By Joe Borgstrom, Director
Specialized Technical Assistance
& Revitalization Strategy
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
On Monday, November 3rd, the Michigan Main Street Center @ MSHDA will welcome our newest teammate...Dace K13! Ok, so K13 isn't his real last name, but with a name like Koenigsknecht, he was smart to come up with a shorter moniker. (For those of you short on math and logic skills, the K13 comes from the first letter of his last name followed by 13 letters, hence K13.) Dace will join the team as our newly created Economic Restructuring Specialist.
Besides a cool nickname, Dace comes to the team with a Master's Degree in Historic Preservation from Eastern Michigan University and has a strong passion for revitalizing Michigan's downtowns. Dace has spent the past few years assisting the City of Eaton Rapids and their local businesses and property owners in establishing a National Historic District. Dace also recently presented at a national conference on the importance of historic preservation. The most impressive thing about him is that he has engaged in these activities all on his own time! His day job has been doing information technology services with the Michigan Department of Community Health. He has been waiting (impatiently I'm sure) for his chance to help communities directly. We are confident that our Michigan Main Street communities will be impressed with his energy, enthusiasm and knowledge about integrating historic preservation with economic development activities. We know he will be a true asset to our team and to our communities.
Please join me in welcoming Dace Koenigsknecht to the Michigan Main Street family!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Mosaic Main Streets
By Jodie Willobee
Promotion, Arts & Culture Specialist
Michigan Main Street
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Hello Michigan Main Street communities! I can’t tell you what an honor it is to be a part of this team, this network and these friends! Officially the Promotion, Arts & Culture Specialist for about 4 weeks I am humbled by the quality of work I have seen thus far in the Michigan Main Street communities and just plain excited to learn more about all of you! I spent the last 9 years in the Office of Community Development here at MSHDA overseeing downtown housing and neighborhood revitalization projects across the state. I have always been drawn to the real strength and value that arts and culture add to revitalization projects. And now, here I am able to focus this passion on working with you to help promote your downtowns as the centers of commerce, culture and community life for your residents and visitors alike. I fully believe that the continued health of our MS communities will contribute to the health of our State (I could go on about this but my soapbox gets tippy when I start jumping up and down – perhaps this is a topic for another blog). In any event, I respect that each of your Michigan Main Street communities have unique characteristics, histories and niches – I can’t wait to learn all about them!
For those of you who read Joe’s last blog about surprisingly finding solace in a Detroit taxi driver, I also attended the Creative Cities Summit 2.0 in Detroit last week and was comfortably at the bar he was trying to get to, enjoying martini during all of his mayhem. I was actually fortunate enough to be in on the beginning of planning this event as the Chair of the Entertainment & Experience Committee. Of course, I let out a big sigh of relief when I learned that Joe’s taxi incident had ended well. Never a good thing if your new boss has a bad experience at an event where you are in charge of such things…alas…all’s well that ends well.
But back at the conference I have to tell you – I was inspired daily by the topics of conversation both on and off stage. One comment, made by author Richard Florida, really struck me and had me instantly thinking of your Main Street communities. He said that we need to stop thinking of our communities as melting pots but more as Mosaic Societies! Exactly – Mosaic Societies! We shouldn’t be melting everyone together to be one thing. What if we not only encouraged people to keep their identity, their culture/heritage and their experiences but also found ways to celebrate them?? When I think of a melting pot everything always ends up turning a dingy gray color. But when I think of a mosaic – it is intriguing and captivating with bright colors and distinct character – completely unique and without question a unified work of art. I think this is one way to describe, maybe not all downtowns, but certainly the Michigan Main Street communities!
I simply cannot wait to get to know all of you better, listen to your great ideas, walk more of your gorgeous downtowns and see where I can be of assistance.
