53 min
How one Main Street Owns a Post Office and a B&B: Bridgett Kelch from Washington, MO Meet Me Downtown
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- Governo
Guest Information:
Name: Bridgette Kelch, Main Street Director
Organization: Downtown Washington, Inc.
Website: https://www.downtownwashmo.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/downtownwashmo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/downtownwashmo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/downtownwashmo/
Visit the Meet Me Downtown Podcast Website: https://www.meetmedowntownpodcast.com/
Show Transcript:
M=Megan Tsui
B=Bridgette Kelch
M: Hello, in this episode I talk to Bridgette Kelch from Washington, Missouri. She’s been their Main Street Director for over 18 years and they’ve done some pretty amazing things in that time. I recorded our pre-interview and it was so great that I just converted it into a real episode so we jump right in where I’m learning more about Bridgette and her downtown.
M: But yeah, such a fun job, and you’ve been in it a long time.
B: Yeah, sometimes I wonder, too long? But no. But I started right out of college so I’ll be 41 this month, but I’ve been here since I was 22.
M: Wow, you are dedicated.
B: Well, you know, I didn’t expect to be here but my passion is historic preservation so that’s what my degree is in. And I really thought I was going to work in a museum and now I kind of just view downtown as a big giant outdoor museum.
M: It kind of is, I mean in a lot of towns it actually could be.
B: Yeah and so then I liked it and I stayed and yeah we’ve grown a ton in that time frame. So starting out of, this year is 30 years for the organization, that we’ve been doing Main Street. We were a pilot program for Missouri in 1989. So I kind of always joke that they got through the really hard years you know, where you’re like struggling to find out who you are, what you’re going to do. And it was so hard when I started, I mean we were still playing the game of someone needs to pay their pledge so we can make payroll and those kinds of games. But yeah we’re past those points now, hopefully, so it’s exciting. We’ve been able to take on some pretty big projects. I think that’s one of the things that I’m most proud of, you know, we couldn’t find somebody to do what we wanted we did it ourselves.
M: Right. I’m very intrigued by the idea that you guys own and operate the post office and a B&B.
B: It was never planned, you know.
M: It never is.
B: Yeah it just came along, so I would say the majority of our growth has come since 2006. I started in 01, which is funny because that’s like right before the recession you know and we didn't feel that as much. I mean we certainly did feel it. But I don't think it's such big, you know such large swings in the Midwest. I think just by nature we're a more conservative bunch and so we don't feel those giant swings as much. And I could be wrong but that's how I view it. So 2006 you know we didn't really have a state program before that. And I mean there was one, I think I met the other managers or executive directors like once or twice and I really met a dynamic one and her name was Gayla Roten from Branson, Missouri and she kind of took me under her wing.
And then as the years rolled by, you know in 05, and we decided to start our own state program because we needed it. And so our statewide program, coordinating program, was started by the executive directors that were left standing. The state booted the program basically and so now you know she's our state director. She was just a local director and now she's our state director. I think we're in our 11th, no 12th year, yeah 12th year. And so I still serve on that state board and so I think you know getting involved at that level and then really just the folks that were doing Main Street in Missouri at that time, they were really following the rules and so that was the culture that I was kind of brought up in. And so we really embraced the four points and in 2006 was a big change for us was that we finally were reviewed for accreditation again and they had a
Guest Information:
Name: Bridgette Kelch, Main Street Director
Organization: Downtown Washington, Inc.
Website: https://www.downtownwashmo.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/downtownwashmo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/downtownwashmo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/downtownwashmo/
Visit the Meet Me Downtown Podcast Website: https://www.meetmedowntownpodcast.com/
Show Transcript:
M=Megan Tsui
B=Bridgette Kelch
M: Hello, in this episode I talk to Bridgette Kelch from Washington, Missouri. She’s been their Main Street Director for over 18 years and they’ve done some pretty amazing things in that time. I recorded our pre-interview and it was so great that I just converted it into a real episode so we jump right in where I’m learning more about Bridgette and her downtown.
M: But yeah, such a fun job, and you’ve been in it a long time.
B: Yeah, sometimes I wonder, too long? But no. But I started right out of college so I’ll be 41 this month, but I’ve been here since I was 22.
M: Wow, you are dedicated.
B: Well, you know, I didn’t expect to be here but my passion is historic preservation so that’s what my degree is in. And I really thought I was going to work in a museum and now I kind of just view downtown as a big giant outdoor museum.
M: It kind of is, I mean in a lot of towns it actually could be.
B: Yeah and so then I liked it and I stayed and yeah we’ve grown a ton in that time frame. So starting out of, this year is 30 years for the organization, that we’ve been doing Main Street. We were a pilot program for Missouri in 1989. So I kind of always joke that they got through the really hard years you know, where you’re like struggling to find out who you are, what you’re going to do. And it was so hard when I started, I mean we were still playing the game of someone needs to pay their pledge so we can make payroll and those kinds of games. But yeah we’re past those points now, hopefully, so it’s exciting. We’ve been able to take on some pretty big projects. I think that’s one of the things that I’m most proud of, you know, we couldn’t find somebody to do what we wanted we did it ourselves.
M: Right. I’m very intrigued by the idea that you guys own and operate the post office and a B&B.
B: It was never planned, you know.
M: It never is.
B: Yeah it just came along, so I would say the majority of our growth has come since 2006. I started in 01, which is funny because that’s like right before the recession you know and we didn't feel that as much. I mean we certainly did feel it. But I don't think it's such big, you know such large swings in the Midwest. I think just by nature we're a more conservative bunch and so we don't feel those giant swings as much. And I could be wrong but that's how I view it. So 2006 you know we didn't really have a state program before that. And I mean there was one, I think I met the other managers or executive directors like once or twice and I really met a dynamic one and her name was Gayla Roten from Branson, Missouri and she kind of took me under her wing.
And then as the years rolled by, you know in 05, and we decided to start our own state program because we needed it. And so our statewide program, coordinating program, was started by the executive directors that were left standing. The state booted the program basically and so now you know she's our state director. She was just a local director and now she's our state director. I think we're in our 11th, no 12th year, yeah 12th year. And so I still serve on that state board and so I think you know getting involved at that level and then really just the folks that were doing Main Street in Missouri at that time, they were really following the rules and so that was the culture that I was kind of brought up in. And so we really embraced the four points and in 2006 was a big change for us was that we finally were reviewed for accreditation again and they had a
53 min