For the first time since the organization started six years ago, Building a Better Boyertown received accreditation as a 2008 National Main Street Program, which is sponsored by the National Trust Main Street Center.BBB’s efforts in revitalizing the community met the 10 performance standards that are necessary for accreditation. Having community support, vision and mission statements for the benefit of the town and its people, a historic preservation ethic, and an active board of directors are just a handful of those standards that BBB successfully meets.
Out of the 94 towns with Main Street Programs in Pennsylvania, Boyertown is one of 40 other recently accredited communities in the state. For 2008, this honor is shared with more than 675 nationwide downtown revitalization Main Street Programs.
The only other nationally accredited towns with Main Street Programs in Berks County are Hamburg and West Reading.
“I am incredibly thrilled,” said Heather Oxenford, Main Street Manager, in response to learning the news about BBB’s latest measure of prestige.
A part of being accredited entails that representatives may attend the National Main Streets Conference. Market Street’s Philadelphia Marriott Downtown hosted the event March 30 – April 2.
Tickets sold out quickly, with 1600 people in attendance, including Oxenford. The city of Philadelphia hadn’t hosted the event since the mid 1980s.
Currently, BBB has several pending applications for fa ade improvement to be carried out by business and homeowners through the organization’s partial reimbursement building grant program. The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Main Street Program makes this funding possible.
BBB recently prepared a few compensation checks for completed fa ade improvement projects, Oxenford said.
The fund still has a substantial amount of money left for potential applicants, Oxenford said.
Receiving this national accreditation “wasn’t a one-man effort,” Oxenford said. “It was a community effort.”
