Main Street Washington welcomed a representative from Main Street America Thursday to tour its downtown district and get a snapshot of how the non-profit organization is benefiting the community.

Main Street America Senior Program Officer and Director of Coordinating Program Services Kathy La Plante met with several Main Street Washington committee members and stopped into downtown businesses to see how Main Street Washington has fared during the COVID-19 pandemic and give them guidance on continued recovery. La Plante tells KCII that the Main Street organization’s mission is improving the quality of life for everyone, not just businesses, “I think an important part is just letting people know there’s a place for them in this organization even if it’s just that they want to plant flowers or take care of something like that or help out at a kids event, or if they really want to get into doing market data and understanding, ‘Well if we really want a new XYZ restaurant here, how do we go about doing that?’ So looking for talent across the board for people to get involved in Main Street.”

Main Street Washington Director Sarah Grunewaldt says this was her first time having a partnership visit from Main Street America, as these annual visits are usually done with Main Street Iowa. La Plante wrapped up her trip discussing with the Main Street Washington Board about what the organization is doing well and ways they can improve. She also plans to send written feedback to Grunewaldt in a few weeks.