Small and mighty: This group awarded for boosting LS small businesses during pandemic

The worst of times brought out the best in a Lee’s Summit organization.

Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street has been award the Best Organization Pandemic Award from the Missouri Main Street Connection, a statewide nonprofit focused on preservation-based economic development.

“I remember how sad it was during the first few days of the stay-at-home order when I would walk around downtown and not see another person or car for blocks,” said Donnie Rodgers Jr., executive director of Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street. “Our once vibrant and thriving downtown became a ghost town overnight.

“So much of my job has always been about bringing the community together and suddenly that was not possible in the traditional sense. We had to find new ways to connect and support each other.”

It didn’t take long for the organization to act. In fact, the efforts started immediately after Jackson County announced the stay-at-home order in March 2020.

“We knew how important it was going to be to keep our community informed and supporting our small business owners in such a time of uncertainty,” Rodgers said. “One of the most important first steps was to create a page on our website that could serve as a one-stop resource.”

It was during a quick brainstorm that the overall message of “Love Local” was developed.

“Our office was also affected by the stay-at-home order, so we were Zoom calls collaborating and coordinating how best to support our downtown from our homes,” Rodgers said.

Information was gathered and shared about hours of operation, online ordering and carryout options.

“Every day evolved quickly and we began developing messaging to share in how people could continue to support our local businesses even from their own home and at no cost,” Rodgers said.

“Each business downtown was affected by the initial stay-at-home order and the following health department orders in different ways. We very much tried to stay on top of the information we received and educate the businesses and community as much as possible.”

More than 60 businesses participating in “Love Local” including restaurants, retail and service businesses.

Materials were free to downtown businesses.

Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street printed banners that were hung on the downtown information kiosk. Posters were passed out to businesses.

“I’m proud that we were able to find a way to come together and to move forward,” Rodgers said.

In its press release announcing the award, Missouri Main Street Connection praised the Lee’s Summit organization’s efforts in helping “make sure that even with a six-week closure of many of the downtown businesses, taxable sales in 2020 were still up 1.6% from a record year in 2019.”