Ferndale Wins Big in 2013 Main Street Oakland County Awards

The Ferndale Downtown Development Authority took home several awards given out Friday night at the Main Street Oakland County awards celebration at the Royal Oak Music Theater.

The event honors member communities of the Main Street Oakland County (MSOC) program for their downtown development efforts. More than 200 people attended the event, which was sponsored by ITC.

Pontiac was another big winner at the event - together with Ferndale, the two towns brought home 16 out of the 30 awards presented.

“Main Street Oakland County is a model for other Main Street programs across the country,” County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said in a press release. "I’m exceedingly proud of the progress Pontiac has made in bringing its downtown to life and Ferndale continues to amaze with the energy and passion it brings to the program. I congratulate both cities as well as the other winners for the contributions they make to create desirable and viable downtowns.”

MSOC, which created the awards program in 2008, recognizes excellence in downtown revitalization in five categories: Special, Organization, Promotion, Design, and Economic Restructuring.

Ferndale was honored for Outstanding Board Member (Stacey Tobar, Ferndale Downtown Development Authority), Volunteer of the Year (Scott Wright, Ferndale DDA) and Volunteer Recruitment Program among others.

Pontiac’s honors included the Lafayette Lofts and the Lafayette Market. Pontiac also won the MSOC Spirit Award. A total of 11 MSOC communities won awards.

“Main Street is an economic development program that works and it continues to grow as we added Birmingham to the family this year,” Patterson said in the release. "This is a vital tool that improves our
downtowns and our county."