For Immediate Release – November 21, 2024
(Hartford, CT) – Thomaston is using a $5,000 Main Street Accelerator grant to help market its downtown using the town’s historic clockmaker and manufacturers as inspiration.
Thomaston was one of six teams selected as part of Connecticut Main Street Center’s inaugural 2024 Main Street Accelerator Cohort, and the third to receive a grant through the program. During a brief celebration last week, CMSC and local dignitaries congratulated the team for their participation in the six-month course during which the teams identified a local challenge and collaborated on effective solutions using the nationally proven Four Point Approach to Main Street Management.
The Thomaston team focused on strengthening the downtown’s vibrancy using signage and wayfinding that reflected the town’s history as the site of the famous Seth Thomas Clock Company and other manufacturers. Through their Accelerator coursework they came up with an action plan for their “Gearing Up For the Future” branding campaign, a one-page flyer marketing the initiative, and a project budget. The $5,000 Main Street Accelerator grant will go towards implementing their project plan, including new branding that incorporates clock gears into its design as a nod to its historic past and inspiration for an innovative future. Thomaston Savings Bank partnered with CMSC to supply the grant funds.
“The Thomaston Team demonstrated the amazing creativity that arises when people across different main street stakeholder groups collaborate,” said CMSC’s Executive Director Michelle McCabe. The team consisted of Economic Development Commission members Lissa Jennings, Sue Holway, and Alissa Monteleone; Mary Lacilla, Thomaston Beautification Committee member; and Stacey Sefcik, Thomaston’s then-Land Use Administrator.
“We were really excited to be chosen and jumped in full force,” said Ms. Jennings, noting the signage and wayfinding will be used to create a cohesive look that people will identify as distinctive to Thomaston when driving from one end of town to the other. She added that the signage will also help give life to their other historic assets including the Opera House, train station, and Clocktown Brewing Company located in the Seth Thomas Clock Company building.
Team member Alissa Monteleone praised the Accelerator program, saying it taught the group to recognize just how many assets and resources the town has that they can now leverage for future efforts. She said she also appreciated the practical nature of the program as it related to implementation of their ideas. “This program gave us the skills and the knowledge to be able to take this to the next level. It also brought us together and gave us a voice so we could work with the town to meet our goals,” said Ms. Monteleone. The team appreciated the opportunity to both operate as a team and share ideas and gather feedback from the other Accelerator teams.
Thomaston’s grant was supported by funding from the Thomaston Savings Bank, which has had a presence in the town since its founding 150 years ago. Stephen L. Lewis, CEO of Thomaston Savings Bank, noted how the new branding campaign coincides with community improvements to the Seth Thomas Park and Opera House roof, the bank’s 150th anniversary this year; the town’s 150th anniversary next year, as well as the country’s 250th anniversary in two years. He thanked the Accelerator participants for building on these efforts. “The downtown when you’re driving through, that’s your first view of the town. So as we make that look better, everyone has a better impression of Thomaston and there’s more desire for businesses and families to be here.”
CMSC’s 2025 Main Street Accelerator Cohort will be announced in December. You can find more information about CMSC and the Main Street Accelerator program on CMSC’s website.
Pictured l-r: Michelle McCabe, CMSC; Alissa Monteleone, Thomaston EDC; Sue Holway, Thomaston EDC; Lissa Jennings, Thomaston EDC; Savannah Blantz, CMSC; Jeffrey Dunn, Thomaston Selectman; Stephen Lewis, Thomaston Savings Bank; CT State Rep. John Piscopo, District 76.
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Media Contact
Christine Schilke
Communications & Strategy Director
860-280.2356
christine@ctmainstreet.org
