McDanel, Yount to speak at revitalization conference 

Maryville City Manager Greg McDanel will be holding a session alongside Maryville Downtown Improvement Organization (MDIO) leader Stephanie Campbell Yount at the Missouri Main Street Connection Revitalization Conference on July 26-28 in St. Louis.

The City of Maryville and the MDIO have been partnering with the Missouri Main Street Connection since 2013. According to McDanel, the organization is a division of the National Main Street Association which provides the best practices for downtown revitalization and main street development.

“The annual conference of Missouri Main Street is an opportunity for Missouri communities to share best practices, success stories, and the latest information regarding grant opportunities,” McDanel said.

The conference will feature 24 classroom sessions and three general session. The session that McDanel and Campbell will be presenting, will be focused on city/private property owner interactions and other lessons. Campbell Yount is the owner of Willow and Elm, and the co-owner of Black Pony Brewing Company, as well as serving as the current president of Downtown Maryville. Campbell will be providing lessons of her own experiences at the session.

The website, momainstreetconference.com, gives this advance information about the 30-minute session entitled Find Your Community’s ‘Unicorn:’ Discover the Possibilities When You Ignite an Entrepreneur, “Campbell Yount has led many lives, but ‘community champion’ is her favorite. As an entrepreneur and Main Street Board Member, Stephanie has made supporting the revitalization of her hometown’s Main Street a passion project. Together with her husband Kent, she owns six downtown buildings and four business ventures, including a boutique, short-term rentals, and a brewery. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in public administration.”