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Main Street Volunteer Meeting & Appreciation
2022 NC Main Street Award: Organization
Best Volunteer Recruitment, Training, and Recognition
Downtown Belmont Development Association
Belmont Main Street Program
Volunteers are essential to every Main Street organization. In the fall of 2021, the Downtown Belmont Economic Vitality Chairman and members of the Promotion Committee decided to set up shop in a downtown coffee shop at noon and 6:00 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month with the hope of attracting citizens interested in the local Main Street program. The events were publicized on social media, specifically, a very popular Instagram site. Anyone who showed an interest in the downtown received an email welcoming them to the organization. The result was 100 new volunteers at events or becoming members of downtown committees.
Each year, the Belmont Main Street program hosts a volunteer appreciation event, complete with a fun awards ceremony. In 2021, it was held as part of Moonlight on Main in Stowe Park, located in downtown. The event, entitled Celestial Soiree, included formal attire, food, beverages, and a VIP space with thematic decorations. A red carpet was rolled out and attendees were professionally photographed as they arrived. Blue, handblown glass vases, adorned with an etched Downtown Belmont logo, were given as awards.
The Belmont Main Street program also holds quarterly “Main Street Mingle” events. Committee members gather in person, allowing them to meet, mingle and discuss what their respective committees are doing.
The Belmont Main Street program functions primarily with volunteers who are critical to making the program work. Their recent recruitment efforts have resulted in a more diverse group of volunteers comprised of both long-time and more recent Belmont residents. The volunteers represent all generations, genders, and ethnicities. They help execute events more smoothly and effectively, and that results in increased foot traffic for downtown.