Former council member named director of Main Street Marion program

The Marion Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday former Marion City Council member Nick Glew will be the director of the new Main Street Marion program.

Glew said there's a lot of work ahead of him but he's excited about the new position and all the possibilities for the economic development program which "breathes new life into 'uptowns' like Marion."

“This is an exciting time for our organization," Jill Ackerman, president of the Marion Chamber of Commerce, said. "We are so pleased to have Nick join our team. Growing business relationships, focusing on maintaining and improving Marion's beautiful historic infrastructure through renovation assistance programming and rallying the community to shop local will be some of the things Nick will be developing with Marion's new Main Street program."

Ackerman said Glew's background is good fit for this position, including his involvement from the beginning with the program's application process. He has a history of creating successful public and private partnerships, while working with "key stakeholders" in the Uptown Marion district. Glew also has a marketing and banking background, experience as a former council member and a community volunteer.

Glew said the chamber has been working for more than two years on this designation as the newest Main Street Iowa community. The Main Street program has been successful across the state - now with 49 communities. Those successes will help him and the board members determine "where do we go from here," he said.

"The next step is make sure the community understands the program and how this can benefit the community," Glew said.

Glew said he and the board members will attend a kind of "Main Street" university next week in Cedar Falls, which is Marion's "mentor community," to start planning those next projects.

According to the program, during the first three years a community receives 40 days of on-site training and technical assistance from Main Street Iowa, National Main Street Center staff and private consultants, as well as 30 days of training for volunteers and local staff, resulting in a state investment of $120,000. Mature Main Street communities each receive continuing technical assistance and training valued at $10,000 annually.