terms of how they want to see their downtown evolve. And the second, and this is really important, is going to where they are, right? So, which is to say, if you have groups that just tend to not engage downtown and yet, you know, there's a festival happening or there's some sort of gathering, churches, what have you. That can be a great place to go and engage directly, you know, hand somebody a survey and talk to them at the same time. That's been extraordinarily valuable.   Eve: [00:27:04] Oh, interesting. And then I have to ask this question. Do you think equity crowdfunding can play a role in building main streets? I'm hoping the answer is yes.   Patrice: [00:27:15] Money? Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that crowdfunding, is probably the most exciting thing I've seen come along and real estate, I'd say full stop. Precisely because I think it creates a foundation for better community engagement, literally community buy-in.   Eve: [00:27:35] Yes. Yeah, that's the important bit. Yeah.   Patrice: [00:27:37] Yeah. And that is, you know, that's what it's all about.   Eve: [00:27:42] Yeah, so they get to vote with their dollars. I mean, they also get to see the upside.   Patrice: [00:27:49] They do. They do. Yeah.   Eve: [00:27:51] Yeah. That's what I love about it. So final question, what's next for the Center and what's next for you if you're looking five years ahead, like what are the big goals?   Patrice: [00:28:03] Oh boy, I can answer the one for the Center pretty easily.   Eve: [00:28:07] Well, the 100 million for sure, right. That's a really big goal.   Patrice: [00:28:10] After we get our 100 million and I go on vacation...I will not go on vacation. In terms of what's next for the Center it is a renewed focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. You know, we've recently been doing some strategic planning that we've completely, I think, rethought our strategic plan to be aligned with goals of enhancing equity on main streets. I don't want to be Pollyanna-ish about this and say, you know, we're going to be able to snap our fingers and massive changes overnight but I do think we're going to focus on creating tools and partnerships that will really support communities who want to have this conversation, are committed to creating a more diverse representation downtown. So, you're going to see more resources come from the Center focused on the diversity issue. You know, the five-year question, Eve, is a really hard one because I'm spending all the time with Main Street. So, every year sort of presents a new challenge and you never know what's coming down the road for you. I hope that, you know, five years from now, we've got double the membership and that we honestly have really engaged on the diversity issue in a really meaningful way.   Eve: [00:29:38] Yeah, I think that's a good goal. And I hope there's quite a few more main streets with less vacant storefronts.   Patrice: [00:29:45] That's a good hope as well.   Eve: [00:29:48] Well, thank you very much for talking to me today. And I'm really looking forward to seeing what else, what else happens.   Patrice: [00:29:54] Thanks Eve, great to talk to you as well.   Eve: [00:30:08] That was Patrice Frey, the president and CEO of The National Main Street Center. Patrice impressed on me the importance of main streets. These commercial corridors are often the single biggest asset that a neighborhood or small town has. They are the center of commercial activity, often full of well-built, historic buildings, and they are the heart of their community. It's important that they thrive. It's important that they are saved and reused in ways that befit the way we live today.   Eve: [00:30:47] You can find out more about impact real estate investing and access the show notes for today's episode at my website, evepicker.com. While you're there, sign up for my newsletter to find out more about how to make money in real estate while building better cities.   Eve: [00:31:04] Thank you so much for spending your time with me today. And thank you, Patrice, for sharing your thoughts with me. We'll talk again soon but for now, this is Eve Picker signing off to go make some change.  

The Forum # 12: Main Street, America (We're the Kids in America") by Zero Gravity Media

In episode twelve of our Investor Series, Mervin Jebaraj, Director at the Center for Business and Economic Research of Walton College, addresses the economic impact of COVID-19 on the State of Arkansas, and more specifically how this is impacting Main Street America. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/endeavornorthamerica/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/endeavornorthamerica/support

In this episode, we talk with Angela Smith about how Main Street America and Clifton Main Street work with other organizations to develop the community.

Many businesses are open again and millions of others are planning to reopen soon. But things will look very different than they did back in March. What steps do you need to take to protect customers and employees? How might your vendor relationships have to change? And how can businesses band together to make reopening as successful as possible for everyone? We get answers from Matt Wagner, vice president of revitalization programs at Main Street America.

