Oklahoma Main Street announces award finalists

The Oklahoma Main Street Center announced Thursday the finalists of the program’s annual statewide awards competition.

All finalists will be honored and the winners announced at the 29^th annual Main Street Awards Banquet, May 8, at the Embassy Suites OKC Downtown/Medical Center Hotel.

Ponca City Main Street has been nominated for nine awards. The nominations are:

Rhonda Skrapke was nominated for Main Street Hero; the “Battle of the Burger” was nominated for Best Creative Fundraising Effort; Ladies Night on Grand was nominated for Best Retail Event; “Outside the Box,” a downtown art project, was nominated for Outstanding Image Promotion.

“Outside the Box” also was nominated for Best Placemaking Project; the Veterans Plaza was nominated for Best Sustainable Design Project; Liles and Company was nominated for Business of the Year

Chelsea McConnell, Ponca City Main Street Director, is one of three Main Street directors in the state to be nominated as Top Director, and Ponca City’s program was nominated for the Main Street Program of the Year award.

“Each year we take a moment to recognize the people, projects, events and programs making a difference in our Main Street communities across the state,” said Buffy Hughes, Oklahoma Main Street director. “We choose to celebrate the volunteers, the business owners, the building owners and the dedicated program supporters because they all uniquely contribute to making these historic commercial districts thrive for the betterment of their local areas. Economic development at the local level is spurred by these hard-working people. We want to say thank you for their efforts — not just in their communities but for all of Oklahoma. This is our way to demonstrate our appreciation on a statewide level.”

There are 21 competitive award categories representing the “four points” in the Main Street Approach – Organization, Promotion, Economic Vitality and Design. Panels of outside judges for each point review the entries and determine the winners.

The Main Street Program of the Year award recognizes the top program in the state. The top programs earning the most quality assurance points during the 2017 calendar year are invited to submit a short essay in support of their selection as Main Street Program of the Year. A panel of outsides judges reviews the essays to determine the winner. Programs for 2017 (in alphabetical order) include: Altus, Cherokee, Claremore, Collinsville, Enid, Newkirk, Okmulgee, Ponca City, Sapulpa, Stockyards City and Tulsa Route 66. The top program will be announced at the banquet.

In addition, the top Main Street Program Directors will be recognized at the banquet.  Those making the top three this year include Melyn Johnson, Main Street Guymon Inc.; Ed Sharrer, Kendall Whittier Main Street; and Chelsea McConnell, Ponca City Main Street.

 

The award finalists from all Oklahoma programs are:

ORGANIZATION:

Premier Partner

Enid – City of Enid Parks & Recreation

Newkirk – Albright Abstract & Title Guaranty, Inc.

Sapulpa – SeneGence International

Best Community Education/Public Awareness

Enid – Annual Infographic

Enid – Business Recruitment Package

Newkirk – Good Luck Card Game

Best Volunteer Development Program

Durant – Volunteer Meeting Social Media Campaign

Hobart – Hobart Main Street Design Committee

Wilburton – Digger Forward

Main Street Hero

Durant – Tammy Cross

Okmulgee – Dr. Bill Path

Ponca City – Rhonda Skrapke

Tulsa Route 66 – Linda Jordan

Best Creative Fundraising Effort

El Reno – Reindeers at the Rock

Newkirk – Spirit Sightings Tour aka Ghost Tours

Okmulgee – Big Brain Trivia Night

Ponca City – Battle of the Burger

PROMOTION:

Premier Special Event Under 1,000 Attendees

Collinsville – Taste of Collinsville: Music is to the Soul as Food is to the Body

Kendall Whittier – Kendall Whittier After Five

Wilburton – Relics and Rods Car Show & Swap Meet

Premier Special Event Over 1,000 Attendees

Ada – Ada Fest

Claremore – Food Truck Thursday

Collinsville – Hogs ‘N’ Hot Rods

Best Retail Event

Durant – Live Local Night

Enid – Maker Trail

Ponca City – Ladies Night on Grand

Outstanding Image Promotion

Claremore – DowntownClaremore.org

Durant – Durant Main Street Rebrand

Ponca City – Outside the Box

Creative New Event

Ardmore – Farm to Table Dinner

Hobart – 9/11: Never Forget

Kendall Whittier – Kendall Whittier Mercado

DESIGN:

Best Placemaking Project

Enid – Bright Future Mural

Kendall Whittier – Whittier Wood Garden Public Art Installation

Ponca City – Outside the Box

Best Sustainable Design Project

Claremore – Studio B Artworks

Enid – Downtown Mural Program

Ponca City – Veterans’ Plaza

Best Interior Design Project

Kendall Whittier – Heirloom Rustic Ales

McAlester – The Venue

Okmulgee – The McBrayer Building

Best Façade Rehabilitation Under $10,000

Ardmore – The Stag

Claremore – 318 W. Will Rogers Blvd., Rhapsody Boutique, Salon & Spa

McAlester – Common Roots

Best Façade Rehabilitation Over $10,000

Kendall Whittier – TPC Studios

Okmulgee – The McBrayer Building

Tulsa Route 66 – Meltdown Diner

Best Visual Merchandising

Ada – The Rustic Ridge

Durant – Bella Ragazza Boutique

McAlester – Harper and Grey

Best Building/Business Branding

Ada – Farm Girl Boutique

Durant – Bliss Boutique

El Reno – Wandering Daisy Boutique

ECONOMIC VITALITY:

Best Adaptive Reuse Project

Kendall Whittier – Heirloom Rustic Ales

Okmulgee – The McBrayer Building

Tulsa Route 66 – Meltdown Diner

Best Business Practices

Durant – Foster Creativity

El Reno – Ross Seed Co./True Value Hardware

Enid – Davis Law

Best New Business

Claremore – Main Street Tavern

Kendall Whittier – Fair Fellow Coffee

Newkirk – A Perfect Day

Business of the Year

Ada – McSwain Theatre

Newkirk – Albright Abstract & Title Guaranty Inc.

Ponca City – Liles and Company

The reception will begin at 5:30 and the dinner and program will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased from your local Main Street Program representative for $45.

For a listing of Main Street programs in the state, or for more information about the Oklahoma Main Street Program, please call (405) 815-6552 or visit OKcommerce.gov/mainstreet.