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and a locally-funded revolving loan fund. Downtown businesses have<br />
been awarded nearly $30,000 in grants in the last five years through<br />
local programs.<br />
The Perry Downtown Development Authority, or DDA, supports<br />
the Main Street Program by concentrating on business recruitment<br />
and expansion, diversifying the economic base, and locating viable<br />
businesses in vacant buildings to fill voids in the community’s<br />
business mix.<br />
“Events, building renovations, and new restaurants that bring<br />
nightlife to downtown are making downtown a destination again,”<br />
DDA Chairman Steve Aydelott said. “The DDA is actively pursuing<br />
redevelopment projects that will continue this progress.”<br />
Annual events include community theater productions, musical<br />
events, the Dogwood Festival, Peaches to the Beaches yard sale, New<br />
Year’s Eve Buzzard Drop celebration, and a farmers market. The city<br />
also sponsored a series of successful food truck events in <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
Events are one way to draw interstate travelers and fairgrounds<br />
visitors into a revitalized downtown.<br />
As Perry, which was incorporated in 1824, moves forward, it always<br />
maintains its connection to the past.<br />
Some say downtown is Perry’s soul, and the historical society is the<br />
keeper of its memories.<br />
Perry Area Historical Society President Ellie Loudermilk said<br />
the historical society’s museum has become a destination for those<br />
doing genealogical research and learning more about area history,<br />
including the historic Central Dixie Highway, U.S. 41, on which<br />
Perry is located.<br />
The museum showcases local history, with displays on<br />
residents who played important roles in Perry’s and the nation’s<br />
history. Memorabilia belonging to Gen. Courtney Hodges, a Perry<br />
native who rose from a private in the U.S. Army to the rank of fourstar<br />
general and who commanded the first U.S. Army in northwest<br />
Europe during World War II, is featured in the museum.<br />
For more information about downtown Perry, downtown events,<br />
and the Main Street Program, contact (478) 988-2758 or visit www.<br />
shopdowntownperry.com.<br />
To learn more about Perry Main Street Program’s design,<br />
promotion, and downtown revitalization projects, visit www.perryga.gov/economic-development/perry-main-street-board/.<br />
To learn more about how the Perry DDA is helping business<br />
retention and recruitment downtown, visit www.perry-ga.gov/<br />
economic-development/downtown-development-authority/.<br />
At Home in Houston County 21<br />
20-27 Downtown Perry .indd 2 10/25/18 3:23 PM
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