New ‘Main Street North Wales’ nonprofit aims to revitalize town

 A new organization is now in place to help build and grow North Wales and its business community.

Borough officials heard details earlier this month about “Main Street North Wales,” a new nonprofit meant to jumpstart a turnaround of the town.

“We look forward to working closely with the council and the community to achieve our mission and vision,” said Justin Copenhaver, president of the new group.

Starting in January 2023, Copenhaver has fielded input from council and residents about how to revive the borough’s former business alliance, which had advocated for revitalization efforts in the 2000s through 2010s before largely falling silent after the arrival of COVID-19.

In a series of public meetings, the organizer fielded feedback meant to develop a set of goals for a new organization and presented a possible brand identity for use downtown — featuring a new logo depicting a stylized “NW” in the shape of a flower meant to evoke a local greenhouse that grew roses in town in the early 1900s — with input sessions held throughout last summer.

    North Wales resident Justin Copenhaver, standing at podium, shows council and the public a proposed logo for a revived borough business alliance during the June 13, 2023 council meeting.
 By Dan Sokil | The Reporter   

Those talks and feedback have now yielded a formal structure that Copenhaver formally announced to the council on June 11 — a nonprofit with a charter dedicated to fostering the growth of the community “by uniting businesses and residents.”

“Our mission is to enhance North Wales Borough through collaboration, promoting economic vitality, and ensuring a vibrant, inclusive environment for all through community engagement,” Copenhaver said in a formal letter announcing the new group.

The vision of the organization is “to use Main Street North Wales as a platform for active community engagement, with both business owners and residents working hand in hand to achieve the missions of the organization.” Short-term goals and objectives include building interest among businesses and residents to spread the word about the new group and longer-term goals include addressing community needs via promotions, marketing, town beautification projects, and quality-of-life upgrades, while also advocating for business owners. Founding members include residents Dan Levy as secretary, Elliot Sadlon as treasurer, Star Little of Little’s Ice Cream, and Katelyn Mathe, and Copenhaver. Their early goal will be to get the town talking, through events and sponsorships that will help shape the nonprofit’s activities.

“This engagement is crucial to ensuring that our initiatives reflect the community’s needs and aspirations,” he said.

First on the to-do list is a kickoff happy hour and info session, scheduled for Aug. 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the North Penn Volunteer Fire Company’s social club on Main Street, where the new group will meet and greet anyone else who’s interested in getting involved — details are posted on the new group’s Facebook page.

“We encourage both business owners and residents to attend, learn more about our organization, and share their ideas and feedback,” said Copenhaver.

The group also plans to have a booth at town events throughout the summer and already holds regular monthly meetings for members of the group to brainstorm ideas before they go public, with early thoughts that quarterly open input meetings for the public could also be held. The new organization would bring any concerns or ideas to the council for formal approval, and aim to make sure they’re all on the same page.

    The former Florex Gardens greenhouse in North Wales.
 Abandoned, Old or Interesting Places – Eastern PA Facebook page   

“We believe that an organization focused on the well-being of North Wales residents through the lens of community and economic development will lead to positive outcomes for the local economy and culture,” said Copenhaver.

“By identifying gaps and addressing needs within the community, we can create a more vibrant and thriving borough for everyone, while making the business community more robust and resilient,” he said.

How will the group be funded? Through contributions from businesses and individuals, with possible incentives for those who contribute, and organizers plan to look for grants or other help from the county and state levels, and beyond if possible. Reaction from the council was largely positive, Copenhaver said this week, and he’ll keep that group and the public posted as the group keeps up their work.

“It seems that people are collectively happy that there is an effort that is organized and focused on supplementing the borough’s activities,” Copenhaver said.

For more information, follow “Main Street North Wales” on Facebook.

This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit www.thereporteronline.com.