Durant Main Street had its annual members meeting on June 25 at Three Valley Museum to celebrate the progress made and building tomorrow.
Melisse Prentice, outgoing board president, said downtown Durant is more than just a collection of buildings.
“It’s the heart of our community,” Prentice said. “It’s where history, culture, commerce and community come together to create a vibrant place that we are proud to call home. Over the past year, we have continued to strengthen our mission of preserving and promoting our historic downtown while supporting economic growth, community engagements and the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. Together, we continue to create opportunities, enhance our downtown and ensure that Durant remains a thriving destination for generations to come.”
Stephanie Swicker, executive director of Durant Main Street, said there are many things that Main Street is proud to have accomplished this year.
“Every year brings opportunities and challenges and so this last year was one of growth and collabo- ration and really laying the foundation for a strong future for the Durant Main Street program and our historic district,” Swicker said. “One of our greatest accomplishments was being in a position to qualify for a transformation strategy that was given to us through the National Main Street America Program in connection with Oklahoma Main Street.
“It was quite a feat. We had to check a lot of boxes to be able to qualify for them to come down to send out all the surveys and to collect all the data about our community and then they took time and wrote a three-to-fiveyear plan based on what everyone’s feedback was and what they would like to see our historic downtown district be. So, it was really a big thing that we were able to accomplish that.”
Swicker said that what has been talked about since last year is collaborating and building partnerships with other entities.
“We’ve had tremendous progress in building relationships,” Swicker said. “We’ve been able to collaborate with organizations like Southeastern State University, with the Durant rodeo. You guys may have gotten to attend the parade downtown. The Durant rodeo is a lot of fun.”
She said those partnerships help create experiences that no single organization can do alone.
“It really takes us all to create a wonderful community,” Swicker said. “So, that has really become a great strength of our program.”
She said the recent rodeo parade was one example of those partnerships, and the parade was once a tradition in the community that has been brought back.
Durant Main Street has also partnered with Three Valley Museum and now has their office at the museum.
“It reflects a shared commitment preserving Durant’s history while building its future,” Swicker said.
Greg Phillips, president of TVM’s board of directors, said the museum is honored to have been chosen as the location for the annual Main Street meeting.
“Over the past several months, we’ve been excited about a new chapter as Stephanie was talking about in our relationship with Main Street,” Phillips said. “The move of the Durant Main Street office into the Three Valley Museum here at 401 West Main has created a wonderful opportunity for us to work more closely together.
“It also places the Main Street office right here on Main Street in the heart of our community surrounded by history, by stories and people that make Durant special. The partnership is more than just sharing a building. It’s about collaborating, supporting one another, finding new ways to promote our community, and in doing so, we have started with a reciprocal board where Stephanie sits on our board. I sit on the Main Street’s board so that we can know each other’s events and support each other.”
Main Street and TVM are working together to promote each other’s events to showcase everything downtown Durant has to offer, according to Phillips.
“The Three Valley Museum exists to preserve and share the history of our area, and Durant Main Street works every day to help build and strengthen the future of our downtown,” Phillips said. “Together, we represent both where we have been and then where we are going.”
Mike Ridgway, owner of Durant True Value Lumber, was presented with a certificate of recognition for being in business for 125 years.
“I don’t know if you have ever looked at statistics on businesses that stay in business, entrepreneurs who stay in business,” Swicker said. “It’s so tiny if you can make it past, even seven years. Durant True Value Lumber has been in business for 125 years in our community, so you can only imagine the kind of impact that they’ve made. Thank you so much for what you have done for our community.”
Ridgway said, “We probably helped build this building.”
Two of a Kind Thrift store received an award for Best Window Display during the rodeo parade. Maty Roberts, owner of Maty’s Jewelry, was not present, but she received a certificate for being in business for 20 years.
Incoming Durant Main Street Board President Shawna Dewald said serving as president is an incredible honor and a profound responsibility.
“As a business owner, I understand the day-to-day grit it takes to build something here, and I know that the economic vital signs of our district are immensely important,” Dewald said. “As a volunteer, I know that the true heart is found in the collaboration of spirit that transforms a historic district into a destination.”
Dewald said that as a mother, it is personal for her.
“When I look at downtown Durant, I’m looking at the backdrop of my children’s childhood,” Dewald said. “I want our historic district to thrive because I want them and our community’s children to grow up in a vibrant, safe, exciting place. I want them to remember downtown parades. I want them to spend weekends visiting the shops and the farmers market and to feel like our community’s actually a thing.
“My vision of Durant Main Street is to ensure our historic core absolutely thrives of radiating outwards with all of Durant because when we work together to build a better community today, we are quite literally building the future for our children.” She said her primary goal is to foster an environment where everyone is working together to bridge the connections between historic merchants and Durant’s civic organizations.
“When we align our passions and pool our resources together, we can literally do anything … When our businesses succeed, downtown succeeds and Durant succeeds.”
Ridgway spoke at the end of the meeting, and he said Main Street is the heart of the community and where it starts. He asked if anyone had noticed the new charging stations for electric cars on Lost Street and said that the vehicles take 20 to 30 minutes to charge.
According to Ridgway, this is an opportunity to draw these people into the downtown stores.
“But I’ve also caught this and you’ve caught it too,” Ridgway said. “We’re in a new society anymore. If you don’t have it, what are they going to do? Go to Amazon. We’ll get it overnight. That’s our new society, but, if we can create like you said an environment for them to come downtown.”
Ridgway said it’s great to have the Main Street program back and having a cooperative effort.
“I think that we have an opportunity to work with the Chamber, Main Street and the other business owners,” Ridgway said. “Let’s face it, we got skin in the game and the way I look at it, if you don’t win every day, you don’t eat. That’s just the way it is in retail. So, how do we do that and take advantage of it? I appreciate you coming on board and making something happen.”
