City of Lavonia Wins “Kindness” Award

The City of Lavonia, Mayor Courtney Umbehant, and the Lavonia Downtown Development Authority & Main Street Program are the recipients of a prestigious award.  On Wednesday, August 28, representatives from the city attended an awards ceremony at the Georgia Downtown Conference in Thomasville.  There, they received the 2024 Award of Excellence for the Georgia Downtown Association’s Outstanding Promotional Campaign.  The Outstanding Promotional Campaign Award honors downtown organizations that have excelled in creating impactful promotional materials and campaigns that successfully engage the community and attract visitors.  Main Street Director Ashley Rose Dodd spearheaded the initiative.  She says this year’s theme is about spreading kindness.

Dodd says the ripple effect has been watching the community come together and inspiring residents to do their own acts of kindness.  Dodd says other towns have taken note of the program expressing interest in adopting similar initiatives in their own community.

In August, the DDA and Main Street Program collected supplies for the Northeast Georgia Animal Shelter.  This month, their focus is on the Franklin County Schools.  Barbara Busby, who is the director of the Downtown Development Authority, says they will hold a coat drive for Lavonia Elementary as well paint the town green, the colors of Franklin County Schools, to show their Lion Pride.

The Outstanding Promotional Campaign Award is one of the conference’s key recognitions, highlighting the importance of effective communication and marketing in downtown revitalization efforts.  Rose Dodd says the judges took special note of their creative marketing efforts including using social media.