Laci and Ashley Take Main Street Kirksville to Jefferson City
Laci Cook, Executive Director of Main Street Kirksville, and board secretary Ashley Young stepped away from their usual downtown duties today to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing any Main Street program: building a truly working board of directors. They joined community leaders from across Missouri for Missouri Main Street Connection’s “Main Street Assemble: Techniques for Recruiting and Selecting a Working Board of Directors,” a workshop focused on turning good intentions into active, engaged leadership.
Collaborative Participation
Instead of just listening to presentations, Laci and Ashley spent the day trading stories, workshopping real scenarios, and rethinking what it means to recruit people who will show up, dig in, and help move downtown forward. Together, they started sketching out what an ideal, energized board looks like for Kirksville—and what it will take to get there.
“The biggest takeaway for me was that board recruitment isn’t just about filling openings—it’s about shaping the future of our organization,” said Laci Cook, Executive Director of Main Street Kirksville. “We’re coming home with a clearer picture of who we need at the table and practical steps to help those volunteers be successful from day one.”
Over the next few months, Laci and Ashley will work with the full board to refresh recruitment materials, fine-tune the nomination process, and introduce new ways to welcome and mentor incoming members. The goal is straightforward but ambitious: a board that not only believes in revitalizing downtown Kirksville, but consistently shows up ready to do the work that makes it happen.