Downtown Branson director takes Missouri Main Street job

By SBJ Staff 10/9/2007 10:19:06 AM The executive director of the Downtown Branson Main Street Association will leave her post next month to take a similar role at the state level. Gayla Roten has been hired as state coordinator for the Missouri Main Street Connection, effective Nov. 5, according to a MMSC news release. The MMSC, which has not had a coordinator for several years, provides services to help Missouri communities rejuvenate economic growth in their historic commercial districts. About 80 towns across the state participate. Roten and an office assistant will work with the Missouri Department of Economic Development to help communities implement projects in business development, job growth and training, community services, infrastructure improvements and other areas of physical revitalization, according to the release. Roten will serve as an advocate for downtown business districts, state policies regarding downtown revitalization and the Main Street Program. She will develop training and promotional materials for local Main Street programs, and she will work closely with local program managers, boards and volunteers through periodic visits, meetings and workshops. Roten also will be the organization's liaison with the National Trust Main Street Center in Washington, D.C. Funding for the program will come from Neighborhood Assistance Program tax credits that were approved by the state in September. Roten previously was executive director of the Downtown Branson Main Street Association for 11 years. There, she oversaw several landmark projects, including the launch of a community improvement district with a 1-cent sales tax that supports a trolley system, the Branson History Museum and Murals Program, and a retail incubator. -- http://www.bransonedge.com http://www.bransonmissouri.blogspot.com