Many businesses are open again and millions of others are planning to reopen soon. But things will look very different than they did back in March. What steps do you need to take to protect customers and employees? How might your vendor relationships have to change? And how can businesses band together to make reopening as successful as possible for everyone? We get answers from Matt Wagner, vice president of revitalization programs at Main Street America.Visit the BizFilings site for more information on COVID-19.https://www.bizfilings.com/landing-pages/covid-19Access our full library of podcasts for small businesseshttps://www.bizfilings.com/toolkit/guides/podcasts

“Focus on what matters, where it matters, and where you can make the most impact.” - James SchenckThank you for tuning in to episode 76 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your host, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. This episode is brought to you by our friends at PSCU. As the nation’s premier payments CUSO, PSCU proudly supports the success of more than 1,500 credit unions.While many credit unions contemplate the future of service for their members, PenFed Credit Union has been able to leverage their remote infrastructure to thrive in an otherwise chaotic environment. On this week’s episode, I’m sitting down with James Schenck, President and CEO of PenFed Credit Union, to learn more about his team’s strategic approach to digital service; how that has prepared the PenFed team to face hurricanes, blizzards, and even pandemics; and why credit unions are perfectly positioned to serve Main Street America. During our discussion, James and I discuss how his team has seamlessly transitioned to remote work since the start of COVID-19. We also talk about James’ recent article in Forbes about effectively communicating with your team. James also shares his thoughts on the future of credit unions, playing the long-game, and giving back to the community. In the leadership and life hacks section, James and I discuss his transition from a military career as a helicopter pilot to President and CEO of the largest credit union. We chat about how the inspiration has changed since he started, the need to be empathetic and listen, his father’s advice to lift books not weights, and more. He also shares that he yells "I Love Working Here!" at the start and end of his work day. We close out the episode with some fun, rapid-fire questions about James’ personal life. We learn that he used to work a multitude of jobs in high school, earned his pilot licence at the age of 17, and that he is energized by being around people. This was a great conversation that I’m sure you’ll enjoy! Be sure to hit play and give it a listen. Find the full show notes on cuinsight.comSubscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play Stitcher Books mentioned on The CUInsight Experience podcast: Book List How to find James:James Schenck, President and CEO of PenFed Credit Unionjames.schenck@penfed.org https://www.penfed.orghttps://penfedfoundation.orgFacebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Many businesses are open again and millions of others are planning to reopen soon. But things will look very different than they did back in March. What steps do you need to take to protect customers and employees? How might your vendor relationships have to change? And how can businesses band together to make reopening as successful as possible for everyone? We get answers from Matt Wagner, vice president of revitalization programs at Main Street America.

Many businesses are open again and millions of others are planning to reopen soon. But things will look very different than they did back in March. What steps do you need to take to protect customers and employees? How might your vendor relationships have to change? And how can businesses band together to make reopening as successful as possible for everyone? We get answers from Matt Wagner, vice president of revitalization programs at Main Street America.Visit the BizFilings site for more information on COVID-19.https://www.bizfilings.com/landing-pages/covid-19Access our full library of podcasts for small businesseshttps://www.bizfilings.com/toolkit/guides/podcasts

The Cogent Analytics Profit Platform is comprised of the 4 interconnected pillars that directly contribute or detract from a businesses profitability. The four pillars include Business Development, Organizational Engineering, Operations, and Measurement. Rob Braiman, CEO and Founder of Cogent Analytics will discuss how Cogent Analytics uses the Profit Platform to help small to mid-market businesses across America become more profitable. Rob has a long-standing reputation as an entrepreneur. He has spent 15 years working directly with business owners to improve strategic planning, operations, growth, and business development. Rob formed Cogent Analytics with the specific intent of bringing tools of better management, organization, and profitability to Main Street America’s small to mid-sized businesses. Rob has personally engaged with over 1900 businesses across the United States, working to further the interests of other business owners like himself. Today's show is sponsored by Audible.com. Audible.com is a leading provider of spoken audio entertainment and information. Listen to audiobooks whenever and wherever you want. Get a free book when you sign up for a 30-day free trial at audibletrial.com/businessgrowth.

For the last thirty years, one community has been at the center of a neighborhood that today is a main street in Orlando. From its origins to the present day, Mills Avenue's community survived on optimism. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at wfmpod@gmail.com!   Thank you to Joanne Grant from Mills 50 for speaking with me on the podcast. Check out Mills 50's future projects right here! Check out Ricky Ly's blog, Tasty Chomps! Check out the Orange County Regional History Center!   You can read more about Orlando's Main Street program right here! You can read more about about the Main Street America program right here!   If you enjoyed this episode, you will enjoy these as well! Division Avenue Interstate 4   The photography used in the marketing of this show is by Lauren Nix. Check out more of her art right here!   Songs Easy Night by Lobo Loco Smuggler by Lobo Loco Road to Lafayette by Lobo Loco Echoes Boogie Dancehall by Lobo Loco Traveling Horse by Lobo Loco Love After Midnight by Lobo Loco Hear more music from Lobo Loco here!

