BUSINESS: MAIN STREET BIG TOPIC AT ANNUAL BANQUET HONORING REGIONAL COMMERCE AND GROWTH

Main Street Cape Girardeau was in the spotlight at the Regional Commerce and Growth Association (RCGA) Banquet, held this week at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau.

Randy Gray, coordinator of the Missouri Main Street Program discussed its aims and economic benefits.

Catherine Dunlap, who was recently named Main Street director at Cape Girardeau, was in attendance at the meeting, along with several members of the Old Town Cape Inc. Board, and Angela Miller, a graduate student who is working with the program.

Old Town Cape Inc. -- the name selected for the local Main Street program that covers a wide area of the city's downtown district -- also attended the banquet.

Cape Girardeau became a Main Street community in February. The program encompasses an area from Water Street along Broadway to Pacific Street and to Morgan Oak, which leads to the Mississippi River bridge. The area includes the primary downtown business area, the Haarig area, upper Broadway and old St. Vincent's Seminary, site of the university's proposed river campus.

More than 150 people, including area county, city and chamber officials, attended the meeting.

A number of awards were presented during the RCGA Banquet:

* The John T. Crowe Award was presented to Veryl Riddle, attorney with the Bryan Cave law firm of St. Louis. The Crowe Award, established in memory of the late Dr. John T. Crowe, honors an individual who has created or brought innovative ideas to the region. Riddle, a native of the Crowley's Ridge area near Malden, was instrumental in getting the national designation for Crowley's Ridge.

* The Regional Spirit Award was given to Gary Capps, director of Stoddard County Industrial Development Authority. The Spirit Award is given annually to a group or individual who has contributed to regional growth and cooperation.

* The Corporate Appreciation Award was presented to River Eagle Distributors in Cape Girardeau. The award is for a corporation contributing to progress of the region through its business. Tom Anderson accepted the award.