Promotion, Arts & Culture Specialist
Michigan Main Street
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Hello Michigan Main Street communities! I can’t tell you what an honor it is to be a part of this team, this network and these friends! Officially the Promotion, Arts & Culture Specialist for about 4 weeks I am humbled by the quality of work I have seen thus far in the Michigan Main Street communities and just plain excited to learn more about all of you! I spent the last 9 years in the Office of Community Development here at MSHDA overseeing downtown housing and neighborhood revitalization projects across the state. I have always been drawn to the real strength and value that arts and culture add to revitalization projects. And now, here I am able to focus this passion on working with you to help promote your downtowns as the centers of commerce, culture and community life for your residents and visitors alike. I fully believe that the continued health of our MS communities will contribute to the health of our State (I could go on about this but my soapbox gets tippy when I start jumping up and down – perhaps this is a topic for another blog). In any event, I respect that each of your Michigan Main Street communities have unique characteristics, histories and niches – I can’t wait to learn all about them!
For those of you who read Joe’s last blog about surprisingly finding solace in a Detroit taxi driver, I also attended the Creative Cities Summit 2.0 in Detroit last week and was comfortably at the bar he was trying to get to, enjoying martini during all of his mayhem. I was actually fortunate enough to be in on the beginning of planning this event as the Chair of the Entertainment & Experience Committee. Of course, I let out a big sigh of relief when I learned that Joe’s taxi incident had ended well. Never a good thing if your new boss has a bad experience at an event where you are in charge of such things…alas…all’s well that ends well.
But back at the conference I have to tell you – I was inspired daily by the topics of conversation both on and off stage. One comment, made by author Richard Florida, really struck me and had me instantly thinking of your Main Street communities. He said that we need to stop thinking of our communities as melting pots but more as Mosaic Societies! Exactly – Mosaic Societies! We shouldn’t be melting everyone together to be one thing. What if we not only encouraged people to keep their identity, their culture/heritage and their experiences but also found ways to celebrate them?? When I think of a melting pot everything always ends up turning a dingy gray color. But when I think of a mosaic – it is intriguing and captivating with bright colors and distinct character – completely unique and without question a unified work of art. I think this is one way to describe, maybe not all downtowns, but certainly the Michigan Main Street communities!
I simply cannot wait to get to know all of you better, listen to your great ideas, walk more of your gorgeous downtowns and see where I can be of assistance.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
It’s the people (and their attitude) that make the difference
By Joe Borgstrom, Director
Specialized Technical Assistance
& Revitalization Strategy
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
This week, I, and a number of my colleagues at MSHDA are attending the Creative Cities Summit 2.0 in downtown Detroit. We are joined by hundreds of people from around the state, country, and world hearing about a multitude of strategies and examples from communities across the globe who are integrating creative activities and people to help make their “places” more vibrant. There are a lot of topics from which numerous blogs could be written. Instead of expounding on one of the numerous topics this time out, I want to share a quick and telling story…
Monday night there was a networking reception at a wonderful 30’s era jazz club called Cliff Bell’s just behind the Fox Theatre across from Comerica Park (a location I didn’t know until I got there.) Unfortunately, I was not able to attend a vast majority of the event due to a prior commitment earlier in the evening that went much longer than I had anticipated. I got back to the hotel close to midnight and wanted to meet up with several friends who were still at the reception. I walked out the front door of the hotel and saw a cab driver who was unloading a passenger. What luck! A cab right when I needed it. I asked him if he knew where the jazz club was located. He apologized, stating he was “just an airport taxi.” He pointed me to a City Cab across the street and told me they should be able to take me there. I crossed the street and noticed there was no one in the cab. I turned around expecting the airport taxi to just go about his way and so I started to look for another cab. The airport taxi driver stopped and asked if there had been anyone in the City Cab. When I responded no, he told me to hop in and he’d try to take me there. I was astounded when he didn’t kick in the meter. We went to Greektown looking for the club with no avail. Instead of dumping me off and heading back to his appointed rounds, the cab driver flagged down a taxi with a passenger already in it and asked directions. He took me promptly to the reception and when I tried to pay him for his extraordinary service he refused. He simply stated, “This is my city. You are a guest in my city and I want to make sure you come back. It is my responsibility to make sure you get where you need to go. It was my pleasure.” I was completely dumbfounded. I was not wearing a name tag. He did not know I was with this conference or any conference for that matter. He did not know anything except that I was not from the city and he was. He was not anyone of particular note. He didn’t work for the city or as a consultant on customer service. He was simply making sure someone who was in his town was having a good experience.
