ReStore Marietta

New Year, New Resolutions

2008-12-30T15:44:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone. ReStore Marietta has been outwardly quiet this past few weeks, but we continue to work hard behind the scenes. Our new year begins in January and we have some new board members as well. (see below).

Our promotions committee has been working to set the date for this year's Catfish Derby Days as well as working on another community event idea dealing with art and antiques. We are excited and will share more soon!

Our executive committee continues to meet with MAMA, Friends of Front Street and Harmar Merchants to talk about pooling resources. We hope that by spring we should have a plan to do so.

We've had several new members join the organization and look forward to working with each of them this year. We hope you'll consider joining us as well!

Our board will meet mid-January to do planning for the year. We'll be updating our strategic plan and outlining some specific actions to take with the CDBG funds the city has generously provided us. And, we continue to make movement in the direction of Main Street affiliation.

Keep posted, we'll be updating this a little more frequently this year. Happy New Year!

ReStore Board:

Jennifer Offenberger, President
Tony Baldwin, Vice President
Karen Briley, Secretary
Mike Iaderosa, Treasurer

Members: Charlotte Keim, Hilles Hughes, Andy Thompson, Chuck Swaney, Keith Malone. Charmel Wesel is recording secretary.

Annual Meeting

2008-10-28T13:12:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! Tomorrow is ReStore Marietta's Annual Meeting.

Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008
7:30 - 8:30 a.m.
Lafayette Hotel

Please attend and learn what we've accomplished this year...and get a preview of next year! We've got some exciting news and it's time for you to have input. Anyone is welcome and can vote if they bring their membership dues. We have three openings on the board with four candidates running, or you can write in a vote if you wish. We'll also be voting on amending our bylaws in two areas. The first is to amend them so that our fiscal year will frun from January 1 to December 30 to coincide with governmental funding. The second is to amend the term of office to the same fiscal year calendar - Jan 1 - Dec. 31.

As a reminder, dues are as follows, made payable to ReStore Marietta:

Business, Professional, Commercial Property Owner: $100
Associate member (same as above outside of designated program area) $100
Individual (not representing a business, profession or commercial property) $50
Sponsor Member: $500

See you at the ReStore Annual Meeting!

ReStore Gaining Momentum

2008-10-08T08:50:00.002-04:00

Well, I am embarrassed to say our organization hasn't been good at updating our own blog! We hope that you still check in on us now and then as we do plan to get better at this.

We have accomplished so much this year, it's hard to say where to start. One of our largest successes was our first annual Catfish Derby Days held in August at Muskingum Park! Our decorated catfish were displayed downtown for several weeks prior to our weekend event and created quite a bit of discussion! We couldn't have asked for better weather during our event which brought hundreds of people to the park for food, music and fun. Our catfish auction was a big hit and many spectators followed the bobber drop down the Muskingum to the Railroad Bridge. We are pleased to say our event generated about $8,000! This money will be reinvested back into our community.

Our second event, Moonlight & Chocolate, is scheduled for October 17 from 6 - 9 p.m. Only 200 tickets are available for this unique event, and the chance to win a strand of chocolate pearls valued at about $600! Tickets are available at area merchants and the Convention & Visitor's Bureau!

We continue to work a parallel path as a board, looking at the possibility of becoming a Main Street organization, while coordinating with local organizations and supporting other community efforts along the way. Our board developed the content for a significant portion of the application to Main Street and has worked with the Planning & Zoning committee on council to solicit city support.

ReStore Marietta hosted an event in July for Greater Ohio who has partnered with the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program and the Governor’s advisory staff as well as Ohio Department of Development. The initiative includes meeting with various Ohio communities, business leaders and organizations to form meaningful state policy recommendations which will help Ohio’s communities to develop.

We completed our strategic plan with short and long-term goals and have been actively working to achieve those. One of our goals was to apply for the CDBG funds to assist us in building a strong financial base and enable us to gain additional funds from grants and other sources. We are pleased to hear we will be receiving $20,000. This will go a long way in helping us establish ourselves in a more formal and meaningful way.

Additionally, we have been meeting with other local organizations and begun discussions on pooling resources and working together for the betterment of our community. We hope to have more about this soon!

Our annual meeting is scheduled for October 29 at 7:30 a.m. at the Lafayette Hotel. We invite anyone to attend and hear about our year and receive a preview for 2009!!

Keep in touch, and join us sometime!

ReStore in Full Swing

2007-12-28T13:28:00.000-05:00

Hello! We hope you check this spot every now and then to see what ReStore Marietta is up to!
We conducted our annual meeting in October and have a new board in place for this year. Board Members are: Jennifer Offenberger, President; Peter Ianniciello, Vice President; Karen Briley, Secretary; Tony Baldwin, Treasurer; Andy Thompson, Member; Charlotte Keim, Member; Keith Malone, Member; Dan Bryant, Member; Chuck Swaney, Member; and Charmel Wesel is our paid recording secretary.

This fall we had several retreats where our group planned goals and set expectations for the coming year. We are very excited because we believe this year will see more tangible work from our group. The past year has been more business -focused, organizing, learning and doing the leg work to become 501C3.

