2022 IMS Conference Sessions

All Tuesday events at The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St.

Registration Opens at 3:00 p.m.

Once you arrive in Bloomington, check in at The Hangar Art Co. for the conference. Grab your badge, program and other goodies to get started with materials in hand.

Registration will be open at The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St. on Tuesday, October 18 from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. and at the McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. on Wednesday, October 19 from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Welcome Reception | 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

The Hangar Art Co. | 105 W Jefferson St

Begin the conference with an evening of refreshments, appetizers, and connection with community revitalization leaders from across the state. Hear welcome remarks from our Bloomington hosts and start celebrating work done throughout this past year. Reconnect with old friends and make new ones as you get ready for revitalization!

Join us in one of Downtown Bloomington's newest art galleries, The Hangar Art Co. for some networking and fun. Meltdown Creative will be onsite for live T-shirt screen printing with three designs, including one specially made for the Illinois Main Street conference. You can purchase a T-shirt from them or bring your blank shirt. If you bring your shirt, there will be a charge for printing the design on it.

Live Screen Printing!

Make your own Conference Swag. Meltdown Creative Works, will be on site to print your conference t-shirt live. Bring a plain t-shirt with you, or you can purchase one at the welcome reception.

Cider & Sweater Sip n Shop | 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Various Downtown Businesses

End the evening exploring downtown Bloomington with a special Cider & Sweater event, curated just for our downtown Main Street friends. Get to know and support local businesses at the heart of Bloomington while sipping specialty refreshments along the way. Shops open late until 8:00 p.m.

Downtown Bloomington retailers, restaurants, and art studios-galleries are extending their hours until 8 p.m. to welcome you to Bloomington. Shop, dine, and stroll your way through downtown Bloomington.

Sessions will be located at the McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. at The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St., which are located one block from each other.

Registration Opens | 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Once you arrive in Bloomington, head to the McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. to check-in for the conference. Grab your badge, program and other goodies to get started!

Continental Breakfast | 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St.

Start your day with an energizing continental breakfast at McLean County Museum of History.

Welcome & Opening Plenary | 9:00 a.m.

McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Court Room

Kick off a day of building connections and learning with a message from Dionne Baux, Vice President of Neighborhood Revitalization Services at Main Street America.

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Main Street America is a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and has participated in the renewal of more than 2,000 historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts during its 30-year history.

Dionne Baux is currently serving as Vice President of Neighborhood Revitalization Services where she plays a key leadership role to expand technical service offering to neighborhood commercial districts. Dionne has over two decades of experience in project coordination in the fields of urban economic development and commercial district revitalization.

OPENING PLENARY

Presented by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center | Leveraging Policy and Creating Cultural Districts to Drive Economic Success

This session focuses on the What and the Why of cultural designation. Focus here is really looking at what cultural designation is and why it’s important to leverage and lean into culture as an economic engine and using culture as a Transformation Strategy. Why it’s important to have a Transformation Strategy (economic development strategy) to focus and drive work done in the districts we represent. Get people excited to learn more throughout the day. This session provides opportunity for Q&A with the audience.

Delia Ramirez, IL State Representative

Cristina Pacione-Zayas, IL State Senator

Jose E. Lopez, Executive Director, Puerto Rican Cultural Center

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Creative Financing for Municipalities

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Court Room

This session will give a broad overview of some of the financing tools that are available to municipalities and county governments as well as some of the recent grant program initiatives in Illinois. Accessing these types of funds can be a hurdle that is hard to overcome for many main street communities so it is important that directors and staff understand the opportunities that exist today.

Speaker: Bret Austin, Developer and Owner, All Phase Property Solutions & Vice Chair, Adams County Board

Recruiting Better Board Members

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Classroom

This crash course will provide you with yearlong board building work plan for your Nominating Committee to identify, vet, nominate, and train new board members to be helpful immediately. We will discuss, describe, and provide twelve resource handouts you can customize and use immediately. We will discuss why diversity, equity and inclusion should be part of your Nominating Committee’s efforts. Finally, we will describe why new board members need to be well oriented and trained on their responsibilities. The conference website will have the twelve handouts: checklists, policies, samples, and charts for your Nominating Committee to use now.

Speaker: Donna Ann Harris, Principal, Heritage Consulting, Inc.

Main Street’s Revitalization Journey

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St.

This session preludes the Main Street Approach by highlighting the importance of revitalization as a journey versus destination, engaging the community in revitalization planning, building relationships with partners at the national, coordinating, and local level, plus a brief overview of Main Street America’s expertise and resources.

Speaker: Jim Miller, Director of Illinois Main Street, Main Street America

Engaging Property Owners and Building Stronger Partnerships

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Court Room

Vacant, underutilized or poorly maintained buildings cost everyone in your community money as well as represent lost opportunities for attracting new businesses and jobs. During this session, we will explore how downtown volunteers can build stronger partnerships with downtown property owners that will translate into greater building utilization and attract new tenants to the commercial area.

