Economic Restructuring
Design
Promotion
Organization
Economic Restructuring
Business Recruitment and Retention
Economic development is a core tenet of the Spirit of Anniston. The vitality of downtown merchants and restaurants directly relates to the success of our downtown district. In January of 2010, the Spirit of Anniston expanded upon its business recruitment and retention efforts with the hiring of a full-time economic development staff member. To view information on the services we can provide your business, please visit our Business page. If you would like to volunteer for this committee, please contact the Spirit of Anniston to learn more.
Civil Rights Heritage Trail
The Spirit of Anniston is developing a local Civil Rights Trail in conjunction with the 2010 publication of a new statewide Civil Rights Trail that will identify places all over Alabama where Civil Rights incidents took place. In addition, the local Trail is also being prepared in anticipation of the 2011 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides. If you would like to volunteer for this committee, please contact the Spirit of Anniston to learn more. Our goals include:
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Encouraging and spotlighting the preservation of the building that housed the Greyhound bus station where the first Freedom Ride attack took place;
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Increased awareness of the Civil Rights history of Anniston and Calhoun County;
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Increased heritage tourism & economic development for downtown and W. 15th St.
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Economic development for other historic areas in Calhoun County such as Hobson City as the state’s first black municipality.
In a recent meeting, committee members met with intern Jason Wright to develop
branding materials for the Civil Rights Heritage Trail Project.
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Design
Facade Grant Program
The City of Anniston offers a Facade Improvement Grant for businesses within the downtown Anniston district. The grant is administered by the Spirit of Anniston and provides a 50% match for pre-approved work up to $5000. Many downtown businesses have already taken advantage of the grant! Click here for additional information on the program, or contact us.
Design Committee
The Design Committee is currently researching opportunities to develop a “demonstration” area downtown to illustrate how trees and shrubs, seating, and banners can make downtown more attractive and pedestrian-friendly. One of the Committee’s goals is to use as many recycled objects as possible. If you would like to volunteer for this committee, please contact the Spirit of Anniston to learn more.
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Promotion
Newsletter
The Spirit of Anniston publishes a quarterly Spirit Spotlight update and a monthly e-newsletter. Please click here for information on viewing past issues and to become a subscriber.
Historic Downtown Anniston
Our "Explore the Possibilities" Campaign launched in 2008 with a new brand identity for historic downtown Anniston, including a poster (seen below), rack cards, logo, and a series of print advertisements. Design work for the campaign was completed by Rachel Sellers with Directional Design. The most recent addition to the campaign is the updated live website spiritofanniston.org
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Organization
The Spirit of Anniston is governed by a Board of Directors and has two full-time and two part-time staff members. To contact members of the staff, please visit our Staff page, or call us at (256) 236-0996.
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