CLEARWATER - Clearwater's Main Street Joint Venture, an ad hoc partnership of volunteers, local businesses and stakeholders who support Clearwater's Main Street Community designation, received four awards in Ft. Pierce at the annual Florida Main Street Conference awards dinner, November 2. The prizes were among 41 such awards presented to districts statewide.
Four of the partnership's Main Street Community information and promotion projects were recognized including one honor award and three awards of merit. The Outstanding Image Campaign or Promotional Material Honor Award was received for the Cleveland Street Streetscape Construction Tool Kit, a binder produced to assist businesses affected by the downtown streetscape construction. The three Merit Awards included: the Outstanding Local Florida Main Street Program Supporter for their partnership with Clearwater Community Volunteers; the Outstanding Special Event for the Spring Pet Fair held at City Hall in April; and the Outstanding Retail Sales Event for the Luck o' the Irish sales campaign, a St. Patrick's Day-themed promotion.
Florida Main Street is a technical assistance program of the Bureau of Historic Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State. The Bureau conducts statewide programs that identify, evaluate and preserve Florida's historic retail districts. Since 1985, the Bureau has provided manager training, consultant team visits, design services, networking opportunities for historic districts, and other assistance. The awards program encourages and validates local Main Street program accomplishments that advance the goals of the Florida Main Street Program.
Downtown Clearwater was designated a Main Street Community in 1998. Since its inception, volunteers have logged nearly 10,000 hours with a value of more than $50,000 for events and projects to promote merchants, conduct surveys, and provide facade design assistance of downtown buildings.