The Oklahoma Main Street Center has announced the winners of the program’s annual statewide awards competition. Finalists were recognized and the winners announced during the 33rd annual Main Street Awards Banquet, May 2, in Oklahoma City.
Programs across the state competed in 23 award categories representing the “Four Points” of the Main Street Approach: Organization, Promotion, Economic Vitality and Design. Panels of outside judges for each point reviewed the entries and determined the winners. In addition, the Program of the Year and the Watonga Bob Shoemaker Award (Program Director of the Year) were also recognized.
“These awards truly showcase the hard work and efforts by so many in our local programs,” said Buffy Hughes, Director of the Oklahoma Main Street Center. “Through the unique and time-honored events, the volunteers, the restoration efforts and all the small businesses that make our downtowns and historic commercial districts so great, these awards prove that Main Streets across Oklahoma are alive and thriving. Congratulations to all the top three finishers and the winners.”
In 2011, the Program Director of the Year award was renamed in honor of “Watonga Bob” Shoemaker. In the world of Main Street, people tend to lose their last names once becoming a Main Street Director. This was certainly true of “Watonga Bob.” Always an informal guy and on a first-name-basis as soon as he met you, Bob Shoemaker took on the program director position later in life after a successful business career. Bob passed away suddenly in 2010 but not before leaving an indelible mark in the Oklahoma Main Street world because of his work ethic, service to his community and promotion of the Main Street Program. The finalists for the award this year included Maci Graves, Ponca City Main Street; Jennie LaFave, Pryor Main Street; and Cindy Lawrence, Sapulpa Main Street. Jennie LaFave of Pryor received the top honor this year.
To determine the Main Street Program of the Year, the Oklahoma Main Street Center measures various quality ratings for each local Main Street program. These include meeting the 10 Standards of National Accreditation and other activities such as attending the annual awards banquet and additional trainings, timely submission of Main Street Award nominations and reinvestment reports, etc. This award is a mark of program excellence, and measured involvement within the program. The 2023 Main Street Program of the Year is Tahlequah Main Street.
The 2023 Point award winners are:
ORGANIZATION:
Premier Partner
Enid – Park Avenue Thrift
Best Main Street Community Education Campaign
Yukon – Yukon’s Best History & Display Contest
Outstanding Community Engagement Effort
Ponca City – Ice on the Plaza
Main Street Hero
Ardmore – Matt Hoage
Best Creative Fundraising Effort
Ponca City – Ice on the Plaza
Outstanding Public Official
Pryor – Larry Lees
PROMOTION:
Premier Special Event Under 1,000 Attendees
Stockyards City – “Oklahoma’s Best Beef” Competition
Premier Special Event Over 1,000 Attendees
Ponca City – Ice on the Plaza
Best Main Street Retail Event
Tahlequah – Ladies Night Out
Outstanding Image Promotion
Tahlequah – Community Rebrand
Creative New Event
Sapulpa – Route 66 Christmas Chute
DESIGN:
Best Placemaking Project
Ardmore – Depot Park
Best Interior Design Project Under $25,000
Woodward – Persimmon Creek Gifts
Best Interior Design Project Over $25,000
Okmulgee – The Merc on Morton Loft
Best Façade Rehabilitation Over $10,000
Perry – 1893 Axe House & Red Earth D’Signs
Best Visual Merchandising
Sapulpa – Gasoline Alley Classics
Best Building/Business Branding
Altus – Perry & Co.
ECONOMIC VITALITY:
Best Adaptive Reuse Project Under $25,000
Ponca City – My Media Matters
Best Adaptive Reuse Project Over $25,000
Sapulpa – Gasoline Alley Classics
Outstanding Entrepreneurial Endeavor
Altus – The Studio
Outstanding Business Expansion
Stockyards City – National Saddlery
Best New Business
Ponca City – The Farm House Kids Co.
Business of the Year
Yukon – The Arrangement
For more information about the Oklahoma Main Street Center visit okcommerce.gov/mainstreet.