The fight for net neutrality is over at the federal level, at least for now. The Obama-era Open Internet Order of 2015 was repealed by Ajit Pai's FCC and solidified after a DC circuit court of appeals' final ruling, leaving prospects looking slim for legislation proactively regulating broadband internet.However, even with the federal repeal, individual states still have the ability to pass their own legislation, which could carry on the spirit of net neutrality by tackling the most frequented issues of blocking lawful content, throttling and paid prioritization.With the future of net neutrality in the hands of the states, how will this play out for end-users and ISPs? On this episode of Ratified, a MarketScale show on the intersection of business and policy, host Daniel Litwin brings two important perspectives to the table to understand the main arguments for and against net neutrality regulations, why small ISPs fought hard for repeal, and what future legislation could look like encourages both broadband expansion and an open internet.Commentary includes perspectives from Matt Polka, CEO of ACA Connects, and Chad Marlow, senior advocacy & policy council at the ACLU.ACA Connects, which represents almost 800 small and medium-sized independent telecom operators across the nation, and works with Washington to ensure fair treatment of these small players so they can provide “affordable video broadband and phone services to Main Street America.” Polka and his members have felt a weight lifted with the repeal of Net Neutrality, and he joined Ratified to give his perspective on Title II regulations, how they affect small ISPs, and whether lawmakers can put partisanship aside to roll out new federal legislation.At the ACLU, Marlow advises specifically on privacy, surveillance, and technology issues. An advocate for a free and open internet, Marlow explained how a state-by-state Net Neutrality framework could play out, who's necessary to advise on quality legislation, and his take on some of the prevailing arguments from the net neutrality discussion.For more on Ratified, follow Daniel Litwin on Twitter and subscribe to MarketScale Radio on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Why should you attend the Main Street Now Conference in Seattle, March 25-27, 2019? Should you attend even if you aren't a Main Street community? What other educational opportunities does the National Main Street Center offer?  Well, find out in this episode! GUEST INFORMATION: Name: Kelly Humrichouser Organization: National Main Street Center Title: Associate Manager of Education   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MainStreetNowConference/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MainStreetsConf Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natlmainstreet/ SHOW NOTE Kelly wanted me to be sure to note the following: The Main Street Now Conference is not possible without the hard work and support of our state-wide partners, including the Washington Main Street Program and Washington Trust for Historic Preservation (Seattle, 2019) and the Missouri Main Street Connection (Kansas City, 2018). SHOW TRANSCRIPT Megan Tsui: Hello, everybody. Today my guest is Kelly Humrichouser from the National Main Street Center, and I'm so excited to have Kelly on with me today to talk about National Main Street and the National Main Street Conference that's coming up in March in Seattle. So welcome, Kelly. Kelly Humrichouser: Thank you. Thanks for having me, Megan. Great to talk to you again. M: Yeah. I actually met Kelly when I was at a, what was it called - Historic Real Estate Certification Course through the National Development Center. Is that right? Did I get that right? K: Very, very close. We did the Historic Real Estate Finance Series Certificate Program offered through the National Development Council. And the Main Street America Institute was able to partner with the National Development Council to bring that content to Main Street managers and other historic real estate professionals. And, so yeah, we met in Des Moines and we were just in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, and now we're here. M: Yeah, and I, that was probably the hardest class I've taken outside of, outside of, you know, college algebra. But I think it was so helpful and so good. And most people didn't think it was hard. So, it was just me. K: I thought it was hard too. I was very grateful that I was able to participate in the course and kind of be the coordinator for bringing that content through the institute to the group of people that we had with us. So it was like really wonderful because it’s really hands-on and you do have to do a lot of math. But at the end of the day, you're able to just understand so much more of the conversation around development in all these communities. M: Well that's what I was, that's why I went and why I decided that that was going to be an important thing and my, why my board said yes to the travel costs and things like that. But what was great is I got some scholarship money from, you want to talk about the scholarship opportunity? And then also the there was some travel cost reimbursement because we're a smaller Main Street. So just mention that quick because I want to make sure people know about that great resource. K: Yeah. We were able, through the support that we had from the 1772 foundation, to subsidize highly, highly, the cost of this course so that Main Street managers are able to participate. We know that two weeks during any year out of the office to do an in-person training that also has a cost admin training process associated, it's a lot, it's a lot for anybody to handle. So we highly highly subsidized the course through that partnership. And we were also able to provide a few travel scholarships to make it a lot easier for people to be in an AirBnB or a hotel for a week while they're kind of going out to these different communities. So, we do hope to be able to do that again in the future. Always kind of an interest from our network in that possibility. But just, you know, everyone that was involved. We're so grateful to the support of the 1772 Foundation and our partners at the National Development Council. That's something that, you know, we want to continue to work with them because they have such great knowledge on how economic development and real estate deals really work. M: Well and I, you know, as a small, you know Main Street organization, we wouldn't have been able to do it without those, that help. And so we really appreciate the National Main Street and the foundation, and the National Development Center, we’re able to collaborate and bring that all together and make it affordable so thanks for your efforts on that and everyone else's. And I think, would people be able to learn about those opportunities if they get on your mailing list? Because I believe that's where I saw it. K: Yeah absolutely. In fact, you know, specific to the educational opportunities, I would encourage anybody who's interested in future opportunities like that to email msai@savingplaces.org. I'm sure we'll put that in the details but msai@savingplaces.org is for the institute specifically and that will get you kind of on my list to tell you specifically about opportunities like this that you might be interested in. Generally, we encourage everybody to always pay attention to everything that you're receiving. If you're a Main Street Member or you're just interested in keeping up to date with our with our weekly news. There are so many opportunities that come through our regular mailing list as well. M: All right, we'll make sure to put that in the show note so people have a link to get to that easily. OK. So, that's how we met, that's how we got to know each other a little bit. We sat at the same table. We laughed a lot and I thought it would be so great for you to come on the podcast and talk about what National Main Street is and then what is the big conference that's coming up and why someone who is a Main Street Community, inside of Main Street Community, would want to attend. And then why somebody who isn't part of the Main Street Program yet might want to attend. So, let's get started. What, what is National Main Street? K: Yeah. The National Main Street Center, and some folks probably know it as Main Street America, are really kind of one and the same. So either way that you're using those terms, we're a national organization that supports commercial district revitalization across the country. Most people call the Main Streets in some other places, they might be