Main Street Columbus presented awards to 13 local businesses and developers during its annual awards program at Events Off 5th Thursday.
Main Street Columbus Executive Director Barbara Bigelow also unveiled the Market Street Festival poster, designed this year by University of Alabama assistant professor Jonathan Cumberland, who won the poster design contest in 2009 as a Mississippi University for Women student.
When designing the poster, Cumberland considered how it would look on printed promotional materials and how it would look on t-shirts. The design features the bridge that connects the Riverwalk to the partially-completed Sen. Terry Brown Amphitheater, an antique car and several other items Cumberland considers synonymous with the festival.
Normally, the poster is selected through a contest. This year, on the 10th anniversary of his win, Bigelow approached Cumberland and asked if he would design the poster.
“I thought it would be cool, since I won the contest 10 years ago,” Cumberland told The Dispatch. “It was a full-circle thing.”
Bigelow highlighted Main Street’s Columbus’ Façade Improvement Grant Program, which provides business and property owners with financial assistance in improving their businesses’ exteriors. She also recognized those who participated in last year’s Market Street Festival, which went on despite intermittent rain that threatened to lower festival attendance.
“We’ve done some fabulous things in Columbus,” she said. “We could not do it without our members and volunteers, and we would not have the fabulous organization we do with them.”
During the program, Main Street Columbus President Jason Sharp passed the gavel to Chase Frazure, ending Sharp’s two years in office.
Before officially stepping down, Sharp thanked city officials for their response to Saturday’s tornado.
“I am very encouraged how the community has come together,” he said. “This is a testament to our leadership.”
Frazure also received the President’s Choice Award from Sharp, who said he wanted to honor Frazure for “working without caring who gets the credit.”
Main Street Columbus board member Penny Bowen presented David Richardson, owner of The Paint Store, with the organization’s first-ever Business Partner of the Year Award. Richardson was recognized for his help in assisting Bowen and the Main Street Design Committee with their downtown design efforts.
“David has always been someone we can count on for a friendly face, sound advice and a warm smile,” Bigelow said. “He has been a special friend and invaluable partner.”
The Main Street Service Awards, given to individuals and businesses that have served Main Street Columbus through donations or volunteering, were presented to:
■ Jimmy Parker, for his volunteerism at Main Street events;
■ Chad Frasher and Roger Sanders of Columbus Light and Water, for their help in preparing last year’s Christmas lights;
■ Emmie Sheretz, for her creation of the Hitching Lot Farmers’ Market glass recycling program; and
■ Edwina Williams, affectionately known as Mother Goose, for her behind-the-scenes work at Main Street Columbus.
The Main Street Design Awards, given to recognize renovation projects in the downtown area were presented to:
■ City of Columbus, for the Regal Cleaners building renovation;
■ The Commercial Dispatch, for the renovated exterior;
■ Trotter Convention Center, for the lower-level wall completed last year;
■ Hollyhocks, for the renovated exterior; and
■ Gypsy, for property upgrades.
The Main Street Renovation Awards, for individuals or groups who made improvements to historical structures while preserving its history were presented to:
■ Chris Chain of Renovations Mississippi, for the renovations on the property formerly known as The Globe; and
■ Mark Alexander of Hickory Hills Development, for renovations on the former DC Music building.
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