This podcast is a visit with the community engagement manager of the Destination Bryan tourism office, Katelyn Brown, and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

Two local businesses are recognized by the Texas Downtown Association for their contribution to downtown Bryan.

Katelyn Brown with the Destination Bryan tourism office says the Schulman family, which operates the Queen Theatre for the city, received the association's resiliency award.

And Bryan Broadcasting received a statewide award for being the best downtown partner.

The awards recognize cities with a population of 50,000 or more.

News release from the Destination Bryan tourism office:

Destination Bryan brings home two awards from the annual Texas Downtown Association Annual Conference held in San Marcos, TX last week. In the over 50K population, Destination Bryan received the Best Downtown Partner Award with Bryan Broadcasting and the Resiliency Award with The Queen Theatre. For over 35 years the awards program, sponsored by Texas Downtown (TXDT), has recognized outstanding projects, places, and people of Texas downtowns.

The Best Downtown Partner recognizes a local private or civic organization that positively impacts the community and actively contributes to the revitalization efforts of the downtown or commercial district and was awarded to Bryan Broadcasting for their efforts in supporting and promoting events and activities in Downtown Bryan including their partnership with Halloweentown in Downtown.

The Resiliency Award recognizes local projects and programs that were launched in the past year (June 30, 2021 – June 30, 2022). This category is for those projects or programs that do not fit in other categories, but that represent the overall efforts of the downtown or commercial district and their goals for the year. The Queen Theatre took home this award for reopening after the pandemic and adding a high end movie theater to the Downtown area.

Texas Downtown was established in 1985 to connect and serve communities that are committed to downtown vitality. The mission of the organization is to provide members with resources, advocacy, education, and connections. Texas Downtown represents cities of all sizes, economic development organizations, nonprofits including chambers of commerce and merchant groups, and small business owners.

The judges for achievement entries were: Erika Boyd, Texas Travel Alliance; Julie Glover, Downtown Consultant; Danny Holeva, Arts Council of Midland; Kris Larson, Central Houston; and Jordan Maddox, Halff Associates.

For more information about the President’s Awards, the Texas Downtown Conference, or other programs of the Texas Downtown Association, please visit www.texasdowntown.org.