I share that story because it made me wonder: what would our downtowns be like if everyone had that attitude? He was an airport taxi driver. What if every merchant and their employees, every gas station attendant, every resident in our communities had that attitude? No downtown is perfect. In fact, to those of us who live and/or work in them everyday we see a lot of the bad side. Sometimes that beats us down from dwelling on the positive. We see the “dog side” of our downtowns. To quote the movie Pulp Fiction, “A dog at least has personality. Personality goes a long way.” There are parts of Detroit that could be described as “a dog” (to be fair, there are many, many good parts too). The taxi driver didn’t focus on the dog parts. He made sure the personality shone through. The advice I give you today is to not dwell on the parts of your downtown that are "dogs" when people come to your town. Make sure you’re downtown’s personality is what it’s remembered for.
Specialized Technical Assistance
& Revitalization Strategy
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
This week, I, and a number of my colleagues at MSHDA are attending the Creative Cities Summit 2.0 in downtown Detroit. We are joined by hundreds of people from around the state, country, and world hearing about a multitude of strategies and examples from communities across the globe who are integrating creative activities and people to help make their “places” more vibrant. There are a lot of topics from which numerous blogs could be written. Instead of expounding on one of the numerous topics this time out, I want to share a quick and telling story…
Monday night there was a networking reception at a wonderful 30’s era jazz club called Cliff Bell’s just behind the Fox Theatre across from Comerica Park (a location I didn’t know until I got there.) Unfortunately, I was not able to attend a vast majority of the event due to a prior commitment earlier in the evening that went much longer than I had anticipated. I got back to the hotel close to midnight and wanted to meet up with several friends who were still at the reception. I walked out the front door of the hotel and saw a cab driver who was unloading a passenger. What luck! A cab right when I needed it. I asked him if he knew where the jazz club was located. He apologized, stating he was “just an airport taxi.” He pointed me to a City Cab across the street and told me they should be able to take me there. I crossed the street and noticed there was no one in the cab. I turned around expecting the airport taxi to just go about his way and so I started to look for another cab. The airport taxi driver stopped and asked if there had been anyone in the City Cab. When I responded no, he told me to hop in and he’d try to take me there. I was astounded when he didn’t kick in the meter. We went to Greektown looking for the club with no avail. Instead of dumping me off and heading back to his appointed rounds, the cab driver flagged down a taxi with a passenger already in it and asked directions. He took me promptly to the reception and when I tried to pay him for his extraordinary service he refused. He simply stated, “This is my city. You are a guest in my city and I want to make sure you come back. It is my responsibility to make sure you get where you need to go. It was my pleasure.” I was completely dumbfounded. I was not wearing a name tag. He did not know I was with this conference or any conference for that matter. He did not know anything except that I was not from the city and he was. He was not anyone of particular note. He didn’t work for the city or as a consultant on customer service. He was simply making sure someone who was in his town was having a good experience.
I share that story because it made me wonder: what would our downtowns be like if everyone had that attitude? He was an airport taxi driver. What if every merchant and their employees, every gas station attendant, every resident in our communities had that attitude? No downtown is perfect. In fact, to those of us who live and/or work in them everyday we see a lot of the bad side. Sometimes that beats us down from dwelling on the positive. We see the “dog side” of our downtowns. To quote the movie Pulp Fiction, “A dog at least has personality. Personality goes a long way.” There are parts of Detroit that could be described as “a dog” (to be fair, there are many, many good parts too). The taxi driver didn’t focus on the dog parts. He made sure the personality shone through. The advice I give you today is to not dwell on the parts of your downtown that are "dogs" when people come to your town. Make sure you’re downtown’s personality is what it’s remembered for.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Welcome New Michigan Main Street Staff!
