Goldsboro leads in awards
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on March 20, 2016 1:45 AM
Alan Campbell
Joe Borgstrom, left, principal and managing partner of Main & Place Advisors, talks with Mari Howe, of the Garner Revitalization Association, following his keynote address Friday during the North Carolina Main Street Conference at the Paramount Theatre.
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Alan Campbell
Joe Borgstrom, left, principal and managing partner of Main & Place Advisors, talks with Mari Howe, of the Garner Revitalization Association, following his keynote address Friday during the North Carolina Main Street Conference at the Paramount Theatre.
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Alan Campbell
From left, Dr. Patricia Mitchell, assistant secretary for Rural Economic Development at the state Department of Commerce; Fred Rash, Allison Platt, Julie Metz, Goldsboro Mayor Chuck Allen and John E. Skvarla, secretary of the state Department of Commerce, are seen Thursday during the 2016 North Carolina Main Street Awards at the Paramount Theatre. The group of four received the Award of Merit for Best Outdoor Space Improvement.
Representatives and organizations from 11 North Carolina towns were recognized for their achievements in small-town restoration and revitalization last week at the 2016 Main Street Conference Awards Banquet. The city of Goldsboro received three of the 14 awards, the highest number given to any one municipality.
The awards were given to communities and organizations who had made major strides in one of many Main Street Rehabilitation categories.
Some, like the city of Kings Mountain's award from "Best Innovation," stood alone in their class. Other such awards included Salisbury's awards for Best Public-Private Partnership in Downtown Revitalization and Best Endangered Properties Rescue Effort, Roxboro's award for Best Façade Project for More Than $15,000, and Wilson's award for Best Adaptive Use Project.
The town of Hendersonville was awarded Best Downtown Special Event or Event Series for their 2015 Downtown Designer Showcase, as was Mount Airy for its First Annual Public Art Fiddle Crawl. The town of Cherryville won Best Public Relations Effort for its Cherryville Communications Campaign.
Best Outdoor Space Improvement went to the town of Spruce Pine.
In the category of Best Image-Building Campaign, three awards were conferred. The city of Clinton and the town of Clayton were both recognized, and the category also marked the first of Goldsboro's three wins.
The award was given in recognition of the branding campaign employed by the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation entitled "Whatever You Do-Do It Downtown." Erin Fonseca, promotions coordinator for the DGDC, said that the award marked the culmination of a lot of time and effort.
"It's very special to me," Ms.Fonseca said. "I'm just so proud of the direction the brand has taken."
Goldsboro was also awarded Best Infill Building Project for the Goldsboro Wayne Transportation Authority Bus Transfer Center. Assistant City Manager Randy Guthrie said that Goldsboro's cooperation with Daniels & Daniels construction company was vital to getting the building up and running.
"I'm really proud of what we built," he said. "We think it's a great building and we were happy to partner with Daniels & Daniels to build it."
Goldsboro's final award of the night was likely it's highest profile victory, as the city was awarded Best Outdoor Space Improvement for the Center Street Streetscape project. Mayor Chuck Allen said that the award meant a lot for Goldsboro.
"I'm very excited," Mayor Allen said. "I'm just glad for our city to be recognized both across the state and across the nation."