Vidalia Main Street
Shop Local. Eat Local. Spend Local.
Your community will thank you.
Despite the challenges of 2020...
Great things are happening
in Downtown Vidalia
by Tonya Green Parker, Executive Director
Thinking outside the box has taken
on a whole new meaning in 2020 for
the Downtown Vidalia Association! For
us to continue any sort of Downtown
events; we have had to be creative
while keeping the health and safety of
our citizens a priority. We’re fortunate
to have a tremendous promotions
committee and community support.
In June, to lift our community’s
spirits and overcome the loss of our
once a year fundraiser we hold during
the Onion Festival, we hosted “Brighten
Up Vidalia,” where businesses painted
positive quotes and brightly colored
images on their storefronts. Along with
the positive downtown atmosphere, we
held a drive thru lunch serving freshly
fried Vidalia Onion rings. Every week
in July, we did a promotion called
“Spin to Win BIG!” It has been a huge
success! Participants could receive
25-100 DVA dollars, but because of our
generous sponsors they matched the
amount every week and doubled the
winnings! We were able to give away
640 DVA dollars that went straight back
to our local merchants! It was such a
hit that we now we do it once a month.
The more money that goes back to our
local merchants, the better the more
their businesses will grow. We strive
constantly to promote the importance
of spending local!
We have been able to provide 2
BOOST grants for a total amount of
$2,500. One grant went to Shoney’s for
$1,500 to assist them with the cost of
repaving their parking lot and $1,000
was given to Dixon Management for
repainting the exterior of their building.
These grants are available to our DVA
members in order to help them with
improvements to their business. We are
always aspiring to enhance the beauty
of the facilities of our local merchants.
In the fall, we started a new event
named Scarecrows ‘Round Downtown
contest. Participants really outdid
themselves by creating different
scarecrows to decorate Downtown for
the fall. All of them were certainly head
turners and our community enjoyed
the new event.
We are all looking forward to
a better 2021. If there’s ever been
a time to support our local small
businesses, it’s now. We have been
very fortunate to not have lost any
Downtown businesses during this year
and actually have had several new
ones open! That’s quite a testament
to how supportive our community is of
our local merchants. I encourage you
continue to shop local, eat local, and
spend local. It’s a team effort by all of
us in our community.
2020 Board of Directors
President
Heather Mead
Million Pines Community Bank
Vice President
Valerie McLendon
Altamaha Bank & Trust
Secretary
Rhonda Jones
Dermatology Associates
Treasurer
Bill Bedingfield
City of Vidalia
Greg Hudgins, GA Power Co.
Charles Tapley, Lovins Realty
Tish Holland, Arlene’s Fine
Jewelry
Gaston Crue, Gaston Crue
Lifestyle & Interiors
Jessie Carter, J Leigh Hair Studio
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