Ottawa receives awards from state department of commerce

Ottawa received two awards from the Kansas Department of Commerce’s annual Main Street Awards of Excellence this week.

The Ottawa Youth in Government program received a community award, and the Ottawa Main Street Association’s Image Campaign was recognized for excellence in downtown marketing.

The Kansas Main Street program helps community volunteers revitalize their city’s historic business district. The program tackles the complex issues of revitalization, capitalizing on downtown’s history and identifying the resources of the community.

The Kansas program started in 1985 and provides management training, consultation visits, program evaluation, design assistance, business enhancement strategies, incentive dollars and training for board and committee members and program directors.

This year’s awards were presented Thursday at the annual symposium in Leavenworth.