Speaker: Hilary Greenberg, President, Greenberg Development Services

What Matters Most - The Key To Connection

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Classroom

Whether you are a director of a non-profit, business owner, or elected official we are all in the people business. Our ability to influence people comes down to knowing what matters most to them. In this session, you'll learn how to identify what your coworkers, board members, and key stakeholders value most. And how to use that knowledge to create deeper human connection and greater impact.

Speaker: Payne Schoen, Founder, Payne Schoen Consulting

Design Fundamentals

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St.

This survey of Main Street design topics will overview everything from historic preservation 101 to the history of downtown development to design tools, resources, and incentives. You’ll learn the importance of design, historic preservation, and planning basics, as well as practical, first-step design focused projects you can implement in your community.

Speaker: Lisa Mullins Thompson, MSARP, HREDFP, Sr. Program Officer for Revitalization Services, Main Street America

Lunch on your own in Downtown Bloomington, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

A map and list of suggested restaurants is available at registration.

The Puerto Rico Town Experience in Achieving Cultural District Designation

1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Court Room

Learn about PRCC’s experience in obtaining the Cultural District Designation for Puerto Rico Town in Chicago, and collaborating with stakeholders to bring about economic development through creating cultural enterprise districts. This follow-up session focuses on the How and Next Steps of the cultural designation. Learn about the legislation itself and how to leverage policy to get designation/create cultural districts, how you use culture as an economic development strategy and how you make it all happen and build on success of Main Street by collaborating with stakeholders.

Speakers:

Delia Ramirez, IL State Representative

Cristina Pacione-Zayas, IL State Senator

Jose E. Lopez, Executive Director, Puerto Rican Cultural Center

'Crunchin the Nums' - a Look at Downtown Development Finance

1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Classroom

The session will review the basics of evaluating a development's financial feasibility and common incentive tools to integrate into the capital stack. This session will be conducted in a workshop-like manor, where participants will be doing some math ('crunching the nums'!) with their phone's calculator to determine the financing gap. Case studies from other communities will be shared on innovative financing mechanisms. The goal is to leave participants with a few tools to evaluate potential new projects in their community and help advocate and bring partners together to make it happen.

Speakers:

Ashley Sarver, Partner and Senior Urban Planner, Studio GWA

Aaron Holverson, Partner, Senior Project Architect, Studio GWA

Promotions Fundamentals

2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. | The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St.

This survey of Main Street promotion topics will highlight how to position the downtown, commercial, or neighborhood district as the center of the community and hub of economic activity, while creating a positive image that showcases a community’s unique characteristics.

Speaker: Gustavo Ustariz, Sr. Manager, Marketing & Outreach, Neighborhood Services, Main Street America

Creating a Public Art Destination

3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Court Room

Over the years, Downtown Bloomington has become an arts destination. Boasting more than 20 art galleries and studios and roughly 20 pieces of public art.

Joann Goetzinger, Martha Burk, and Tricia Stiller will discuss what it took to coordinate and fund some of the art pieces within the district. In addition, they will discuss creating events around the artists with the Route 66 Art Trail and Slow Art Day.

Speakers: Joann Goetzinger, Martha Burk, and Tricia Stiller

Boosting Net Income at Fundraising Events

3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Classroom

Learn how you can boost the net income from your fundraising events by determining which costs can be sponsored, donated, or bartered. We will supply a template to analyze your event and provide ideas for two dozen revenue raising components to boost net income each year for your fundraising events. Finally, we will offer advice about whether it is possible (or wise) to add “premium experiences” to your event for additional net income for your operating budget. We will supply checklists for revenue and expenses and a template with two dozen fundraising components to consider for upcoming fundraising events.

Speaker: Donna Ann Harris, Principal, Heritage Consulting, Inc.

Economic Vitality Fundamentals

3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. | The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St.

This survey of Main Street economic vitality topics focuses on capital, incentives, and other economic and financial tools to assist new and existing businesses, catalyze property development, and create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and innovators that drive local economy.

Speaker: Lisa Mullins Thompson, MSARP, HREDFP, Sr. Program Officer for Revitalization Services, Main Street America

Essential Tools for Building Economic Vitality through Business Retention and Expansion

4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Court Room

Strong businesses are the key to a successful revitalization program, yet many businesses were struggling even before the pandemic, to keep up with changes in technology, small business financing and consumer shopping behavior. During this session, Hilary Greenberg (Greenberg Development Services) will review the tools that local government or downtown organizations of all sizes can use to better support local businesses and increase economic vitality at all stages of their business lifecycle.

