Despite less-than-ideal weather and road conditions, members and supporters of Main Street Morgantown were able to gather Tuesday morning for the group’s 37th Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition Celebration, at the newly renovated Hotel Morgan.
Main Street Morgantown Board President A.J. Hammond opened the event with an introduction to the morning’s keynote speaker, West Virginia Delegate John Williams, who Hammond acknowledged as a “life-long advocate for downtown Morgantown and the small businesses here.” Hammond said Williams has a proven track record of supporting the community and supporting downtown.
Williams addressed the group, touching on a philosophy of economic development known as aggregation of marginal gains — how small improvements and gains compound over time and grow into something bigger. He concluded by saying he wants to be a resource for Morgantown small business owners and the downtown community.
A few new board members were also voted in during the meeting. Charlie McEwuen, treasurer and nominating committee chair, held the vote resulting in renewed three-year terms for Erin Newmeyer, Michael Mills and Grace Hutchens. Joining them for three-year terms will be Channing Moran and Jessica McDonald. Two new board members were also voted in to serve two-year terms, James Craig and Amanda Posey.
Before beginning the recognition of individual businesses and volunteers, Hammond took a moment to reflect on the past year and the accomplishments of Main Street Morgantown and the community’s reinvestment in it.
Hammond said $18 million was invested into historic downtown just last year. In 2020 and 2021, 15 new businesses opened in the downtown area.
In 2021, Main Street Morgantown promoted nine art walks, updated kiosks and commissioned nine public art installations on buildings or electrical boxes throughout downtown. These are just a few of the accomplishments of the year, he said.
Part of the organization’s focus is the preservation of local history through architecture and design.
“Historic buildings and architecture are what make downtown different from other areas of town and because of that we need to attract new businesses and investments,” Hammond said.
A perfect example of this historic preservation is Hotel Morgan. Because of this, Hammond began the special recognition with General Manager Channing Moran and Hotel Morgan, who were recognized for Outstanding Historic Preservation.
Michael Mills and the Mills Group received an award for Outstanding Adaptive Reuse of a Building, for their adaptation of the property at 88 High St.
Novel Keys, owned by Michael Strickler, is new to the downtown area but unlocking doors worldwide with contracts with major companies like Disney and Sony, Hammond said. Novel Keys and Stickler were presented with the award for Outstanding New Business Downtown.
Main Street Morgantown Executive Director Barbara Watkins also recognized a few dedicated volunteers. Morgantown Deputy Mayor Danielle Trumble was named Morgantown City Official of the Year and Hammond of Citizen’s Bank of Morgantown was named Merchant of the Year.
Stephanie Swain of Hoot and Howl, Rob Henline of AJG Media and Dominick Claudio of Claudio Corp. were all presented with Volunteer of the Year awards.
“Downtown Morgantown is not only unique because of the architecture and being so close to a major university but truly because you can come down here and people who work down here, live down here, and they serve the people who live down here,” Hammond said to conclude the meeting. “We have a tight community that is different from anything else, anywhere else. We truly have something special and it’s the people in this room that make it special.”
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