The first thing I remember wanting to be when I grew up was an astronaut. There were also moments when I wanted to be a detective, a teacher, and, most hopefully, a tennis player.

The first time I remember being absolutely infatuated with community and economic development was in middle school. While the suburban mall thrived and attracted all of my friends, I was obsessed with the declining downtown mall. With Microsoft Paint renderings created on my parents’ computer, I wrote letters to the mayor and new mall owners. When I received responses and met with the mayor’s staff and the new mall owners, it ignited a spark in me. Before “shop small” was a hashtag, I realized and appreciated that both of my parents were self-employed business owners and understood what that actually means. 

By high school, I was working with my classmates on fundraisers and events in our immediate community of Green Bay.

Slowly but surely, I stopped thinking about being an astronaut and my forehand dictated I would never be a professional tennis player. Instead, I kept coming back to community-driven efforts focused on the community itself. 

As members of a community, we interact with some daily, some less frequently, but our views, our concerns, our aspirations and our interconnectedness come from our community. It was a slow build, but I felt like I won the lottery when I realized community could be a career option.

There are 35 Main Street communities in the state of Wisconsin, including two in Green Bay. And it was my involvement with one that led to me moving to Monroe. Nationally, Main Street started in the late 1970s to reinvigorate struggling communities in North Dakota and South Dakota. The goal of Main Street is to create a healthy, thriving community for all to enjoy. 

At Main Street Monroe Inc., we focus on four main aspects of community development to be as successful as possible. Monroe has a beautiful downtown historic district with the courthouse in the center. We work to preserve properties’ historic integrity and to create an environment people want to be a part of and people are proud of in their daily life. As an organization we own the downtown benches and Christmas decorations, are responsible for storing and maintaining them, and fund the flowers and their care every summer.

Main Street Monroe Inc. is also responsible for the summer theme, concerts on the square, lighted Christmas parade, Halloween events, the farmers market, and so much more. Our goal is to provide events that are free for all, highlight a great way to spend a Friday night with coworkers, provide an extra incentive to check out a boutique, and ultimately, create memories for families young and old.

As an organization, Main Street Monroe is a nationally accredited, 501(c)3, volunteer-driven nonprofit. What continues to blow my mind is how dedicated people are to Monroe and the work that Main Street Monroe does every day. If you’re not speaking with me about Main Street, you’re talking to just one of the dozens and dozens of volunteers who helps make everything possible. It may not be their career, but it is part of their social life, creative outlet, generosity: their passion. It’s our volunteers who come up with ingenious summer themes year after year, paint benches, write grants, and if we’re successful at everything else, breathe life into storefronts.

Main Street grew organically. Aided by the strong network among other Wisconsin Main Street communities, our entire focus is on Monroe. And while I didn’t know it at the time, my desire to have a career in community and economic development grew organically, too. 

Monroe has become my longest community and home as an adult. What has held steady for me is that it’s crucial to enjoy home and to celebrate what makes it home. For me, Monroe is the place with beautiful buildings, loyal and wildly creative people, wonderful store owners and people living their lives. Main Street Monroe Inc. is about celebrating all of that. I’m excited to be writing this monthly column and cannot wait to share more with all of you. 

— Jordan Nordby is the executive director for Main Street Monroe. He can be reached at MonroeMainStreet@tds.net.