neighborhoods, commercial districts, and larger urban areas. We're really focused on both. And we provide, you know, education training and networking opportunities. Our conference and the advocacy technical assistance, really, we tried to do a little bit of everything and hopefully, we do it successfully. So we've been around for about 40 years it was a program started by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the late 70s, early 80s, to try to bring back life to places that were kind of disinvested. You know, when you started building more, new construction out towards highways and maybe downtowns, weren't seeing as much, as much of the action. And so, in the shopping mall era, a lot of, a lot of downtowns weren't thriving, and so this effort was started by the National Trust really for the preservation of buildings but also the community. And then it's grown into more of an economic development format. And so, it's a very interdisciplinary way to look at bringing life to downtowns, but it works and it works really well. So now we are an independent non-profit. Well we're still very closely partnered with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. But we try to bring tools to folks like yourself out in Red Wing and in communities across the country. M: Well, I think it's just about the coolest thing because, as you said, it does, it's comprehensive, and what a lot of people don't always see about their downtown is how it's such a mix of both residential, commercial, community, nonprofits, churches. There's just so many different things that happen in a lot of our downtowns and so to have a organization like the National Main Street Center understand that and then help us create a foundation and create a way for us to, you know, wear more boots on the ground, support that, is just, it's phenomenal. And I'm glad the organization is here and that it continues to get funded, and I hope it continues to because it's, it's economic development at the very heart of our communities. So, I love it. Okay, and what is your role there Kelly? K: Well, my role as, my title is Associate Manager of Education. And what that means for me on a day to day is that I manage programming for our Main Street America Institute. That's the program that we were talking about previously that was a partnership with the National Development Council but through the Main Street America Institute. The Institute is really a credentialing program for folks that are working in commercial district revitalization as Main Street directors or managers to hone their skills, to learn new skills, to kind of have a checkpoint for their competency as a Main Street Manager. And we offer a credential called the Main Street America Revitalization Professional Credential. That's kind of the pinnacle of achievement in our world right now, I believe. And it's a program that has been built upon a previous program that was offered through the Main Street Center called the Certified Main Street Manager Program. That program, you know, existed for about 20 years and kind of went through a hiatus period and now we've brought it back kind of as the Main Street America Institute. So we do online courses and workshops and in addition to that I also work on education through our conference, which I know we will talk much more about, but there are over 100 education sessions and special events, kind of other jazz. And then as with any nonprofit, you know, everybody has their other duties as assigned. So I hope I try to make myself helpful in other ways. But, you know, our team is varied and kind of constantly in kind of dynamic shifts and always everybody's kind of helping each other out. So just as with any, I'm sure, Main Street program our team is constantly doing a million things. M: Yeah. And yeah sometimes it's slow, sometimes it's crazy and you have to be ready to do it, step in. I think that's just the nature of the Main Street, I don't know, it's almost like you're the pathos of Main Street. K: Right. M: Jump in wherever you need to. K: Right, right, right. M: What's your background? How did you get started in this area of work? K: It's, you know, it's one of those circuitous paths, I think. My first job I think, I had a couple of jobs when I was like 16, and one was at a candy and gift shop on a Main Street in my town and the other was a soda fountain, like a historic soda fountain. I was like a soda jerk. M: Woah, you were like original, OG Main Street stuff right there. K: Right. Right. The soda fountain, I mean I loved the place. It closed, I think, in 2002 after 96 years in business. But it was really interesting back then to kind of see the little system that the downtown business owners and how everyone worked together and how they were working with the city when the city was trying to build a new development behind the Main Street and kind of understand all those dynamics. And at that time I heard about the Main Street program, but it kind of, I think, went over my head, like, I was like, “Oh, what? People do this as a, as a job.” That’s crazy, but, you know, I went to undergrad and took a course that was focused on historic preservation when I was a senior. I kind of got a job eventually after college. Got into a historic preservation program. And through that, and kind of very dynamic different circumstances, I was like, “Oh yeah, Main Street Center makes a whole lot of sense for me.” I had a background in some educational programming, so it really kind of came together. But yeah, it's something you, I don't know if anybody, really aims for that or if it's just kind of something that happens you know. M: Right, yeah, I don't know a lot of like, 16-year-olds are, like, “I can't wait to work on Main Street.” K: Right. Right. But maybe they should, right? M: We should change that. So you have a huge conference coming up here in March that I'm really excited for, for many reasons. Tell us about that. What's coming up? K: Yes. So every year we have the Main Street Now Conference. This is annually the largest national gathering of downtown revitalization professionals, Main Street managers. We've had, I think, last year we had more than sixteen hundred attendees. So we're actually expecting a bigger turnout this year. The conference is March 25th to 27th in Seattle, Washington. And Seattle is just such a cool destination. I can imagine that, you know, a real drop for some people, just being able to come out to the Pacific Northwest if you, if you haven't been before. But, you know, relative to the content, you know, like I said previously, we've got over 100 education sessions and some really cool special events planned. And you can still register, so you can register up until the day of the event if you, if you want to come out. But I would say for anybody who's listening, look at it fast because hotels are going quick and, you know, you want to make sure you get in there and plan your experience a little bit. M: Yeah, I can't wait. I mean the last year was my first conference. It was in Kansas City. And I had such an amazing time that it was just so great to be around other people like me. I mean other people who are, most people are outgoing. They're community-minded, and that doesn't just mean their community, it means the community of Main Street. And they're fun and curious and it just, it was such a great experience to be around all these people who love their Main Streets and love their downtowns just like I do. So, I can't say enough about that conference and how great it was. All the sessions I went to were very well done. The facility was amazing. It was just top notch. So, I love it. I am doing a couple of sessions there too. So I'm excited to, connect with some people in that way as well. So, what is the one session you think that is, you're most excited for people to take advantage of. I mean, besides mine! But what are the other ones? I have one in mind that I can't wait to go to, but I want to hear what yours is. Do you have one? K: You tell me about yours first so that we don't pick the same one, and it feels unethical for me to pick one. M: OK, fine I'll tell you. The one that I think I'm pretty excited for is the one about how to have dogs downtown. K: Oh that's so great! I've been communicating with Britin, who is the speaker there. She's got some excellent resources to bring and it is an issue that we, you know, we were like very excited when someone submitted on the topic because it is something that so many downtown programs need to deal with. I know, you know, my mom wants to bring her dog everywhere. M: