Kathy White, Chris Wicker and Sherry Wade went to Salisbury last week for an orientation meeting on the Main Street program.
The orientation was intense, said Wade, secretary of the Roanoke Avenue Business Alliance.
“There is a wealth of resources,” Wade said Friday. “Main Street has a complex business model with proven success. I’m pleased with the level of depth they go into.”
The next step in the Roanoke Rapids endeavor will be to identify chairpersons of at least four committees, Wade explained. There will be an organizational committee, promotional committee, design committee and economic reconstruction committee and volunteers for these groups are being sought.
An inventory of all buildings on Roanoke Avenue will be taken. “That way we can know the resources we have,” Wade said. “One of the points (discussed during orientation) was each community has their own assets. We feel like we have a lot of valuable resources.”
Those resources range from having one of the largest numbers of historic properties in the country to attractions like the Roanoke Canal Trail and Museum and the river and lakes. “We truly see this as a community effort,” Wade said. “Roanoke Rapids is the business hub of the county and we have a vision Roanoke Rapids can be a destination site.”
There will also be meetings with the people who went to the orientation and a visit from the state Main Street program is planned in the next few weeks. “We’re going to sit with her and get a good organizational structure and plan where to go from here.”
The meetings and planning, not just with property owners but business owners, will give organizers an idea of the kinds of businesses the avenue needs to be successful, Wade said. “We have the opportunity to fill the avenue with business and have more opportunities to dine and shop.”
Organizers are continuing a search for a full-time Main Street director, who Wade said will “be in and out of businesses, listening to their concerns and needs and help promote new business.”
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