Toccoa Receives National Main Street Accreditation

Main Street Toccoa has once again received a designation as a nationally accredited Main Street program.

City officials and the National Main Street Center made the announcement on Monday.

Toccoa Main Street Director Connie Tabor said that the city is excited to again achieve this recognition.

“This is the 17th consecutive year that we have received the designation of the National Main Street city,” said Tabor. “We just want to continue to strive for this designation annually as it signifies the importance of continued downtown cultural renewal in our city.”

National Main Street Accreditation comes through a process of evaluation done by the Georgia Main Street Program in partnership with the National Main Street Center.

Tabor said that the city’s Main Street program is evaluated in a number of different areas as part of the accreditation process.

“There are ten standards that they look and review in depth and in detail and we support that with the documents that are required, from historic preservation, ethics, to partnerships that are built among various entities that Main Street works with to a strong volunteer base, making sure that your Downtown Development Authority is trained, your board members are trained and that they meet on a regular basis.”

Tabor said that the accreditation process also looks at economic indicators like new businesses, business retention, and events held downtown.

Main Street Toccoa said its accomplishments this year include receiving multiple grant awards, including getting funding to put towards a new marquee for the Schaefer Center, other numerous improvements at the Schaefer Center, the installation of 10 historic plaques in downtown Toccoa, and the hosting of numerous events that brought tens of thousands of people to downtown Toccoa.

National Main Street Center Director Patrice Frey said that the organization is thrilled to again recognize all of this year’s nationally accredited Main Street communities for their outstanding work.