Yeah, exactly. K: I'm like, how do we do this best? M: If you live in California, everybody does bring their dogs everywhere. They're in the grocery stores, they're in, they're not service dogs, they're just dogs. And so and I think it can be a competitive advantage for our community. I know there's, there's a community not far from here that's very small. And I mean I think they may have a couple hundred people. They still have a few historic buildings from their downtown and they just come alive in the summer and then they have you know the Dog Days of Stockholm, where they have a weekend where thousands and thousands of people come out with their dogs to this little town and just take over. And I just think it's brilliant. It's just such a great marketing strategy. So that's why I'm excited to hear about it. K: Yeah. That's a good pick. Like I say I feel a little bit, you know I don't want to steer too many, too many people in one direction or the other based on what I would think. I'm pretty excited for some of our kind of general sessions, so go ahead and plug those. We have Jim and Deb Fallows. They're authors of a book called Art Sounds. M: I didn't know that. K: Yeah, they're going to come on Tuesday morning for a general session discussion with our president and CEO Patrice Frye. So, we're very excited about that. They've been wonderful partners so far and so we're going to have their book and have a book signing as well, so we're excited about several of our general sessions. But I also want to say specifically, I'm excited this year. We have a focus on, leadership and partnerships. And so we've given a significant discount to civic leaders. We're talking elected officials and people in upper-level management positions of municipalities to attend the conference for an extremely reduced rate. And this is something, you know, we're gearing educational programming specifically for them. There's a luncheon hosted by our Board Chair, Ed McMahon, specifically for the civic leaders at the conference to learn how they can better support a Main Street program. And for them to really feel the value of the Main Street program in their communities. And that's really huge for us because we know that those partnerships are so important. And for some communities to have, kind of be the strength that they need at the table with their city team, it'd be really great if we could tell them a little bit more about all the possibilities that Main Street could bring. So we're really jazzed about that. M: That is so exciting because if you don't have, in my experience anyway, and even in the experience that I've seen in other towns in Minnesota if you don't have your city leaders on board, it's such an uphill battle. And so if you can get them to these sessions, get them to hear about the great work that Main Street does and encourage them to help support a membership to National Main Street and/or their state Main Street, what a huge effort that goes towards making it happen in the community. So thank you to the National Main Street Center for offering that discount because I think that is a game changer for a lot of, especially smaller communities. So thank you for that. K: Yeah we hope so. You know it's something that we hope it, it's a relationship that you could bring to the conference and then continue to grow from there so that it's not you know a one-stop event but really begins the discussion. M: Right. And I'm, you know, what I love about the conferences, it's things that are very practical. Those are the things that I'm talking about. I'm doing a session on hosting a retail challenge. How to fill vacant storefronts in your downtown. And then the other one is how to tell your downtown story with social media. So you'll come away with real actionable things that Main Street has actually done. It's not theoretical, it's very action oriented. And a lot of the sessions are like that, you know, my hand hurt last year from taking notes to really dive into all of the different presentations and ideas. But then you also learn about things like the topic of this, you know, what we just talked about, was, the leadership and the partnerships and building those kinds of things that kind of make having a main street and being a main street manager easier when you have those partnerships and collaborations. Those don't always, you can't, that is not a one size fits all. That's a lot of times, you know, there are personalities involved, there's different budgeting processes that are involved, etc. But you get to hear about how other people have done it and get inspired. So I think that's what I love about the conference the most, is, it's both higher level and then also nuts and bolts right down on the ground of what you can take back to your main street tomorrow and get working on. K: With that in mind I'm gonna plug one session that I think is a really, a great idea that has been proposed just for this conference and our state coordinator in Virginia, Rebecca Rowe, and Diana Schwartz, who is the Executive Director of the River District Association in Danville Virginia, are doing a session and we've scheduled it for kind of in the afternoon. But after the conference, how to make it happen. So the concept there is to bring together what you're learning because there are so many ideas. You're gonna have so many notes. And we do need to check in sometimes and really think like, how do you take this home and implement it. So if any session that I would individually plug, I'll give it to that one. M: That's a good one because it encompasses everything. It's very safe. Good job. K: Thank you. M: So if you are, I think it's pretty clear, we made pretty clear why if you're a Main Street Community, why you should attend. I think that's not necessarily hard to imagine the reasons why, but what if you aren't yet? What if you're Joe Blow or Jane Doe working in a community, working on downtown and stuff along your main street but you're not a member, why should you attend this? K: Yeah, that's such a great question. And I love it because, you know, so often we find that there's a perception out in the world that if you're not from a recognized, certified Main Street America community then this isn't for you somehow. And it actually, it is. We have folks from so many different fields: planners, architects, developers, government staff, as we were talking about before, and volunteers, board members, interested community members, always, I think, take away a lot from the conference as well.  It's always interdisciplinary content. It's issues that are not just for somebody who necessarily is managing the downtown. You could be a small business owner in the downtown and take a lot away from that session on pets on Main Street as well, you know. We also do offer credit for the American Institute of Certified Planners and the American Institute of Architects continuing education, so professionals from those fields, we are we are trying to make it easier for them to attend because it can be kind of a checking off a box or they need to have in their career path on their on this list. So we are doing that type of outreach, but this is a conference that's just about so much. It's about how communities work, and so if you're in a community and trying to make it work, which applies to just a myriad of types of people, then this is for you, you know. And then, as we talked about before, we have an emphasis on partnerships and we want to make sure that all of the partners at the table as well. So, you know, of course, that includes the elected officials and civic leaders that we were talking about, but it could include any type of partnership. I would also encourage a Main Street manager, think of the conference as something that you can also reach out to other folks in your town and encourage them to come with you, especially if there's some topic that you're trying to tackle together. This might be a great place to kind of get some ideas for it. M: That’s what I noticed last year is that there were some kind of groups from one community, and a lot of times it was the mayor, it was Member 2 from the Council, the main street manager, maybe the chamber director or, you know, so that just makes so much sense to come together. You get to go to different sessions or the same sessions if it's around something that you're out working towards and then come together and talk about what you learned. And so, it's just such a great way to learn and to expand and to be inspired. I will say what you bring up about planners, developers, architects. That