Speaker: Hilary Greenberg, President, Greenberg Development Services

Duct Tape and Zip Ties- Event Planning 101

4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Classroom

An interactive session, this presentation will show how to use volunteers and skills to present a professional event in the most cost and time efficient way. We will pull experience from the audience and cite real case studies from small and large scale events to make people feel comfortable and aware of event probabilities.

Speakers:

Meghan Cole, Executive Director, Carbondale Main Street

Janna Groharing, Executive Director, Sterling Main Street

Organization Fundamentals

4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. | The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St.

This survey of Main Street organization topics will highlight the importance of creating a strong foundation for a sustainable revitalization effort, including cultivating partnerships, community involvement, resources for the district, and incorporating DEIA values from the start.

Speaker: Jackie Swihart, Program Officer for Revitalization Services, Main Street America

Welcome & Opening Plenary | 9:00 a.m.

McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Court Room

Kick off a day of building connections and learning with a message from Dionne Baux, Vice President of Neighborhood Revitalization Services at Main Street America.

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Main Street America is a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and has participated in the renewal of more than 2,000 historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts during its 30-year history.

Dionne Baux is currently serving as Vice President of Neighborhood Revitalization Services where she plays a key leadership role to expand technical service offering to neighborhood commercial districts. Dionne has over two decades of experience in project coordination in the fields of urban economic development and commercial district revitalization.

OPENING PLENARY

Presented by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center | Leveraging Policy and Creating Cultural Districts to Drive Economic Success

This session focuses on the What and the Why of cultural designation. Focus here is really looking at what cultural designation is and why it’s important to leverage and lean into culture as an economic engine and using culture as a Transformation Strategy. Why it’s important to have a Transformation Strategy (economic development strategy) to focus and drive work done in the districts we represent. Get people excited to learn more throughout the day. This session provides opportunity for Q&A with the audience.

Delia Ramirez, IL State Representative

Cristina Pacione-Zayas, IL State Senator

Jose E. Lopez, Executive Director, Puerto Rican Cultural Center

Wednesday Evening Awards Celebration | Separate Ticketed Event

6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts | 600 N East St.

Welcome to an evening of appreciation and recognition! We are pleased to bring back the Illinois Main Street Awards to celebrate success within downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts across the state. Here we recognize work in Design, Organization, Economic Vitality, and Promotions, along with Volunteer and Board Members of the Year. Join us as we present the Lieutenant Governor Award for Excellence in Revitalization, recognizing outstanding Illinois and Chicago Main Street programs and activities, as well as the inspiring people who drive revitalization efforts in their communities.

Casual attire. Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

Sessions will be located at the McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. at The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St., which are located one block from each other.

Continental Breakfast | 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St.

Start your day with an energizing continental breakfast at McLean County Museum of History.

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Social Media Strategy Development

9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Court Room

A successful marketing strategy for your business or Main Street program relies on clearly identified target markets and understanding how your product or service aligns with their needs and preferences. An online presence is no longer just recommended as part of your marketing strategy – it is needed. To be effective, your marketing effort needs to be targeted, coordinated, and the message needs to be consistent on all traditional and digital channels. This session explores how to use the power of storytelling to connect with your existing customers and to attract new ones.

Speaker: Gustavo Ustariz, Sr. Manager, Marketing & Outreach, Neighborhood Services, Main Street America

Nature-based Solutions to Improve Your Triple Bottom Line

9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Classroom

Can you increase profit, improve social cohesion, and help your community adapt to extreme weather with one program? Yes! Nature based solutions describe a series of practices communities can use to address economic, societal, and climate change challenges. These practices mimic natural hydrology through parks, gardens, and technology like permeable parking lots. And federal and state agencies are increasingly providing funding incentives for communities to include these practices on the ground. In this session, we will explore various nature-based solutions, demonstrate cost-benefit and life-cycle analysis tools, discuss planning and ordinance guidance, and explore various grant and funding opportunities.

Speaker: Lisa Merrifield, Community and Economic Development Specialist, University of Illinois Extension

Building Blocks to Main Street Revitalization

9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. | The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St.

Does the term ‘Downtown Revitalization' overwhelm your community? Learn what your community needs to build a strong foundation for using The Main Street Approach™ and move your district from dull to dynamic. This session provides a roadmap for how resource barren, traditionally disinvested communities can use an asset-based approach to ready, reframe and get your community ready for Main Street. Coordinate your approach to revitalization that is equitable, scalable and engineered specifically for communities with limited resources. Ready your community to work with your Illinois or Chicago coordinating program on furthering your revitalization efforts.

Speaker: Kyle Mc Ewen, Executive Director, Mercer County Better Together

Social Media Techniques

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Court Room

Having an effective social media strategy is essential. Having a social media strategy that you can implement is a game-changer. This session will focus on equipping you with the tools you need to create engaging content quickly and easily. We will cover everything from schedulers to editors and everything in between.

