From Tupelo to Biloxi and from Natchez to Columbus, great things are happening on Main Street in Mississippi.

The Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA) honored the best and brightest in the Magnolia state during the announcement of its statewide award winners on Thursday.

Winners included main street associations in nearly every corner of the state.

The awards for the outstanding organizations include:

• Premier Partner — Marion County Development Partnership, Main Street Columbia, Inc.
• Outstanding Creative Fundraising — Starkville Pet Mayor Election, Starkville Main Street Association
• Outstanding Marketing Campaign — Tupelo Elvis Festival 25th Anniversary, Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association
• Outstanding Community Education Campaign — “Preserving History One Building at a Time” Historic Walking Tour, Booneville Main Street Association
• Outstanding Main Street Plan — Site Plan for Hiram Revels Plaza, Downtown Natchez Alliance
• Outstanding Community Engagement Effort — CHANGE Festival, Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association

The awards for outstanding promotions include:

• Outstanding New Small Event – Under 5,000 — Cottrell Street Music & Heritage Festival, West Point Main Street
• Outstanding New Large Event – Over 5,000 — New Year’s Eve Anchor Drop, Main Street Pascagoula
• Outstanding Creative Small Event – Under 5,000 — Beast & Brews, Senatobia Main Street
• Outstanding Creative Large Event – Over 5,000 — Starkville Derby, Starkville Main Street Association
• Outstanding Retail Promotion — The Reindeer Games, Saltillo Main Street Association
• Outstanding Retail Merchandising — Over the Moon, Meridian Main Street
• Outstanding Project Promotion — Caterpillar Parade, Main Street Clinton

The awards for outstanding designs include:

• Outstanding Historic Rehabilitation Project — Ross Law Firm, West Point Main Street
• Outstanding Downtown Revitalization Project — Community Grocery, Woodville Main Street Association
• Outstanding Public Improvement Project — JC Nance Park, Ripley Main Street
• Outstanding New Development Project — Cooking Up Connections at Catfish Row, Vicksburg Main Street Program
• Outstanding Façade Improvement Project — Mobile Street Development, Downtown Hattiesburg Association
• Outstanding Public Arts Project — Cowbells & Paint Pails, Starkville Main Street Association

The awards for economic vitality include:

• Outstanding Business Recruitment Program — Business Development Grant and Recruitment Packet, Main Street Clinton
• Outstanding Adaptive Reuse Project — The Bella, Biloxi Main Street
• Outstanding Economic Impact Project — Downtown Greenville Revitalization, Phase 1, Main Street Greenville
• Outstanding New Business – Small Community — BASH Fitness,Tunica, Tunica Main Street
• Outstanding New Business – Mid-Sized Community — The Buzzard’s Roost, Laurel Main Street
• Outstanding New Business – Large Community — The Blind Butcher Shoppe, Main Street Pascagoula
• Outstanding Legacy Business – Small Community — Turnage Drug Store, Water Valley Main Street Association
• Oustanding Legacy Business – Large Community — Tupelo Hardware Downtown, Tupelo Main Street Association
• Outstanding Entrepreneurial Endeavor — Nicole Judon, New Albany Main Street

This year’s special awards include:

• Main Street Hero — Mike Lowery, Main Street Columbia, Inc.
• Main Street Hero — Jennifer Lee, Gulfport Main Street Association
• Main Street Hero — Ray Van Dusen, Nettleton Main Street, Amory Main Street, and Aberdeen Main Street
• Main Street Hero — Dr. Greg Graves, Senatobia Main Street
• Main Street Hero — Rebecca Sigh, Vicksburg Main Street Program
• Paul Coggin Trailblazer Award — Amber Brislin, Main Street Columbus
• Main Street Merchant of the Year — Blooms Company, Downtown Hattiesburg Association
• Beverly Meng Main Street Revitalization Champion — Richard Chenoweth, Main Street Pascagoula
• Heart of Main Street — Lori Tucker, Booneville Main Street Association
• Charles Beasley Scholarship & Outstanding Main Street Director of the Year — Kim Hopkins, Vicksburg Main Street Program

“2024 is a special year as we celebrate 40 years of Main Street and remember our founders and the leaders who have gotten our statewide organization to where we are today,” MMSA Executive Director Jim Miller said. “Main Street programs are an important economic driver in our state, and we honor and celebrate the local and state champions each year at our Annual Awards.”