Downtown revitalization efforts in Vincennes are continuing under the leadership of Ellen Harper, who took over last fall as coordinator of the Downtown Vincennes Association.

Harper brings experience from a decade of work with the State of Indiana, where she served as a liaison for the Office of Community and Rural Affairs and worked with communities on the Indiana Main Street program.

“Being a native of Knox County, for 10 years I worked for the state of Indiana, and I was a liaison for the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and part of my part of what I taught and went in and helped communities do was the Indiana Main Street program,” Harper said.

She previously helped the city re-establish its Indiana Main Street affiliation in 2015, following Pioneer Oil’s relocation of its corporate headquarters to the former Hill’s Department Store building in downtown Vincennes.

Today, the Downtown Vincennes Association operates as an Indiana Main Street affiliate through four committees focused on design, promotion, economic vitality and organization.

Harper said much of the public-facing activity falls under the promotion committee, which works with other groups to highlight events held downtown.

“The promotion committee is the committee that it’s all about the events activities that’s going on. Um, and it doesn’t have to be something that’s run by DVA, um, for instance, the Watermelon Festival’s a prime example. That’s a Chamber event, but yet it’s held in our downtown,” she said.

In addition to supporting community-wide festivals, the association is organizing its own events, including Summer on Main on June 26.

The group is also working to update the city’s downtown revitalization plan, which will outline future priorities for development and business growth in the district.

There is more on this story on a recent episode of First City Focus.