Everybody has needs, but you also must have the capacity to follow through-it takes good leadership and community engagement. It’s really bringing the community into the limelight. “They had already begun the streetscape project with lamp posts being erected and building beautification underway. “Main Street Wetumpka was already doing great things in the downtown district before the Hometown Takeover,” says Mary Helmer, President and State Coordinator Main Street Alabama. This process was well underway when a tornado hit Wetumpka in January 2019, damaging and destroying multiple buildings in downtown Wetumpka as well as surrounding areas.Ī mural is painted in Wetumpka as part of Home Town Takeover (Jenny Marrs/Instagram) An independent, nonprofit organization, Main Street provides resources and support to help towns revitalize once-bustling downtown business districts. Wetumpka stood out from the crowd thanks to its community spirit and perseverance.īuilding up downtown Wetumpka has been a focus of the community since 2016 when it was designated as a Main Street Alabama Community. More than 2,600 small towns submitted thousands of photos and videos to HGTV for a chance to be the first makeover. It takes every member of that community using their gifts and skills coming together to make a difference.” “People really want to believe in a bright future in the place where they live, but rebuilding a town is no small feat.
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“It’s too bad that small towns are so often undervalued because you can live a beautiful life in them,” says Erin Napier on HGTV’s site. Small town revitalization is their passion and it’s fitting that the Napier’s favorite phrase is “make something good today.”
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Ben and Erin Napier (Erin Napier/Instagram)