L to R: Skowhegan Town Manager John Doucette, Main Street Skowhegan Board President Rosie Bradley, Board Member Karen Hart, Executive Director Jennifer Olsen, Selectman Betty Austin and Board Members Cherylene Sevey and Audrey Lovering accepting the Governor's Award.

  SKOWHEGAN - In a year that has brought much statewide attention to this small community in central Maine, an emerging trend continues with yet another feather in a once-empty cap.

The Maine Office of Community Development has named Skowhegan as recipient of the Community Spirit Award for its work with Main Street Skowhegan, recently named Outstanding Main Street of the Year by the Maine Development Foundation’s Downtown Center.

"Each August the Maine CDBG Program holds Community Development Day to celebrate the communities and projects we have had the pleasure of working with," said Terry Ann Stevens, Development Program Manager, and Office of Community Development. "There are the Governor’s awards for Project of the Year, Administrator of the Year, and Community Spirit. This year, the Governor’s award for Community Spirit goes to Skowhegan, The Town of Skowhegan and Main Street Skowhegan clearly have a great synergy. The community is strong and working together for the betterment of the whole town. We applaud that citizen participation."

“We are so proud to receive this honor for our program,” says Jennifer Olsen, Executive Director for Main Street Skowhegan. “Our work is getting better and better, and Skowhegan is definitely ready to grow its downtown to the next level.”

Olsen cited recent and upcoming improvements in pedestrian safety and green spaces, façade work currently underway, and a branding initiative coming this fall.  The progress with these endeavors, along with events such as the Holiday Stroll, brings the community together and they realize Skowhegan’s full potential.

These awards are validation of the great work that Main Street Skowhegan has accomplished over the year and the positive path they are working toward.

Main Street Skowhegan was established in 2005 through the Maine Development Foundation. There are currently nine communities throughout the state that have implemented the Main Street Four Point Approach to downtown revitalization, which is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

For more information about this program, contact the Maine Development Foundation, www.mdf.org or access the local program at www.mainstreetskowhegan.org