The Stevensville Main Street Association (SMSA) Annual Report

The economy is ill, there is little doubt about that. One can’t help but be aware with all the stories on TV and in the paper every day. But is that really true in Stevensville?
The Stevensville Main Street Association (SMSA) has recently completed its eighth year of operation, and a very successful year it was. Take a drive down Main Street and you will see the new businesses, the renovations and expansions underway, and note the growing number of people doing their shopping locally. The Main Street Association, through its many programs and activities, has developed a hospitable atmosphere that attracts business to the town and pride in the community. Joan Prather, the Program Manager, recently reported to the state and the town on projects and accomplishments for the organization’s Fiscal Year 2008.

Highlights included a First Friday Celebration each month of the year, a net gain in downtown businesses and a net gain in employment of twenty (20) jobs, continuation of the “Shop Stevensville Gift Certificate” program, numerous business and historical education programs including a grant writing seminar open to everyone in the community, and the Stevensville Leadership Program.

Other significant activities included the Western Heritage Day Celebration with Huey Lewis and the Western Heritage Parade, the Teacher/Staff Welcome Back Pot Luck, assistance to the town government in updating the Stevensville Comprehensive Plan, and numerous marketing activities including the billboard on Hiway 93.

2009 looks to be an even more active year as the Association will continue its mainstream, popular events, including return of the Circus next spring, while taking on additional responsibilities that are more strategic, long-term and integrated in nature. The Association plans to initiate a “Shop Local” campaign, continue work on the Historic Streetscape Project, implement a Historic Building Plaque Program and continue to actively function as the economic development arm of the Town of Stevensville.

Mel Walters, a member of the Board of Directors and the Membership Drive Chairman, notes that the first eight years of the Stevensville Main Street Association brought many visible successes and a renewed vitality and spirit to the town. Stevensville has been recognized across the state and nationally as a thriving, small, rural community that is an example of how teamwork and focus breed economic success. To continue the effort, the Association will work in partnership with the many other Stevensville clubs and organizations that do so much to improve the community.

The accomplishments to date, and those planned for the future, have occurred with support of the community at large and we anticipate that Stevensville area businesses and residents, in town and in the surrounding areas, will continue to invest in the Main Street Association and the future of Stevensville.

Contact: Mel Walters, Vice President

Address: Stevensville Main Street Association

P.O. Box 18

Stevensville MT 59870

Phone: 777-3773 (SMSA)

777-2421 (Home)