Speaker: Travis Brown, Chief Business Development Officer, The Relish Jar

The Power of Pop-Up Shops

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Classroom

Pop-up shops can be used to create vibrant downtowns while giving start-ups, artists and existing businesses a place to test markets, build a customer-base and increase revenue. Because Pop-ups cost significantly less to start-up then a storefront, they can assist communities in creating equity in their existing entrepreneurial ecosystems by offering business opportunities to low income and underserved populations. Attendees will learn ways they can utilize Popups to expand the appeal of their downtown while building business incubators without walls. Examples will be provided of communities in Illinois that have adopted ordinances to spur equitable entrepreneurial development using Pop-up shops.

Speaker: Pamela Schallhorn, Extension Regional Specialist in Community & Economic Development, University of Illinois Extension

Talking the Walk: Communicating the Value of Main Street

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St.

Dive into what it means to be a Community Influencer with Main Street, develop your “sales pitch” to potential volunteers, explore recruitment and retention ideas, and learn how to communicate your value to partners.

Speaker: Jackie Swihart, Program Officer for Revitalization Services, Main Street America

Strategies for Impactful Grassroots Advocacy & Political Engagement

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Court Room

Impactful grassroots advocacy and political engagement are crucial tools to foster the revitalization of commercial corridors and neighborhood business districts. This session will offer strategies for formulating policies, building coalitions and consensus, and engaging policymakers. The session will provide insight on navigating the political process on various levels with a laser focus on enacting policies to revitalize commercial corridors. This session will include an interactive discussion on these topics, wherein presenters and the audience can share best practices and discuss impactful advocacy. While strategies will focus on neighborhood business districts in urban communities, many should be applicable in various settings.

Speaker: Elliot Richardson, President, Small Business Advocacy Council

Strategic Diversity & Inclusion Initiative

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | McLean County Museum of History at 200 North Main St. | Classroom

This session is a facilitated discussion of why intentional inclusion should be a high priority for both organizations and communities alike. In this workshop we will look at the business case for inclusion and discuss steps of mobilizing your community and obtaining buy-in.

Speaker: Latonya Brock, President and CEO of Brock Consulting

Investing In Your Mainstreet - Partnering with the State

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. | The Hangar Art Co. at 105 W. Jefferson St.

This presentation will cover different ways that the state can assist with investing in Main Street Communities. The programs can include grant opportunities, loan programs, and other types of investment. It will also cover different ways to engage with the state that may not be financially driven but will still have benefit to the community.

Speaker: Alyson Grady, Acting Deputy Director Regional Economic Development, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

Closing Lunch and Keynote | 12:00 p.m.

Reality On Monroe | 111 East Monroe Street

Pleased to present the final networking lunch and keynote session with a dynamic presentation on building community partnerships in your neighborhood district. Learn to increase your community engagement over time, setting you on a path from connection to education to action and impact.

We are living in an important historical moment. Domestically, we are a nation long divided. The trust and ties that bind us together as a society, already tenuous, have frayed further. We are forgetting that our collective power comes from our connection to each other. The transactional charitable approaches that have long-defined volunteer engagement are casting doubt on the ability of our sector to truly play a meaningful role in social change.

Yet, there is hope! Service can help us meet the moment. Service, the heart of our work as a sector, is a transformational force for a more connected, caring, and just society. Service can and should be a vehicle to educate, engage, and drive change. The act of service can build community, reshape us, and enable us to change the world. For us to water the seeds of that vision, we must be fully awakened to the transformational and healing power of service in our lives, communities, and society. We must see service as one part of a life committed to generous sharing, to mutuality and interdependence, and to a commitment to community.

In this session, we will share the commitments, tools, and tactics that have helped to reshape service at Chicago Cares to align our intention and action. Together, we will explore how we can continue to reorient our approach to service to be anti-racist and community-driven, holding ourselves accountable to the promise and potential of service to drive change and build a more loving and just society.

Speaker: Rosie F. Drumgoole, CVA Chief Program Officer, Chicago Cares

Rosie Drumgoole is currently the Chief Program Officer at Chicago Cares. A dynamic and charismatic leader, Rosie has been in the volunteer engagement world for well over a decade. Rosie currently leads the programs team which mobilizes volunteers and catalyzes change by promoting diverse civic engagement and equips civic leaders-young and old while helping local communities, nonprofits, and corporations alike meet their strategic goals and priorities. As an executive leader Rosie has helped the organization navigate its way through the COVID-19 crisis while continuing to diversify its programmatic impact and volunteer base. Rosie is an alumnus of the Allstate Foundation’s Executive Leadership Program’s class of 2021, and the American Express Leadership Academy class of 2016. Rosie currently serves on the board of Directors of Deborah’s Place as board secretary. Deborah’s Place mission is to support women who have experienced homelessness in Chicago. She also serves as a proxy board member for the Serve Illinois Commission.