is kind of a group that I don't assume, you know, would go to something like this, but yet they are the ones with the money. I mean, they're the ones with the connections to the developers and to investors and to the banks in their community, who've worked on projects, especially in historic preservation or with historic tax credits or whatever. And they're the ones that are visionaries, and so that's been a pleasant surprise for me. I mean, the other group I kind of assumed would go that makes sense but this other group of, those other kinds of professionals, it's been such a pleasant surprise for me to meet them and learn more about how they're working inside Mean Streets. And I just can't say enough about how wonderful it is to have that opportunity at the National Main Street conference to connect to one another and to figure out where those resources lie. So that's another benefit I think that may not be as obvious. K: Yeah, Absolutely. M: Yeah. So if you were going to give a piece of advice to a Main Street manager or someone who's working hard in their downtown to revitalize it, what advice would you give them? K: Well, I think from my perspective and the perspective of our team at the National Main Street Center, it's to really make sure that, you know, if you are a Main Street member that you are taking full advantage of your membership. There are so many ways to do so. Through a Main Street America membership, you have access to webinars, resources, a really great discount to the Main Street America Institute program for some professional development. We have so many guides and so many kinds of hard copy resources and they're really interactive at this point. You know, we're always interested in hearing back from folks and updating our resources to make them applicable in various situations. And then just in the past year, we've also launched something called The Point, which is a member network based through our membership system. It really allows for interaction, and people hold really great dialogue there. And there's no, there's no greater resource than your peers. So I think that's what I would say to anybody who is currently a member is to really make sure that you are getting everything that you can out of your membership. And very self-serving, think about the Main Street America Institute. We have some really great courses and we're always developing more. There's great opportunities there. But if you're not a Main Street member, if you're looking at this again from that perspective of, I'm not, you know, part of this kind of accredited network, you know, how can I participate? We have a general membership. You don't have to be part of your statewide program in order to join us as a community. And we also have a new membership format that’s called Friends of Main Street. If you are out there and you're just kind of interested, you want to know more about it. Friends on Main Street is kind of a low-cost entry-level way just to make sure you're receiving our conference discounts and, you know, weekly updates from the National Main Street Center so that you are aware of opportunities of, you know, resources and it's not a huge commitment up front. So we're always happy to talk more about, more about membership. I know my colleagues who specifically work on membership will be like, "Yay! Questions!" But I really think, you know, the conferences is a huge part of this network every year so, the advice is also, attend the conference, make sure that your hand is cramping from all those notes and go home and make some changes. You know, we always talk about the main aspect of this work is really, you know, trying to find other great examples, from podcasts too, to duplicate and obviously have to consider the context of your own community when you're doing so. But this is all about trial and error sometimes with really great examples from other communities. And a lot of that can be found at the conference. And then, you know, there are those best practices that we want to get out there and we do that through all of our member resources, but again, really specifically the conference. M: Well, I think that you just wrapped it up very, very nicely and put a bow on it because I think that's exactly, you know, I think it's such a wonderful conference and I will hope to meet as many people as possible there this year. Last year I had a terrible cold. So I was I was just going through, but I can't wait this year to get there and get to the, I know there's some parties and some networking opportunities that I am looking forward to as well. So, and I'm assuming that you're all there and ready to answer any and all questions at the conference.   K: Oh, yes. So as an attendee at the conference, you can always find information at our booth in the exhibit hall or through the registration table if you ever have questions. We want to make it accessible to you as possible. I will say it's really highly recommended to make sure that you download the mobile app, it's available through our website, in advance of attending, so that you're all set to go once you arrive. We'd love it if you took a look at the schedule in advance and kind of planned out where you thought you might want to be so that you have a better sense of, you know, what sessions you want to attend, and you are not scrambling then. And make sure to read through kind of some of the session descriptions and just plan your experience a little bit. I'll also say, Seattle has great public transit. Don't feel like you have to take a cab from the airport. The train is great. M: That is a good hint because I think it's it's a busy downtown from what I understand, and the conference is located in a great spot, so hopefully people will have lots of ease getting around. I can't wait to see Seattle. Never been there. It's definitely been a place on my bucket list. And so I just can't wait. I'm ready for it to get here, plus it's, you know, very, very chilly here in Minnesota and in Chicago where Kelly is, and so I am just trying to think happy, warmer thoughts and anywhere else in the country than here at the moment. M: Well, thanks so much Kelly. I really appreciate you coming on and talking about National Main Street, the conference, and all of the great resources that are available to folks who care about their downtowns. And I appreciate that you said, you know, it's really all about a big borrowing and stealing from each other. And one of the things I love about Main Street that I have not found in other areas that I've worked in is that no one hoards information or good ideas. It's almost like, we can't wait to share what's worked in our downtown. There just is not a sense of competition at the Main Streets that I've ever encountered. So, you know, instead of trying to recreate the wheel or, you know, try to think of ideas that are outside the box on your own and get started and learn the hard way, you can learn from other people and what they've, been through. And you mentioned The Point, which is part of the National Main Street Center's website. I love that I just kind of, you know, got really dug into it just a few weeks ago, and I thought, “Oh, my gosh! Where has this been for the last couple of years.” It's people who have sample documents and sample marketing pieces and good ideas about contacts and all sorts of things that, in that, I'm sure I'm not doing it justice. But that's a great resource. What I will do is in the show notes make sure to put links to everything we talked about, so links to how to register for the conference, links to your email if people want more information about the institute and what they can sign up for in there, or other information they might need and make sure that people know how to get connected to you. K: Excellent. Well, I look forward to speaking to people and seeing everyone at the conference. I apologize in advance if you see me and I'm in running shoes and scrambling by, but feel free to say hello. M: Awesome! I mean, I did not know there were sixteen hundred people last year. And that's a pretty good testament to a well-run conference because sixteen hundred people could feel like a massive amount of chaos, and it did not feel that way, Kelly. It was amazing. So you did a great job and your team is stellar at this, they are obviously pros. So I can't wait for this year to have even more folks be able to come and share all the great stuff about Main Street. So, thank you so much for being here. Appreciate it. And we'll see you in Seattle. K: Excellent. Thank you, Megan. M: All right. Thanks, Kelly.

