Venture Lititz, downtown Lititz's nonprofit Main Street organization, has been designated as an Accredited Main Street America program. Along with this national recognition, Venture Lititz has received a statewide Townie Award from the Pennsylvania Downtown Center (PDC).

To earn national accreditation from Main Street America, Venture Lititz was required to meet rigorous performance standards based on the Main Street Approach. Main Street America programs generate local reinvestment, help to open new businesses, generate new jobs, catalyze the rehabilitation of historic buildings, and leverage volunteer hours.

Venture Lititz's performance is annually evaluated by the PDC, which works in partnership with Main Street America to identify the local programs that meet rigorous national performance standards. Evaluation criteria are used to identify the communities that are building meaningful and sustainable revitalization programs, and criteria include fostering strong public-private partnerships, supporting small and locally owned businesses, and actively preserving historic places, spaces, and cultural assets.

The PDC recently hosted its annual Townie Awards reception and Venture Lititz was on the short list of award recipients. The Townie Awards are designed to recognize the commonwealth's core communities and individuals for creation and implementation of projects, programs and events that exemplify the goals of PDC's community revitalization mission. To be eligible, a community must be home to one of PDC's nearly 200 member organizations, including Main Street and Elm Street programs.

Venture Lititz received the Townie Award in the category of Promotion and Marketing: General Image and Identity for its project "Welcome to Lititz: Building a Website That Invites." The new http://www.lititzpa.com site was one of the first projects Rebecca Branle took on when she stepped into the executive director position last summer. She noted that her vision for the website included creating a feeling of welcome and belonging.

The new site - developed by Tower Marketing - also accomplishes a financial goal. While the old site often required additional and monthly fees to make changes, the new site is easily updated and self-sustaining via income generated from businesses featured on its pages. Branle noted that contributors to the site included photographer Tom Roe and veteran advertising executive Jono Walker, who is also a Venture Lititz board member.

Venture Lititz's work can be seen in downtown events, including Fire & Ice, Taste of Lititz, Spring Cleanup, The Venture Lititz Gala, winter Edison bulb lights, and the Apoca-Lititz 5K. Venture Lititz partners with various community organizations and the local government to strategize for an economically sustainable, successful future - one that preserves the town's most treasured traditions and architecture while keeping a careful eye on progress.

Additional information about Main Street America is available at http://www.mainstreet.org.

For information about the Townie Awards and this year's recipients, contact Emily Zebel at 717-233-4675.