National Main Street Center Plans Visit Here

Norma Ramirez de Miess of the National Main Street Center will be in Jefferson on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 22 and 23, to conduct a two-day visit with Jefferson Matters: Main Street. Michael Wagler, state coordinator, Main Street Iowa will join Ramirez de Miess as a two-person review team. They will conduct a series of meetings with stakeholders in the Jefferson Matters: Main Street program, including board members, committee members, city officials, Chamber of Commerce leaders, and property owners.

The meetings are designed to help the local Main Street program “get back to the basics,” said Wagler, as he outlined the structure of the visit. “Norma will bring fresh eyes to Jefferson. This is her first visit to the community. She will bring her long expertise with the national Main Street program and be able to share insight and future direction with the local board and community.”

Ramirez de Miess is senior program officer and director of leadership development with the National Main Street Center, based in Chicago. She works closely with Patrice Frye, who became president and CEO of the National Main Street Center in July 2013 when it was established as an independent subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C.

The transition enables the national Main Street organization build on its three-decade record of success with new leadership and new resources that will help communities respond to evolving needs and opportunities in the commercial district revitalization field.

Before joining the National Main Street Center, Ramirez de Miess led one of the largest and most diverse urban downtown revitalization programs in Elgin, Ill., where she was honored for her leadership and contributions. She has helped communities across the nation assess organizational and programming needs and implement strategies that build successful revitalization efforts.

She has more than 20 years of leadership experience in international heritage tourism, entrepreneurship development, disaster relief, nonprofit management, and direct local Main Street efforts.

Wagler has been involved with the Main Street program since he was a high school student in Bloomfield, Iowa. After graduating from Iowa State University, he joined the Main Street Iowa staff as a design specialist in 2002. He was named state coordinator in 2012.

For more information about the two-day visit with these national and state Main Street officials, contact Alan Robinson, program director, Jefferson Matters: Main Street, at 515-386-3585 or email director@jeffersonmatters.org.