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Spirit of Main Street Award

October 16, 2024

On Tuesday evening, October 15th, Heritage Ohio held their Annual Awards ceremony at the Midland Theatre in Newark, Ohio, as the opening of their annual conference. Over 100 nominations were received for 11 awards. The awards honor Ohio’s best projects, places, and people who create lasting impacts through historic preservation and community revitalization.

This year’s recipient of the Spirit of Main Street Award is the Reineke and Reinbolt families of Tiffin.

The Spirit of Main Street Award is presented to an individual that has shown outstanding leadership in revitalizing and preserving Ohio communities.

The downtown revitalization movement in Tiffin began in 2009, with Bill Reineke playing a key role in forming the Tiffin Tomorrow group, which developed a 124-item improvement plan. Bill and his brother Dan were pioneers, purchasing and renovating a downtown building to create high-end lofts, demonstrating the appeal of downtown living and spurring further investment. The Reineke-Reinbolt families have since invested in over 15 properties, each with unique features, preserving historical character while offering modern amenities.

The next generation also got involved, with Weston Reinbolt and his wife Suzie transforming a historic 12-unit building into popular rental lofts, while Dan Reineke II renovated several properties, including a former NAPA Auto Parts store, which now offers community meeting space. Dan and his wife Nikki renovated a four-story building that became the Tiffin Seneca Economic Partnership (TSEP) headquarters, supporting downtown’s economic growth.

The family actively contributes to the downtown community by sponsoring Third Thursday events, organizing the St. Paddy’s Day 5K, and encouraging employee participation in community efforts.

Heritage Ohio prompts economic growth through the preservation and revitalization of downtowns and neighborhoods across Ohio. Heritage Ohio is the designated statewide Ohio preservation partner with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Through saving the places that matter we can all build a community and live better. Learn more about how to get involved by visiting www.heritageohio.org.

About Downtown Tiffin

The revitalization of downtown Tiffin began in 2011, when a group of community members came together to form “Tiffin Tomorrow”, with the goal of promoting and encouraging economic development in Downtown Tiffin, and creating plans, programs, and actions to ensure long-term vitality and prosperity. In 2014, the City of Tiffin contracted with SIEDC to act as the downtown organization and “Tiffin Tomorrow” came under the SIEDC (now TSEP) umbrella as the “Downtown Development Board,” which serves as the governing board of the downtown organization. In 2015, Tiffin joined Heritage Ohio’s Main Street Program. For more information, click here.

About Heritage Ohio

Heritage Ohio promotes economic growth through the preservation and revitalization of downtowns and neighborhoods across Ohio. Heritage Ohio is the coordinating agency for the Ohio Main Street Program and is the designated statewide Ohio preservation partner with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Through saving the places that matter we can all build a community and live better. Learn more about how to become involved by visiting www.heritageohio.org.

About Main Street America

Main Street America leads a movement committed to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. For more than 40 years, Main Street America has provided a practical, adaptable, and impactful framework for community-driven, comprehensive revitalization through the Main Street Approach™. Our network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, communities participating in the program have generated more than $101.58 billion in new public and private investment, generated 168,693 net new businesses and 746,897 net new jobs, rehabilitated more than 325,119 buildings, and levered over 33.7 million volunteer hours. Main Street America is a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit mainstreet.org.

 
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