Nacogdoches, Texas- Nacogdoches has been commended for successful annual progress as a designated Main Street community. The Texas Historical Commission’s (THC) Texas Main Street Program (TMSP) made the announcement Feb. 11, 2015, at the winter gathering of Texas Main Street managers in Nacogdoches, Texas.
60 Texas Main Street Programs were recognized this year. The TMSP will present their selections for National Accreditation to the National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historical Preservation. The national announcement for recognized Main Street programs across the nation will be reported in Atlanta, Ga. March 30-April 2, 2015.
All main street programs throughout the country measure their progress by the National Main Street Center’s Four-Point Approach, which includes design, promotions, economic restructuring and organization. Each program is then evaluated each fiscal year to create an official Report of Progress, based on 10 criteria that create the scoring mechanism for National Accreditation. The 10 criteria are broad based support, vision and mission, plan of work, preservation ethic, active board and committees, adequate operating budget, manager, training, reporting and national membership. The state office reviews and scores the annual report, and determines which main street programs are deemed exceptional and qualify for national recognition. The state board also partners with main street programs throughout the year to provide various services based on local needs. Main Street programs have been a nationally recognized preservation movement for the past 30 years, and they have proven that historic preservation can attract economic development.
The Nacogdoches Main Street Program received a perfect score in 9 out of 10 categories, including the broad-based support segment, which evaluates the relationship between both private and public sectors that come together to revitalize the commercial district. Nacogdoches also received a perfect score for their vision, which defines the programs long-term hopes and intentions, and their mission statement, which solidifies the programs purpose and direction.
For additional information about the national Main Street effort, visit the National Trust Main Street web site at http://preservationnation.org/main-street/. For more information on the Texas Historical Commission’s Main Street program visit thc.state.tx.us.