In this week’s episode I talk with preservationist Leah Solomon. Leah has worked with a variety of preservation organizations including government agencies, non-profits and private companies. We discuss the different ways preservation is used at the organizational level on programs such as Main Street America, Historicorps and local historic districts.

Kayla and I discuss Marion, Indiana, our mutual chosen home, Neighborhood Associations, the vital importance of arts in our culture, Main Street America, crab races, the brilliance of Kendrick Lamar and Ben Folds, and... pens.

Rob Braiman of Cogent Analytics is the Thoughtful Entrepreneur of this episode! For the last 15 years, Rob has worked directly with over 1700 businesses across the United States, helping business owners improve strategic planning, operations, growth, and business development. The birth of Cogent Analytics began with the ideas and contributions of six people around a dinner table back in 2014, including Rob's wife of 20 years and business partner, Robin. They are now on the Inc 500 list of fastest growing businesses! The company was formed with the specific intent of bringing tools of better management, organization, and profitability to Main Street America's small to mid-sized businesses. Cogent has crafted a culture of integrity, honesty and transparency. A good portion of Rob's core values, and thus the values instilled in his company, began with his service in the U.S. Army serving as a young man with Special Operations Command. Cogent company culture engenders a personal code of honor, to include courage, wisdom, faith, perseverance, and loyalty.

