Roll
The Seymour Main Street board of directors recently met for its annual meeting in the council chambers at city hall.
The economic revitalization nonprofit organization was established in 2001 to promote, preserve and protect historic downtown Seymour.
In 2023, Seymour Main Street partnered with more than 50 local businesses and organized 14 events, including Bourbon Night, Ghouls and Goblets, Christmas on Chestnut, Dancing with the Seymour Stars, Tea for Two, the Oktoberfest Passport Program, Crossroads Acoustic Fest and Maverick Challenge Jackson County.
Leah Branaman, treasurer and chairwoman of the organization committee, underscored the triumphant outcomes of the previous year’s events, which pulled together more than 200 participating businesses and sponsors.
Specifically, she said revenue for Bourbon Night surpassed initial projections by $6,400, Ghouls and Goblets by $3,400 and Christmas on Chestnut by $1,300.
Branaman said in 2024, the general campaign for Seymour Main Street has increased from $32,000 to $37,500.
“The 2023 events are very successful,” Brian Terrell, chairman of the promotions committee, said. “We had, it’s quite possible, the best year we’ve had overall. They were all well-attended. Ghouls and Goblets was the best attendance we’ve ever had.”
Branaman said in 2023, the organization filled two board vacancies with Susie Bowman and Brandon Goecker joining.
Main Street also utilized Maestro, which is a new not-for-profit reporting software offered by the state for free to all nonprofit organizations.
Executive Director Bri Roll discussed the exceptional volunteer efforts of more than 40 individuals in 2023, observing they accumulated more than 1,070 volunteer hours. This translates to more than $34,000 in value.
Roll said she was able to extend her education this past year by taking the Main Street America Institute advanced principles certification course and attending the leadership workshop and the national Main Street business recruitment workshop.
“Our board also showed their commitment to training and ongoing education last year by accepting a technical assistance visit from Indiana Main Street specific to board development,” Roll said. “I’m also pleased to announce that we received a Taking Care of Main Street grant to support our efforts on business attraction and retention. We were also a Greater Seymour Trust Fund recipient and a national conference scholarship recipient from Indiana Main Street.”
Roll also noted the addition of an executive assistant to the staff in late 2022, Shaney Smith, who was able to complete and receive a social media and marketing certificate in 2023.
“Bringing in an executive assistant has brought a lot more consistency to our marketing and social media,” Roll said. “In 2023, we contracted with a new graphic designer to revise our downtown, Karmen Johnson, and our website increased from 36,000 visits in 2022 to 53,888, and in 2023, our Facebook followers are up 14%, and our reach was over 240,000, which is up 27%.”
Roll and Smith attended community exchanges in Rushville and Terre Haute, the national conference in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Indiana Main Street storefront design workshop in Noblesville in addition to participating in monthly training calls brought together by Indiana Main Street and national Main Street partners.
Roll said building and business inventories were initiated by the design and economic vitality committees in 2023 to establish a baseline to identify downtown areas, which will influence project prioritization for greater impact, while the organization committee continued to see the integration and execution of strategic plans and streetscape master plan goals.
The organization committee also supported the development of a brand-new fundraising event for 2024, a murder mystery dinner set to take place in February, and the implementation of a new upcoming annual awards mixer to show appreciation to supporters and honor outstanding achievements.
Roll said in 2023, Main Street gained 12 new businesses but sadly suffered a loss of six. In addition, she said the building formerly occupied by CPR Cell Phone Repair was purchased and subsequently transformed into a studio space for WZZB radio station. There also are intentions to house an Airbnb within the same building by the second quarter of this year.
Roll also reported Reed’s Place has undergone expansion, now featuring an upstairs lounge. Additionally, the building that formerly housed Hair Force Beauty Academy will soon be occupied by Chapel Worship Center.
She said a building at 108 W. Second St. was purchased by Skaggs Builders, while the building at 110 W. Second St. has been transformed into a thriving Airbnb.
Furthermore, a historic barber shop was purchased in the first quarter of 2023 and became Fox Trot Barber & Shave and Dead Crow Collective. In addition, SIHO Insurance Services is currently undergoing renovation of its storefront, a building at 200 N. Chestnut St. had been purchased and will undergo renovation within this year and there are plans for the former Tribune building to be converted into an event venue.
Roll gave specific thanks to the downtown champions of 2023: JCBank, the city of Seymour, Roger Wessel from Berkshire Hathaway, Christensen Family Funeral Home, The Tribune, SIHO, MyTruAdvantage, Ranger 3PL, CNP Realty Group and Hush Aesthetics & Wellness.
Melody Hageman, chairwoman of the design committee, discussed the organization’s ongoing streetscape master plan. She said Roll presented the streetscape to the city’s plan commission in June and common council in July, where it was approved.
Hageman said the artists from Murals and More out of Nashville, Tennessee, came to Seymour in May and repaired the mural on the side of the Edward Jones building.
“And as we always do, we had our flowerpots planted,” Hageman said.
This past fall, Hageman and other board members also attended the storefront design workshop in Noblesville.
“They emphasized the importance of doing a building inventory,” Hageman said. “And since that workshop, we have accomplished this. In October, the design committee convened downtown and we did an assessment of every building. We now have that information, and we can readily access that information. It will be very helpful, I think, for potential funding sources if we have all that information at the ready.”
Tyler Thias, chairman of the economic vitality committee, said in 2023, the committee awarded 19 grants totaling $125,000. Eight of those recipients received their grants as part of a buildout program, totaling $104,000, while 10 others were awarded $17,000 for awning, façade and signage. One recipient was awarded a grant of about $4,000 for a roof project.
“As a committee, there’s always an element of opinion in how we award grants,” Thias said. “In 2023, each committee member was assigned an individual grant review where they completed a site visit. We tried to remove opinion to the extent we could from that review process.”
The proposed officers for this year are already serving in those roles: Melissa Acton, president; Thias, vice president; Branaman; treasurer; and Hageman, secretary.