SANTA FE – Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela congratulated ten award winners at the New Mexico MainStreet Awards Ceremony in Taos. The New Mexico MainStreet Annual Awards recognize outstanding achievements and exceptional leadership among the state’s local MainStreet organizations and partners. Among this year’s awardees were the City of Las Cruces and the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership, receiving the Award for Community Economic Development, given by Secretary Barela. Four new communities were inducted into the program this year as Emerging Communities – Gallup, Harding County, Albuquerque’s Barelas neighborhood, and Bernalillo County’s South Valley – bringing the total to 27 MainStreet communities statewide. Both the Belen MainStreet Partnership and Taos MainStreet graduated from “Emerging” to “Start-Up” status this year, marking the achievement of certain organizational benchmarks within the program.
“I congratulate these communities and individuals for their various efforts in working to restore historical properties and communities,” said Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela. “The MainStreet program has shown time and again it is a great investment for communities in creating jobs, preserving historic properties and increasing business in traditional areas of commerce.”
Other awardees included:
Spirit of MainStreet Award: Lisa Dunagan, Clovis Mainstreet
Spirit of Preservation Award: Hotel Clovis (Clovis MainStreet, City of Clovis, Tierra Realty)
Spirit of Partnership Award: Loie Fecteau, NM Arts
Outstanding Organization: Carlsbad MainStreet
Outstanding Promotions: Artesia MainStreet
Outstanding Business Development: Portales MainStreet and Roosevelt Brewing Company
Outstanding Architectural Design: Farmington Downtown Association
Outstanding Urban Design: Albuquerque’s Downtown Action Team
Director’s Award for MainStreet Leadership: Mark Lake, Tucumcari MainStreet
The Golden Whip Award: LeRoy Wood, Clayton MainStreet
New Mexico MainStreet Program is a licensed and accredited program of the National Main Street Center, Inc. Local communities gain affiliation through the state program. There are currently 27 MainStreet local affiliates in New Mexico and 2,000 across the country. The New Mexico MainStreet Program also runs the Arts and Cultural District Program, the new Frontier Communities Initiative and the New Mexico Historic Theaters Initiative.
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