We really enjoyed our conversation with Chris Mead of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives when he was a guest on Through the Noise last year so we decided to invite him back on the show. We wanted to find out more about his work with the Association as well as his passion -- a historian of the Chamber of Commerce. Last time he was in the studio, we talked about the history of the various Chambers of Commerce around the country and his book "Magicians of Main Street." With over 7000 Chambers around the country, their work and membership varies widely and the Association of Chamber Executives helps unite the people working in offices large and small while envisioning and planning for what the future will bring -- as in their strategic plan - Horizon 2025.  Chris Mead has nearly 20 years’ experience working with associations. He handles mostly sponsorships and memberships. And he’s also fascinated by chambers of commerce and their role in the building of the United States. The surprising influence of chambers on American history is something he uncovered in his recently published book, The Magicians of Main Street: America and its Chambers of Commerce, 1768-1945. ACCE, founded in 1914, is an association of 1,200 local, regional, and state chambers of commerce, mostly in North America.

Immigrants to the United States make up about 13% of the U.S. population. And yet, from Silicon Valley to Main Street America, they make up a disproportionately large number of American business owners. In this episode, we explore why this is. This episode features: Chinedu Echeruo, CEO and founder of Gigameet Samuel Lu, Owner of New Green Nutrition

Long-time resident and business owner Dr. Michael Griffiths talks to Michelle about growing up in the neighborhood, and about his dental practic, DentalDC. In the second half of the show, Kyle sits down to visit with Patrice Frey, President and CEO of the National Main Street Center. The Main Street America program is getting a bit of an update, and Patrice gives us an overview of those changes.

"If you've seen one Chamber, you've seen one Chamber." That's how today's guest, Chris Mead of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives describes the culture of the more than 7000 Chambers that exist around the United States. As independent and unregulated community organizations, any person is free to start and operate a Chamber of Commerce. Our conversation takes an unexpected turn as we delve into the fascinating -- and not always so pretty -- history of the Chambers around the United States. Al Capone, Eliot Ness, the Cherry Blossom parade, Golden Gate Bridge, and the internment of Japanese Americans star in today's episode as Mead gives us a sneak peak into his book on the history of the Chambers, Magicians on Main Street. Chris Mead has nearly 20 years’ experience working with associations. He handles mostly sponsorships and memberships. And he’s also fascinated by chambers of commerce and their role in the building of the United States. The surprising influence of chambers on American history is something he uncovered in his recently published book, The Magicians of Main Street: America and its Chambers of Commerce, 1768-1945. ACCE, founded in 1914, is an association of 1,200 local, regional, and state chambers of commerce, mostly in North America.

Host Kevin Willett is joined by Shaw Sadowski from My New Enterprise. This summer we are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. We are traveling by bike from the west coast of Oregon to the east coast of Virginia to interview successful entrepreneurs across the country. We are passing through 100 cities and interviewing 100 entrepreneurs to film and document their stories. The outcome will be several documentary videos of their stories, new content for our training programs and a book titled Living the Dream on Main Street America. Audio file:  mynewenterprise.mp3

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