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By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Staff Writer

MONROEVILLE – Calera Main Street earned recognition for its milestone achievements at the 11th annual Main Street Alabama Awards of Excellence Banquet on Thursday, Aug. 15 in Monroeville, Alabama.

Calera Main Street is a nonprofit organization that seeks to stimulate revitalization in downtown Calera with public/private partnerships. The organization was designated as a Main Street Alabama community in 2019 and is an accredited member of the Main Street America Network.

According to Calera Main Street Vice President Markus Snowden, the organization has opened 12 new businesses, reduced downtown vacancy from 84 to 24 percent and created downtown events such as Married on Main and the Calera First Friday festival series.

At the 2024 Awards of Excellence, Calera Main Street was recognized for being one of five programs with over $5 million of economic impact on its main street district.

In addition, the event also recognized individuals that made positive impacts on their local communities. Each local main street program nominated a member of their community to receive the Hero Award at the Toast to Heroes Reception prior to the awards banquet.

According to an official release from Calera Main Street, the organization selected Calera Councilmember Kenneth Cost as the recipient of the Hero Award.

In addition to being the city council liaison to the Calera Main Street program, Cost has also provided insight as a licensed residential contractor and has accumulated more than 400 volunteer hours devoted to downtown development projects.

“(A) lifelong resident of Calera, Kenny Cost is particularly passionate about seeing positive change and improvements in the city he grew up in,” the statement read. “His expertise has been invaluable to help drive the Calera Courtyard project.”

The Main Street Alabama Awards of Excellence also recognized winners in the categories of Capital Campaign, Public/Private Partnerships, Volunteer Development, Promotion, Marketing, Business Promotion, Business Development, Placemaking, Property Activation, Non-Historic Building Design, Planning and Public Spaces and Historic Rehabilitation.

“Last night’s event was a heartwarming celebration of the remarkable achievements of our local main street programs,” Main Street Alabama’s President Mary Helmer Wirth said.  “The inspiring success stories shared at the event truly highlighted the essence of community spirit and collaboration. It’s a testament to the effectiveness of Main Street’s four-point approach in fostering economic development and preserving historic areas.”