BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — Opelika Main Street Executive Director Kelsey Sullivan attended the Main Street Alabama Day on the Hill event, which helps the organization continue to increase impact as it helps Main Street communities across the state.”
“Main Street Alabama’s Day on the Hill is our group advocacy day,” she said. “We joined Main Street Alabama and other Main Street organizations throughout the state, in Montgomery at the Capitol. We took a picture with Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth in the Senate, House Floor, heard from him a little bit about what they do, how the Senate works — things like that — and then we were kind of set off to go and just meet our representatives and see them in Montgomery.”
Through the Day on the Hill and other collaborative gatherings and spaces, Sullivan said she enjoys working with other Main Street directors and hearing what they have learned in their communities.
“At the end of the day, most of us are probably going through some of the same stuff — there are just different ways we all go about it,” she said. “So being able to just have that community and know we can call on other directors or other board members in those areas is great when we run across any issues, or we have a good idea and want to share it. It was good, and we had a very large representation from Opelika.”
After working with other Main Street leaders and hearing from legislators, Sullivan said she is encouraged by the community support of Alabama legislators for Main Street and its mission in Alabama.
“It’s really refreshing to have a state organization whose leaders have been where we are, as far as directors and being in communities — and they love downtowns,” she said. “All of us know that the downtowns are the heart of your cities — that’s where people want to be, that’s where they congregate, that’s where a lot of your small businesses thrive. So, having leadership at Main Street Alabama is incredible, and we can call on them for anything we need — but then having representation at the state level [is so helpful]… It all works together to make our downtowns great.”
Reflecting on the impact of Main Street Alabama, Sullivan said she is proud to be part of the organization and its efforts to strengthen communities while supporting small businesses and local entrepreneurs.
“It’s a super big honor [to be a part of Main Street] because I’ve seen now what other cities go through when they become a designated community,” she said. “It’s a multi-year process to even get to the point to submit an application to be a new city, and then only so many are chosen each year, because it’s such a big process to implement that in your community, and then it’s a three-year process after you get designated of Main Street Alabama. So just knowing that alone, it’s an honor to be a Main Street designated community. If you look nationally, Main Streets are in every state, and they’re doing big things, big work and we do too in Alabama. So it’s a huge honor to be a part of Main Street Alabama; our community has done such good work.”
For more information, visit www.opelikamainstreet.org.
