Volunteer of the Month

Congratulations to Becky Flansburg, Brainerd Main Street's August Volunteer of the Month, a new recognition program to thank our volunteer leaders.  Becky has worked as a sales associate at the Office Shop for 13 years, an anchor retail store in the Main Street area.  Thank you to owners Scott and Jodie Johnson for their support of Becky's Main Street participation!

Why does she volunteer? She finds satisfaction from helping people and loves to create successful projects. She volunteered because she saw the Main Street area changing and improving and wanted to have an active role! She believes in shopping locally and is an advocate for supporting your local community. She has found that the coolest people work in the Downtown Brainerd area and has built many friendships through volunteering.

How is she involved? She is the chair of the Promotions sub-committee which promotes Brainerd's Central Business District as an unique experience that is also a thriving destination with diverse year-round activities. She has served as chair of the Women's Walk-About for two years and chaired the Open for Business Task Force. She also served as vice chair for the Holli-days event. She was also active with the Crazee Daze committee this year.

Highlights of being a volunteer? She helped build the Women's Walk-About from the ground up and served as part of Open for Business Task Forces which helped support businesses through the construction. She believes that the Main Street program has increased the awareness and interest of the central business district, as well as continuing to change the perception of the downtown area.

...>Visit Website

Welcome Teehive to Main Street

The Teehive recently opened at 107 Laurel Street and is owned by Steve and Cindy Clough, the owners of Just For Kix.  They owned the building and saw an opportunity for The Teehive due to the Just For Kix screenprinting needs.  The couple currently has a staff of four with Chris Foy, a native of the lakes area, as the manager. Chris is looking forward to launching a website to support their long-term goal of becoming a nationwide e-commerce business, while not losing sight of the importance to serving the local community. Once the site is live, consumers will be able to design and order individual t-shirts on-line. Chris likes the changes that have taken place in the Main Street area - believing the improvements are important to the health of the city of that the historic appeal will benefit all Main Street businesses.

Medallion Found

The DowntownBrainerd.com Medallion Hunt, held in conjunction with Brainerd Main Street’s Crazee Daze, began on July 20 and was found on the morning of July 21 by Gene Michelson. Gene is from Brainerd and works part time for a log finishing company in the area. His favorite thing about downtown Brainerd is the newly completed reconstruction - especially the new seating areas and planters.

Paula Zelisnke, Yesterday's Gone, was in charge of the Medallion Hunt . She did a great job collecting prizes and hiding the medallion and Monica Nieman, United Way, wrote this year's clues. Thank you both!

Thank you also to sponsoring Brainerd Main Street businesses for their support of the medallion hunt.

Brainerd in Bloom- Winners Announced!

This 2010 Brainerd in Bloom pilot project was a contest for residental sites within Brainerd city limits.  The goals of Brainerd in Bloom are to encourage the beautification of Brainerd using plants, to encourage environmentally-friendly gardening practices, and to give recognition to the winning sites.  Brainerd Main Street is a project partner.

A total of 12 applications in four categories were recieved and judging was July 27, 2010 from 1 to 4 p.m.

WINNERS:

Category: Residential/ Flower Gardens

1st Place: 502 Bluff Avenue - J. Burkey Residence

2nd Place: 22 Juniper Street - C. Russell Residence

3rd Place: 225 North 1st Street - G. Anderson Residence

Category: Residential/ Container Gardens

1st Place: 1713 Pine Street - R. Boese Residence

2nd Place: 624 8th Avenue NE - L. Williams Residence

Category: Non-Residential/ Flower Gardens

1st Place: First Congregational United Church of Christ at 415 Juniper Street

2nd Place: The Fine Line Salon & Spa at 303 North 4th Street

2nd Place: Memorial Flower Garden at Kiwanis Park

Category: Non-Residential/ Container Gardens

1st Place: Flower Planters at Gregory Park

Special thanks to the volunteer judges:

Jeff Dirks, Horticulture Instructor at Central Lakes College-Brainerd Campus

Denise Resser, Agriculture Instructor & FFA Advisor, Brainerd Lakes High School-South Campus

Dorothy Johnson, Crow Wing County Master Gardeners

AWARD CERMONY:

Please mark your calendars……the award ceremony will be on Thursday, September 2nd starting at 6:30 pm at the Northland Arboretum. Refreshments will be provided by Brainerd in Bloom. All contest participants will be invited to attend, along with the committee members. Key city officials will also be invited, as well as the general public.

Upcoming Events

Women's Walk-About - September 23

Art Crawl - October 16

Downtown Holli-days - December 4

Advertising Space Available

The Main Street Promotion Committee is developing and implementing the Explore Downtown Brainerd Brochure.  This publication will be a valuable asset to the community, visitors, residents, and businesses- especially businesses that include it in their own marketing plans.  We are selling advertising space to offset the expense of printing and distributing the brochure....>rate sheet

Downtown Brainerd Banners

The banners will be up in the next month.  You can still help beautify Downtown Brainerd by sponsoring a banner pair.  Banners will be up for five years, with one of the two banners in your pair displaying your company's name.  The sponsorship fee is $150 each year for five years.

...>Sponsorship Form

...>Banner Placement Map

Friends of Brainerd Main Street

Brainerd Main Street has a mission to revitalize Brainerd's Central Business District by working with its stakeholders: business owners, property owners, shoppers, and regional businesses.  During the first three years of this new program, the City of Brainerd generously provided funding to the program.  This April is Brainerd Main Street's third year and we also experience a 44% cut in the program funding from the City.  Brainerd Main Street is addressing this issue by cutting expenses, raising additional revenue from events that grew over the first three years, and fundraising efforts. ...>become a friend

Greening Up Laurel Street

Trees are planned to be planted along Laurel Street west of South 6th Street in October 2010.  The Main Street Design Committee's goal is to plant eight trees this fall.  To pay for the trees, fertilizer, mulch, etc. we are seeking tree sponsors at $150 per tree by September 17, 2010.

...>read brochure

...>Honorary trees recognized