By Wendy Stiver for The Express - Thirteen new businesses, 75 members, 512 Hometown Hero banners, 1,600 volunteers, more than $4.5 million in public and private investment - all in 2009 alone.

Who says the downtown can't deliver just about anything?

The Main Street Program shot up and bloomed under its five years of state funding. It has just entered the "exit phase" of the program and in 2011 it will be fully self-sufficient.

The Hometown Hero Banner Program will stand particularly tall in 2011 with a new round of banners to be unveiled that summer. Banner photos of veterans and current troops will be accepted starting this October, Main Street Manager Maria Boileau announced.

She also took the Downtown Lock Haven Inc. board of directors through the past year's achievements and gave them a preview of the year to come at the board's first monthly meeting of the year, held Tuesday morning at City Hall.

Boileau said she receives a request from a family who wants to honor their veteran with a banner almost daily.

"We could fill the town with banners if we did it right now," she said.

Waiting until 2011 gives the Hometown Hero Committee the chance to carefully prepare each banner and to plan the program's third patriotic ceremony to retire the current banners and dedicate new ones, past board President Gail Nestlerode said.

The 512 banners now displayed honor a total of 551 veterans, thanks to 300 sponsors, a quilt raffle, a fundraising comedy night and the sale of prints.

AWARDS

Hometown Hero Committee member Julie Brennan was honored as Volunteer of the Year for the many hours she has given to the program and for serving as the primary author of "The Lives Behind the Banners" series of articles that appear every Monday in The Express.

An aide to State Sen. John Wozniak, Brennan said the dedication and enthusiasm of her fellow committee members make her feel proud to serve with them.

"I'm happy to live in a community where so many people are willing to volunteer," she said.

She also thanked The Express for printing the series.

"They have really kept the banner program out front and in people's minds and hearts," she said.

The Express is exploring the feasibility of having the series printed in book form, according to newspaper publisher and Downtown Board President Robert O. Rolley Jr.

The many unpaid workers and the 5,900 hours they donated - an in-kind contribution valued at $120,000 - were the most the local Main Street Program has ever recorded, Boileau said.

The program's high numbers put it among the top 10 in the state in 2008, she affirmed.

A new award this year, Merchant of the Year, went to Beiter's Home Center. Store representatives Dave Schrack and manager Steve Kriner, who serve on Downtown Lock Haven's Promotions Committee, received a plaque for the special recognition.

The award is for a member business that has given an outstanding amount of time and resources toward revitalizing the commercial district.

Beiter's donates the grand prize each year for the Best of Clinton County raffle, provides furniture for Candy Cane Lane and participates in every sales promotion and event, Boileau said.

"All we have to do is call and Beiter's is there for us," she said, crediting the store's management team for a ready willingness to make a difference in the community.

Rolley called the appliance, furniture and TV store a major anchor of the business district. Applause greeted his statement that the local Beiter's at 13 E. Main St. is the only downtown store among the company's five retail locations throughout northcentral Pennsylvania.

MEMBERS

The 2010 board officers include Vice President Peter Lopes of the Clinton County Economic Partnership, Secretary Krisy Meeker of the Lock Haven University Small Business Development Center, and Treasurer Amy Long of Northwest Savings Bank.

Jacqui Conklin was welcomed to the board as Lock Haven Hospital's new representative.

Megan Davis of Davis Real Estate is the new Membership Committee chair, while other committees retain their leadership from last year.

Louis Anastos was asked to describe his new business, Stella A.'s Bar and Grill, which is scheduled to open in a month or more. The restaurant is in the former Eyer's Cafe in the 200 block of East Main Street and also intends to expand into the former barber shop next door, turning that storefront into a private dining/meeting room. Anastos said plans include re-opening the patio dining area at the rear of the site in good weather.

The menu will include Greek and Italian dishes and a variety of sandwiches, he reported.

INVESTMENTS

Rolley pointed to renovation and expansion projects like Stella A.'s Bar and Grill and referred to "other things going on behind the scenes that are preliminary but optimistic."

He urged the board to look at everything happening in the downtown.

"We are soldiers for this community," he said, "And at the same time, people are investing privately - that's exciting. The work of the people who make their living on Main Street is everything. It's a great place to invest your money."

Downtown Lock Haven will continue to support the merchants, Boileau said, with everything from Merchant Mixers and the "Find Your Pleasant Surprise in Downtown Lock Haven" marketing campaign to flower baskets (which run $2,600 for the year) and something as simple as an information sheet for store owners on how parking affects their customers.

She noted that 1,700 Haven Dollars coupons were redeemed at 21 businesses in 2009, with a total of 70 businesses participating.

And, she reported, the Looking Good Lock Haven program provided 30 new trash cans for the commercial district.

COMING SOON

Springfest scheduled for Saturday, May 15, is a new event on the roster, Boileau announced. Chaired by Lynda Carey of Lynda's Upscale Resale and sponsored by downtown businesses, the event will feature antiques and craft vendors, food and music.

Also coming this year is what the Main Street manager called "the biggest parade ever," with 500 Shriners and their families expected to flood into the city for the Best of Clinton County Summer Festival and Parade on Saturday, June 26.

Downtown Lock Haven Inc. will continue to build its membership while it undertakes a full schedule of events, she said.

It also will begin a feasibility study for an indoor farmers' market and a USDA-approved kitchen that could be shared by vendors who would make and sell food items such as breads and jellies.

The Facade Grant Program was able to give $7,000 in 2009 toward storefront improvements for Avenue 209 Coffee Shop, Smith Law Offices and Dr. Praful Bhatt's practice in pediatrics and adolescent medicine.

For 2010, however, the program will need additional sources of funding because money from the state has dried up, Boileau said.

Lock Haven University signed another commitment in September allowing Downtown Lock Haven to retain its space at the rear of the university's Main Street gift store. In return, Boileau and her assistant, Carol Colucci, will continue to aid in store sales.

Boileau said the university is happy with how well the store is doing, and Rolley characterized the arrangement as more than a win for LHU.

The Main Street Program's past accomplishments and the goals yet to be attained hinge on not just the work of the board and other volunteers, but also on the support of partner agencies and organizations like the university, Boileau said.

Other partners include the city and county governments, the Economic Partnership, Keystone Central School District, Wozniak, state Rep. Mike Hanna, the Clinton County Community Foundation, the Clinton County Arts Council, Northern Tier Cultural Alliance, Clinton County United Way, the Masonic Lafayette Lodge 199, Clinton County Shrine Club, the Elks, the Bitner-Bechdel Post of the American Legion, Keystone Community Network, Rotary Club of Downtown Lock Haven, Lock Haven Kiwanis Club, Millbrook Playhouse, Piper Aviation Museum, Heisey Museum, Sentimental Journey to Cub Haven Inc., and the Rotary Club of Lock Haven.

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