Economic Vitality

The Open 4 Business competition through Main Street Iowa just opened. The local application is due April 10. We can only submit one contestant from Greenfield so we will have a local competition to select our candidate – the local application is due April 10. The business must located in or relocating to the designated Main Street District and have been open for at least one year to be eligible. The grant is for business improvements such as equipment, programming, marketing, etc. It cannot be used for infrastructure/bricks and mortar type improvements or projects. A 25% cash match is required. Interested businesses should contact our office for a complete Open 4 Business packet with rules, guidelines, and application.

We want to thank everyone that signed the petition, sent in a support letter or completed a survey per our outreach for community support regarding Shopko announcing its closure. We are in the process of packaging these items together in an effort to retain/recruit similar retail service in the community.

Design

The Summer Planters task force is preparing for the summer flower pots and typically plant around Mother's Day.

The Wayfinding project task force is moving forward with Phase One of the Wayfinding System Plan. The first three community map signs have been ordered and will be installed in the next couple of months... assuming the weather stays on this path to warmer days. Phase One includes three large community maps that feature places to eat and shop, community attractions as well as needed amenities such as municipal, medical and veterinary services. The locations of the first three signs will be at the corner of Hwy 92 and 25, at the Chamber/Main Street & Development office near the community groups welcome sign and on the south side of the courtyard.

The Historic Preservation Commission and Facade Improvement task force will start working with a professional historic architect to complete Historic Building Design Guidelines. This project will set standards for building owners to use when working with historic buildings in the community.

Promotions

The 4th of July is in Greenfield this year and though some planning meetings have started we still need a lot more helping hands to make it all work. Typically we have project sub-committees in the areas of Entertainment, Kid’s Activities, Parade, Fundraising, Marketing, Food/Vendors, etc. Let us know if you are interested in helping with this event – even it's just one activity in the grand scheme of it all!

Two of our most popular annual events are the annual Easter Egg Hunt and Spook the Loop. It's time to start rounding up donations of candy, money and filled eggs for the hunt.

Cold Turkey was filmed in Greenfield in 1969 which makes this year the 50th Anniversary of the film. We'd like to host a community event in late September/early October along with an original production by The Friends of the Sidey Collection and Cumberland Rose Players. If anyone is interested in helping build a celebration around this iconic film let us know.

Organization

We held our Annual Meeting/Social on February 25 and attended the Main Street Iowa Awards on March 8. Both of these events celebrate the past year, look to the future and honor volunteers and projects in the community.

The Healthy Hometown Visioning Coalition completed a Community Vision Plan at the end of 2018 to be implemented over the next couple of years. There are many activities in categories of Eat Well, Move More, and Feel Better. Projects for this spring and early summer include: Expanding availability and utilization of community supported agriculture – this includes programs like CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture and local Farmers Markets; Develop community gardens, edible landscaping and orchards that are accessible to the entire community; Encourage and promote grab and go options for fresh fruit and veggies; Develop a walking school bus for elementary students; conduct a walking audit assessing the walkability of the community.

Retail

The Spread Love Local shopping campaign held toward the beginning of February was an effort to encourage local shopping while giving back to a local charity. Participating retailers collectively raised $250 for the Adair County Neighborhood Center to purchase perishable food items. We will do this promotion again next year so be ready to cast your vote for the local charity that should benefit from the campaign and be ready to shop local and give back.

Last year the Retail and Tourism committee started “Spend a day or two on Hwy 92” as a marketing campaign to combat the Hwy 25 closure between the interstate and town. This promotion will continue this year and the committee plans to expand the marketing effort to other community's along Hwy 92.

Chamber

The Ag Expo was Monday from 4-7pm. We thank the businesses that take time to support the event and have a booth. Agriculture is our largest industry and we send a big thank you out to all those that work hard every day in the industry or supporting it. We also want to thank our event partners: The Adair County Cattlemen, Pork Producers, Corn Growers, Fair Board, Extension and Farm Bureau. This event draws a little over 200 people every year.

The committee offers several networking events for Chamber/Main Street investors and the community. Everyone is welcome to attend community coffees on the first Friday of every month from 10-11:00 am. These are hosted by investor businesses so the locations vary. They are a come and go event so you can stop by for a few minutes or stay for the whole hour. General Meetings are every other month on the third Tuesday. These meetings include attendee introductions, Chamber/Main Street business update, attendee business announcements, lunch, and a guest speaker/program. Periodic Business After Hours and Newcomers Parties are being planned for summer.

Tourism

The committee is working the Nodaway Valley Marketing Class on various campaigns to feature attractions and promotions in the community. We haven't heard which ideas they've decided to run with but we look forward to seeing their work. The technology class completed a video for Hotel Greenfield and did an excellent job featuring the highlights of the hotel. 

Implementation of the Wayfinding Plan falls under the tourism committee as well as they are working on new welcome bags and rack holders to place around the community. Additionally part of Phase One that falls under tourism is a coordinated effort to provide technical assistance to help businesses claim, update and utilize free online business listings.

The Office

Staff is busy coordinating project work with the committees; managing existing grants and preparing to apply for new ones - most grant deadlines fall in the late spring and early fall; fielding phone calls and information requests with our most popular calls this year being 1. Room rentals for events/parties, 2. Business names/phone numbers, 3. Housing rentals 4. Event dates/information, and 5. Requests to have information added to our calendar of events; and of course, the general organizational stuff such as bookkeeping, record retention/filing, filing mandatory state reports and marketing/communications such as the bi-monthly FYI emails, monthly calendar distribution, website updates and managing social media.

For more information about Chamber/Main Street or any of the projects listed in this report contact the office at 641-743-8444 or info@greenfieldiowa.com