By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
Ortonville— The Ortonville Downtown Development Authority won two grants during the Main Street Oakland County Main Events Awards Night.
“It is very important to recognize the efforts that our project leads and volunteers put into planning and executing DDA activities each year,” said Ortonville DDA Director Matt Jenkins. “The Main Event allows us to do just that.”
The first grant won by the Ortonville DDA was the ‘Spirit of Main Street’, which was won with their video titled ‘The Faces and Places of Ortonville-Celebrating 175 years’ and was filmed and photographed by DDA member Jason Gault. The awarded grant is $2,000 from Genisys Credit Union.
“Our downtowns make Oakland County such a vibrant and attractive place for residents, visitors, and entrepreneurs,” said Oakland County Executive David Coulter. “The Main Street program is an essential partner, providing resources, training and grants that have helped communities navigate and emerge from the challenges of the pandemic.”
The second grant was the ‘Main Street Innovation’ grant, which was awarded for the DDA volunteer recruitment and retention program and is for $1,000.
“While we don’t do what we do for the recognition, it sure is nice to see how we stack up to other Oakland County Main Street communities,” said Jenkins. “Receiving $3,000 in grants from our two awards just means we have funds to invest in our next project or initiative to benefit Downtown Ortonville.”
See ‘The Faces and Places of Ortonville-Celebrating 175 years’ on the Downtown Ortonville Facebook page.