City of Niles, Hunter Ice Festival Earns The Main Street Four Points ?
Promotion  Award at the 2009 Michigan Downtown Conference

                                                                        
Lansing ? Communities and individuals from across the state were honored today at the 2009 Michigan Downtown Conference awards presentation at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Michigan. The awards presentation honored those around the state that have worked together within their cities and with state partners to take advantage of new initiatives and produce funding to revitalize Michigan's cities, towns and villages. Through these efforts, they give the residents of the state a vibrant place to live. The Main Street Four Points ? Promotion was awarded to the Hunter Ice Festival in Niles.

This annual conference is dedicated to bringing the best ideas, resources and educational sessions together to create an energetic environment to celebrate the growth of Michigan's downtowns and the mind trust to solve the biggest challenges. Each year the conference is hosted in one of Michigan's destination communities, allowing plenty of time to see and experience the best of what the host city has to offer. We give back to the host city by making sure that there is time in the agenda for dining, shopping and sight-seeing. The theme of the 2009 conference is the ?The Three C's of Prosperity: Creativity, Collaboration and Competition.'

The Michigan Downtown Conference Partners include the Michigan Downtown Association (MDA), the Michigan Municipal League (MML), Michigan Main Street Center @ MSHDA, the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM), the Michigan Historic Preservation Network (MHPN), Main Street Oakland County and the State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO). 

The Michigan Downtown Conference is an annual conference to help community leaders create successful strategies and case studies to revitalize their downtowns. Additional information can be found at www.michigandowntownconference.org.

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