By Joe Borgstrom, Director
Specialized Technical Assistance &
Revitalization Strategy Division
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Ok, ok, ok. I promised we’d post a new blog entry every week and now I’m already late. Not a good way to start. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
If you haven’t heard, the Michigan Main Street program is expanding its offerings and staff and which makes it the fastest growing coordinating program in the country today. The Michigan Main Street program has welcomed two new staff in addition to our outstanding existing staff (Organizational Specialist Laura Krizov and SHPO’s Michigan Main Street Architect Kelly Larson). These people are:
Duane Thelen, Community Initiated Development (CID) Specialist- Duane has a great deal of experience with the State of Michigan and has most recently served as field staff to the Community Assistance Team (CATeam) while it was at MSHDA. Duane also has a great deal of experience in the Brownfield arena and has worked with numerous communities and consultants to bring a multitude of projects to fruition. He will be working with Michigan Main Street communities to help facilitate development projects and learn how they can take on development projects on their own!
Jodie Willobee, Promotions, Arts and Culture (PAC) Specialist- Jodie comes to us most recently from MSHDA’s Office of Community Development where she spearheaded a number of projects, most notably the Jackson Armory Arts project which redeveloped the former prison into a thriving artist colony. Jodie has also been MSHDA’s point person for the Department of History, Arts, and Library’s Cultural Economic Development initiatives. She brings a solid arts and culture background and understands the resources that are available to communities in these areas. In addition to cultural economic development related activities, Jodie will also be working with communities to help make their promotions events more successful.
The Michigan Main Street program recently posted our new Economic Restructuring Specialist position. We received more than 80 resumes and have whittled it down to seven potential candidates. We will be conducting the first round of these interviews on Friday. We hope to have an announcement on this position by the end of this month.
Be on the lookout for these talented new staff as they will be tagging along with Laura and Kelly on several year-end visits as well as attending all of the upcoming Associate and Selected trainings. Please help us welcome them to the Michigan Main Street family!
Specialized Technical Assistance &
Revitalization Strategy Division
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Ok, ok, ok. I promised we’d post a new blog entry every week and now I’m already late. Not a good way to start. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
If you haven’t heard, the Michigan Main Street program is expanding its offerings and staff and which makes it the fastest growing coordinating program in the country today. The Michigan Main Street program has welcomed two new staff in addition to our outstanding existing staff (Organizational Specialist Laura Krizov and SHPO’s Michigan Main Street Architect Kelly Larson). These people are:
Duane Thelen, Community Initiated Development (CID) Specialist- Duane has a great deal of experience with the State of Michigan and has most recently served as field staff to the Community Assistance Team (CATeam) while it was at MSHDA. Duane also has a great deal of experience in the Brownfield arena and has worked with numerous communities and consultants to bring a multitude of projects to fruition. He will be working with Michigan Main Street communities to help facilitate development projects and learn how they can take on development projects on their own!
Jodie Willobee, Promotions, Arts and Culture (PAC) Specialist- Jodie comes to us most recently from MSHDA’s Office of Community Development where she spearheaded a number of projects, most notably the Jackson Armory Arts project which redeveloped the former prison into a thriving artist colony. Jodie has also been MSHDA’s point person for the Department of History, Arts, and Library’s Cultural Economic Development initiatives. She brings a solid arts and culture background and understands the resources that are available to communities in these areas. In addition to cultural economic development related activities, Jodie will also be working with communities to help make their promotions events more successful.
The Michigan Main Street program recently posted our new Economic Restructuring Specialist position. We received more than 80 resumes and have whittled it down to seven potential candidates. We will be conducting the first round of these interviews on Friday. We hope to have an announcement on this position by the end of this month.
Be on the lookout for these talented new staff as they will be tagging along with Laura and Kelly on several year-end visits as well as attending all of the upcoming Associate and Selected trainings. Please help us welcome them to the Michigan Main Street family!
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