Goldsboro wins four downtown awards
By Anessa Myers
Published in News on February 1, 2008 1:45 PM
ROCKY MOUNT -- Goldsboro cleaned up at the North Carolina Main Street Awards Thursday night in Rocky Mount.
Out of 28 awards given to 13 cities, Goldsboro received four.
"Downtown ... is the front porch of you're hometown," state Secretary of Commerce James T. Fain said. "We all come here with different roles, but we all care deeply about our downtowns and our main streets and central business areas."
"You do the heavy lifting," Fain told the audience of city officials and downtown group representatives. "Your hard work and your success is what we're celebrating tonight."
For Goldsboro, the efforts paid off.
The Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp., Preservation North Carolina, Self-Help Inc. and the city of Goldsboro were awarded the best economic development incentive plan for their Comprehensive Historic Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. The plan calls for the conversion of blighted neighborhoods into a family-oriented area free from crime, and the four groups got off to a good start by acquiring and selling the first set of homes in the neighborhood plan to people who have vowed to restore their history and character.
Goldsboro also received an award for the best new development or new construction project for its new City Hall Annex. The annex won for the way its design added space to the City Hall complex without detracting from classic look of the century-old City Hall building.
Allison Taylor and the DGDC won the award for best printed promotional item in graphics for the art used for Jazz on George advertisements and T-shirts. The graphic was a colorful screen printing outlining two players of one of the bands that played at the concert.
Special recognition was given to the DGDC Board of Directors and Bobby Parker of Parker Advertising for their sponsor-thank-you CD.
New Paramount Theatre Director Sherry Archibald also won an award Thursday. She was recognized as a Main Street Champion for her former work with the DGDC and her continued interest in improving downtown.
"We are really doing something in Goldsboro," Mayor King said.