Jefferson Matters was recently announced as one of the top communities nationally for a prestigious honor.

The local non-profit organization is a semi-finalist for the Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA). Jefferson Matters Executive Director Matt Wetrich is excited for everyone involved to propel the community as a semi-finalist as he explains why their organization wanted to apply for GAMSA.

“It’s kind of a way to put our feelers out there and see where we’re at, as a little bit of a litmus (test), like are we on the right track? We’re like what 12 years in (as a Main Street program) or so right now. And we’re proud of a lot of the things we do. We’ve gotten a number of state recognitions but we wanted to see where do we compare nationally as far as Main Street America is concerned.”    

Wetrich believes being named a semi-finalist is a big deal, especially for a rural community.

“We are being seen a leader in rural America and doing things that are creative and trying to really support local businesses, and the local entrepreneurial spirit and ecosystem here that makes it so tough to really have a small business in small towns, and that we’re doing things that we can do, and we know we have room for growth.”  

Jefferson Matters was a previous GAMSA semi-finalist in 2020 when the organization was called Jefferson Matters: Main Street. The award ceremony for the 2025 (GAMSA) will take place on April 7th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The other semi-finalists are listed below.

 Other semi-finalists

Berlin Main Street – Berlin, Maryland

Denison Main Street – Denison, Texas

Easton Main Street Initiative – Easton, Pennsylvania

Main Street Farmington – Farmington, Oakland County, Michigan

Jefferson Matters – Jefferson, Iowa

Raton MainStreet/​Arts & Culture District – Raton, New Mexico

Vicksburg Main Street Program – Vicksburg, Mississippi

Downtown Wytheville Inc. – Wytheville, Virginia