Rector ADN board members Nancy Kemp, Cyndi Corkran and Betty Benson stop for a quick photo during a recent training session in Hardy, Arkansas. [Click to enlarge]

Rector Community Development director Cyndi Corkran, Rector city administrative assistant Betty Benson and Clay County Democrat editor Nancy Kemp attended a Main Street Arkansas quarterly training workshop held Tuesday and Wednesday, July 29 and 30, in Hardy.

The three represented Rector's Arkansas Downtown Network board.

The Hardy Main Street program was host to about 50 representatives from 21 communities from around the state, either as Arkansas Downtown Network members or as full-fledged Main Street Arkansas recipients.

Leon Steele from Main Street Louisiana provided day one of the training, giving a power point presentation of his state's initiative to offer its Cultural Heritage Tourism features through the month of November in a program entitled "Main to Main."

By coordinating events all around the state which are involved with the Main Street endeavors, tourists may take advantage of those events by traveling to the different communities, all within a given timeframe. Steele said this has been a huge success and noted the state has realized a big return on its investments to help the communities with their renovation and economic development projects.

Day two of the workshop was the roundtable conducted by Main Street Arkansas executive director Cary Tyson. The event provided an open forum for the Main Street directors to disseminate information to the communities and, likewise, for each community to report on its activities, hopes, concerns and projected goals.

"It was a wonderful learning experience, and Rector is very fortunate to belong to Main Street Arkansas as an Arkansas Downtown Network community," Corkran said.