Training is essential to your success as a Main Street manager. A wide variety of training opportunities is provided by our office and by partners throughout the state. New managers are required to participate in a minimum of 30 hours of training annually. We highly recommend that you seek out workshops, webinars and professional development opportunities that provide you with an in-depth learning experience in topics and concepts that may be less familiar. All new Main Street managers and board members are required to become Main Street 101 certified within the first 12 months of taking their position.
Main Street 101
Main Street 101 has been re-imagined as a completely online, interactive experience, designed to walk you through the Main Street 4-Point Approach™ from start to finish. Utilizing Prezi, a presentation software that uses motion, zoom, and spatial relationships to relay information, this interactive guide was developed by the Georgia Main Street Program staff and is a complimentary resource available to all Georgia cities. Here the fundamentals of the Main Street program have been broken down into a four-part series providing videos, links and visual resources to help you better retain the information presented. While Main Street 101 has been designed with Main Street managers and board members in mind, the content provided is beneficial to anyone that may interact with the program and can assist them in understanding the purpose and roll of the Main Street Approach. Click here to be directed to Main Street 101.
Main Street 101 Certification
All new Main Street Managers and Board Members are required to become Main Street 101 certified within the first 12 months of their new position. The certification exam is offered exclusively online through the Georgia Main Street website and costs $75 to access. Test takers will have up to one hour to complete the exam and must pass with a score of 80% or greater in order to receive a digital certificate indicating completion. Exam questions are true/false and multiple choice. Questions are based on the interactive guide, videos and study materials provided on the website. A copy of each test taker’s completion certificate should be shared with the local Main Street Manager and a copy uploaded to Dropbox as part of the annual assessment process.
Click here to be directed to the Main Street 101 certification exam.
Board Training and Education
A well-educated and informed board makes the job of downtown revitalization much easier. Having board members that are familiar with the Main Street Approach ensures that the manager and board are working together and provides the manager time to implement the annual work plan. With that in mind, the Office of Downtown Development requires all new board members to receive their Main Street 101 certification within the first 12 months of appointment to the board.
Main Street Training Calendar
The Georgia Main Street Program offers an online training calendar to highlight upcoming training opportunities from both our office and our partners, check out the screenshot below to see how you can access the training calendar from our website.
