Jefferson Matters held its annual Community Appreciation event Sunday afternoon at the Greene County High School auditorium.

The main highlight was honoring the 2023 Above and Beyond the Call (ABC) Award Winner, which was Deb McGinn. This award is given to an individual or a couple who exemplifies leadership and volunteerism. McGinn has been involved in several public art projects, mostly with Tower View Team and is the current secretary on the Jefferson Matters Board.

McGinn explained the reason for getting involved with the Main Street program about 12 years ago was due to her admiration of her father’s small business on Main Street in Garner. She mentioned that her dad refused to leave Garner’s Main Street to move into a new mall in Mason City, and eventually, he closed his business.

“He was devastated by that. I will never forget how sad he was when we drove away from Garner, Iowa. When Main Street (Iowa program) started here I thought, I know exactly what Main Street means to business people because I’ve seen it and I know how sad it is if a business person has to close his or her door, I wanted to do something to honor my mom and dad. That’s why, I really joined Main Street. I said, ‘I can do something to help.’”

Another highlight was the Forces Under 40 recognitions that included Kelley Gray, Emily Dyer, and Emily and Dan Rohner. Gray is a high school English teacher, and she also helps with Ram Fanatic and is the head speech coach for the high school. She pointed out that it’s the students that give her the motivation and drive to continue to play a role in their high school career.

“I think first of all we have really great kids here in Greene County. So they’re fun to work with and if you give them a little bit of a push they can go so far without me, I mean it’s not me that does any of these cool and crazy things, it’s them. So it’s fun to see how they have been really successful in speech, or really started Ram Fanatic and brought that to a community-wide program. So it’s just fun to see how they get so invested in things, once they are given the chance to do that.”     

Along with reviewing 2023 accomplishments and outlining the upcoming events for this year, another recognition was the announcement of the Iowa Main Street Development Awards. Jefferson Matters received the Facade Improvement of over $50,000 with Art on the Fly and Imagination Alley, as well as the Housing Award for the Pub Lofts above what is eventually going to be The Public House restaurant.