Our goals for the year are as follows:
1. Complete Main Street application for submission in 2008.
2. Increase memberships in 2008.
3. To raise $50,000 by October 1, 2008, to hire a paid staff person .

All of these are important goals to our continued growth and success for our community, and each will have its own challenges. We can't do it without your help. Now is the time to join us and become actively engaged in our many activities. All of our committees have tangible work to do to complete our Main Street application, and we have a major fundraising event planned for the summer.

I encourage you to contact one of us and if you aren't a member, join. And, if you are a member, please plan to attend one of our quarterly meetings this year or get active in a committee that fits your interests.

Together we can make a difference!

Annual Meeting

2007-10-29T17:45:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone. October 31 ReStore will hold it's annual meeting for members. We'll be voting on board members. Three (3) positions are up for vote. We'd love to have you attend and get involved. In retrospect, we've had a pretty full year and we're excited about the future!

For those unable to attend, here's a quick summation of accomplishments this past year.

Formation of Group, Committees
Development of short term goals
Development of Mission Statement
501C3 Status approved
Presentations to City Council Planning, Zoning committee
Meetings with organizations to combine efforts, including:
MAMA
Friends of Front Street
Harmar
Armory
Colony
City Development Advisory Board
Mayor
Chamber
Marietta College Leadership Program

Harmar Bridge of Flowers Support
Historic Preservation education, facilitation
Community Reinvestment Area letter of support
Development of website
Development of Blog site
ReStore Tear Down the Wall Project, Member drive
Support of Music in the Park
Coordination of Downtown Building Inventory with Mike McCarthy
Presentation to civic organizations
Main Street application work
Ongoing publicity with media coverage from the Marietta Times, Marietta Register and WMOA Radio.
Attendance at Main Street workshop

This coming year we'll focus our efforts on increased membership, fundraising, networking with local organizations/businesses, and gearing up to submit for Main Street Designation.

Watch for more updates after our annual meeting. Happy Fall!

Consider Joining Us

2007-04-25T13:44:00.000-04:00

Hello and welcome to our blog! The ReStore Marietta group has been working diligently to support Marietta and reinforce it as a great place to work, live, shop and invest. Being a part of development is definitely never dull! We've formed committees, developed our mission, applied for non-profit status and are working on our Main Street application. At the same time, we're coordinating several downtown activities including tearing down the wall in front of the Front Street buildings on May 25.

So, what is this ReStore Marietta and what can it do for you? Quite a bit...

For property owners, we're here to encourage property maintenance and renovation by sharing information on local historic design options, and coordinating resources for historic building renovation. Property values are strengthened by efforts to preserve the “special character” of our downtown.

For business owners, ReStore is working to enhance the downtown business climate. We're working as a team - with the Tourist & Convention Bureau, the Marietta Chamber, and other local groups to bolster current efforts. Business owners benefit as a result of new and/or expanded businesses being added to the district and we're here to support those efforts as well. We're working with merchants to develop new activities and elements of our downtown that will draw people to it more often.

For our residents, ReStore hopes to inspire people to become part of an improved economy and downtown atmosphere. This endeavor produces a vital place for all to live, work, grow, and play. It encourages one of our most valuable resources -our children - to take advantage of opportunities for a career and to raise their families in a vital, secure environment. The entire community is enhanced when tourists come to experience history, art, and cultural activities right here. It encourages people to stay longer, come back for return visits, and tell their friends and neighbors about Marietta.

ReStore Marietta is primarily a volunteer organization that works through four standing
committees—Design, Promotions, Organization and Economic Restructuring— and we are always looking for more people to become involved and volunteer their time. The health of our community is represented in the health of our downtown and should be important to all of us. Please consider joining us - whether its to help at one event or to sit on a committee!

Historic Preservation Ordinance

2007-04-03T10:32:00.000-04:00

Have an opinion or comment to share about the historic preservation ordinance? Do you have a burning question you want answered? We will do our best!

We Welcome Your Comments!

2007-04-03T10:30:00.000-04:00

Use this space to provide comments, share concerns, or ask questions!

Economic Restructuring

2007-04-01T15:06:00.000-04:00

Check here regularly to see what the Economic Restructuring Committee is doing. Post your thoughts, suggestions, and comments as we seek to make the historic downtown Marietta area a more economically vibrant area!

Promotion Committee

2007-04-01T15:05:00.001-04:00

Check here regularly to see what the Promotion Committee is doing. Post your thoughts, suggestions, and comments as we seek to make the historic downtown Marietta area a more economically vibrant area!

Organization Committee

2007-04-01T15:05:00.000-04:00

Check here regularly to see what the Organization Committee is doing. Post your thoughts, suggestions, and comments as we seek to make the historic downtown Marietta area a more economically vibrant area!

Design Committee Updates

2007-04-01T15:00:00.001-04:00

Check here regularly to see what the Design Committee is doing. Post your thoughts, suggestions, and comments as we seek to make the historic downtown Marietta area a more economically vibrant area!

Our mission!

2007-04-01T14:58:00.000-04:00

The mission of ReStore Marietta is.....

ReStore Marietta will stimulate economic vitality, enhance the visual
appearance, and improve the quality of life in Marietta through the
promotion of our Historic Downtown as a great place to live, work, shop, and
invest.