Tag: 2013 National Main Street Conference in New Orleans

Being a Main Street Manager in Coos Bay by Nathan Jurey

Being a Main Street Manager in Coos Bay by Nathan Jurey

Being a Main Street Manager in Coos Bay has some awesome perks.  One of the biggest perks was attending the 2013 National Main Street Conference in New Orleans.  Besides diabetes and a mild sunburn, I brought back some great ideas and inspiration from that conference.  I could not wait to get back to Coos Bay and talk about what I learned!

My board president and I attended everything from “Saving Downtown Edges” to “Creating Entrepreneurial Ready Cities.”  Every speaker had great little tidbits or a personal story about some project or event that I took back with me.  One community was able to raise over $60,000 selling old items that their Department of Transportation was going to throw in the dump!  So many inspirational stories.

However, there are 3 specific ideas that I want to see implemented in the Coos Bay Downtown Association.  First, I want to triple our budget.  This will take a bit of work, but we have a road map to get there, thanks to this conference.  Second, I want to implement the Community Driven Business Recruitment techniques that I learned in one of the sessions.  Thirdly, I want to start a March Madness tournament that will pit the best dishes at the best restaurants against each other across the city.  I can’t wait to get started; big things are going to happen!

Nathan Jurey, MRCP

Main Street Manager

Coos Bay Downtown Association

541.266.9706

nathanjurey@gmail.com

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