BY BARBARA PATRICK
PHOTO PROVIDED BY
FLOWERTOWN YMCA
Today, downtown Summerville is a
wonderful place to walk around, do
a little window shopping and maybe
have a hot dog and a soda at Guerin’s
Pharmacy—but it wasn’t always so
blissful. Like many small towns, some
of Summerville’s character waned
when local shops on Main Street gave
way to suburban shopping centers.
By 1991, nearly half the downtown
buildings were vacant.
Two Summerville residents, Rick Sut-
ton and Cada McCoy, dismayed at
what was happening to their town,
decided to do something about it.
They called a meeting, several hundred
HUGE CROWDS ENJOY THE FLOWERTOWN
FESTIVAL EACH YEAR.
people attended and Downtown Res-
toration, Enhancement and Manage-
ment was born. Over the last 15 years,
DREAM has revitalized not only
Main Street but also the surround-
In addition to its community-build- access to staff and resources.
ing area. The result has been gratify-
ing and economic development proj- “We are always looking for volunteers
ing, with a variety of new boutiques
ects, DREAM plays a major role in to sit on committees that work on
joining the long-standing businesses,
tourism and relocation. To that end, projects throughout the year,” Shep-
along with upscale eateries that add an
the organization has produced a pard says, adding that DREAM’s plans
air of sophistication.
commercial that airs daily in more are shaped by the wants and needs of
Paid for by grants and donations,
than 6,000 local hotel rooms, as well the Summerville community.
fund-raising activities, membership
as the “Welcome to our Village” bro- Summerville DREAM is a mem-
dues and the town of Summerville,
chure that is distributed at area visi- ber of Community Builders, which
DREAM is dedicated to improving
tor centers. DREAM also created and is affiliated with the National Main
the quality of life and maintaining
funds a tourism Web site, www.visit- Street Program of the National Trust
historic integrity while furthering eco-
Summerville.com, which aggressively for Historic Preservation. According
nomic stability. “Hometown” events
targets visitors to Charleston, show- to Sheppard, “…we can look at the
are designed to drive residents and
casing not only lodging and shop- national statistics and see that Main
visitors to the downtown area and to
ping but also interesting sites to visit, Street programs help generate rehabil-
encourage the feeling of community.
historic facts and helpful maps. itation of buildings, new businesses,
Jami Sheppard, executive director of
An organization is only as strong as jobs and revitalization of once-thriv-
DREAM, explains that the non-profit
its members, and DREAM is fortu- ing businesses.”
organization “strives to make down-
nate to have a veritable “who’s who”
town the center and the hub of activ-
roster of area residents dedicated to This information was compiled from
ity for the town. DREAM hosts ‘Red,
preserving their town while sharing it www.summervilledream.org and www.
White and Blue Days on the Green,’
with visitors. Local businesses are an visitsummerville.com. Additional
‘Harvest Moon Rides’ during Hallow-
important part of the DREAM team, information about Summerville and
een, ‘Holly Days’ and ‘Saturday’s with
and members are featured in collat- DREAM membership is available on
Santa,’ all of which are family-oriented
eral material such as brochures, news- these sites.
events that draw people downtown.”
letters and Web sites and are provided
ILoveSummerville.com | SummervilleNeighborhoods.com | SummervilleBuilders.com 7
7_SND_SummervilleDREAM.indd 7 3/20/08 2:19:44 PM
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