The Downtown Franklin Association (DFA) — a division of the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County — has been busy this year, hosting the first year of the Downtown Franklin Awards program, promoting downtown as an ideal spot for destination weddings, becoming an officially recognized Smart Start™ community in the state of Tennessee and relaunching the dearly beloved Franklin Locals “hospitality on the streets” program.

 

As a nationally accredited Main Street program, the Downtown Franklin Association’s mission is to lead the continued revitalization and purposeful evolution of downtown Franklin, in the context of historic preservation, by maintaining a diverse economic base, promoting a unique local shopping experience, fostering accessible and attractive public spaces and forging partnerships across all sectors.

 

In fulfilling that mission, the association kicked off the year by hosting its first Annual Awards Meeting for its membership on February 3^rd,
at The Harpeth Hotel. In addition to supporting downtown Franklin businesses through its Main Street America® accreditation and programming, the Downtown Franklin Association serves its members in special ways throughout the year.

 

The ballot of nominees for the DFA Annual Awards consisted of current DFA business members. The public voted on it during January 2022 for the previous calendar year of 2021. At the DFA Annual Awards private member meeting, the top-voted businesses were announced along with the official award winner in each category. In addition, the DFA took the time to acknowledge some special anniversaries that were celebrated by DFA members last year. 

 

During January and February, the DFA hosted a “Season of Love” promotional campaign to its collective following of nearly 100k from mid-January and carried it through Valentine’s Day, highlighting downtown Franklin as an ideal place for destination weddings, romantic getaways and Valentine’s experiences.  

 

The DFA serves the downtown community in many ways, one of which is promoting the downtown historic district to an audience of nearly 100,000. With many couples getting engaged over the holidays, this promotion was designed to help newly engaged couples with their wedding plans by raising awareness for what’s available to them in downtown Franklin.

 

The DFA also hosted several business owners and key community partners in its first Smart Start™ training on February 24th, 2022, helping the community collaborate to make downtown Franklin one of the easiest places to start and grow a business. 

 

The DFA relaunched Franklin Locals on March 1st, 2022. Providing hospitality and concierge on the streets for visitors downtown, trained on-the-street representatives will serve to answer questions, give recommendations and share the story of Franklin with new friends.

 

Guests are invited to ask questions about Franklin and interact with a local who will offer insight to the community. Every Franklin Local is equipped with the training and tools they need to serve with confidence and excellence in downtown’s favorite hospitality program, now hosted from March to November.

 

With more programming and initiatives on the horizon, the Downtown Franklin Association continues to support the preservation and economic vitality of one of America’s favorite Main Street districts.

 

Heidi Hood

Managing Director of the DFA

The DFA is dedicated to the historic preservation, revitalization and community vibrancy of historic downtown Franklin. Learn more at downtownfranklintn.com.